Author: Bob Spain Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1623496195 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 316
Book Description
Premiere paddler and Texas Canoe Racing Hall of Famer Bob Spain presents a thorough and personal guide to all aspects of canoeing. He opens with a brief history of canoes and canoe making in North America followed by an illustrated how-to section on proper paddling technique and posture. Instructional photos and drawings by Spain’s paddling partner and wife, Joy Emshoff, help make your first-time paddling adventure less intimidating and more enjoyable. Readers will learn how to hold a paddle, perform basic strokes, and improve their technique as well as gain important information on the various types of canoes available. A handy checklist in the back of the book outlines important safety gear and essential equipment to pack in your canoe for day trips and overnight expeditions. Both newcomers to the sport and seasoned paddlers will find Spain’s detailed descriptions of his ten favorite inland and coastal Texas paddling trails entertaining and helpful. He provides useful logistical information—such as launch and take-out locations—GPS coordinates, available camping sites, and suggestions for nearby paddling trails. These trails offer paddlers a unique opportunity to explore the state and its varied wildlife while promoting the importance of preserving waterways. Spain concludes with a discussion on pressing conservation issues—water pollution, urban growth, habitat destruction, invasive species, and natural disasters—and the role ordinary people can have in protecting these natural resources for future generations. (Printed on waterproof paper)
Author: Bob Spain Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1648430597 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 595
Book Description
In the summer of 1962, Frank Brown and “Big Willie” George launched a 133-pound motorboat—with no motor—into the San Marcos River and headed for the Texas coast. Over the next three weeks they paddled downriver, wrestling through log jams and fighting off mosquitoes on their 337-mile journey to Corpus Christi. The following year, Brown staged a canoe race that followed the same route, billed as “The Texas Water Safari—The Toughest Boat Race in the World.” Contestants had to carry all their provisions with them from the start and could receive no assistance during the competition. One hundred and twenty-six men and one woman, all Texans, lined up for the grueling race. Some boats sank at the start, others were wrecked on the river, and some people dropped out from exhaustion or injury, while others failed to make the time deadlines and were disqualified. Of the 58 vessels that started the race, only two arrived at the finish line in Corpus Christi. The now-famous Texas Water Safari has since attracted thousands of competitive and recreational paddlers from across the globe who line up every summer in canoes and kayaks to carry on a tradition now in its 60th year. In Texas Water Safari: The World’s Toughest Canoe Race, veteran racers Bob Spain and Joy Emshoff chronicle the winding history of this epic competition, documenting the many changes to the racecourse over the years, the evolution of competition vessels, and the influx of national and international racers. Drawing upon the record books, Water Safari lore, and their own experiences, the authors have compiled a collection of stories, statistics, and photographs that celebrates and preserves the history of this Texas river tradition.
Author: Krista Schlyer Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1623496926 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 338
Book Description
Incorporating seven years of photography and research, Krista Schlyer portrays life along the Anacostia River, a Washington, DC, waterway rich in history and biodiversity that has nonetheless lingered for years in obscurity and neglect in our nation’s capital. River of Redemption offers an experience of the river that reveals its eons of natural history, centuries of destruction, and decades of restoration efforts. The story of the Anacostia echoes the story of rivers across America. Inspired by Aldo Leopold’s classic book, A Sand County Almanac, Krista Schlyer evokes a consciousness of time and place, taking readers through the seasons in the watershed as well as through the river’s complex history and ecology. As with rivers nationwide, the ways we’ve changed the Anacostia affect the people and wildlife that inhabit its shores, from the headwaters in Maryland, past its confluence with the Potomac River, and ultimately to the Chesapeake Bay. Centuries of abuse at the hands of people who have altered the landscape and mistreated the waterway have transformed it into a polluted, toxic soup unfit for swimming or fishing. The forgotten river is both a reminder of the worst humanity can do to the natural landscape and a wellspring of memory that offers a roadmap back to health and well-being for watershed residents, human and non-human alike. Blending stunning photography with informative and poignant text, River of Redemption offers the opportunity to reinvent our role in urban ecology and to redeem our relationship with this national river and watersheds nationwide.
Author: Charles Kruvand Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1623496748 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 226
Book Description
In this stunning photographic tribute to one of Texas’ most intriguing and perhaps least understood rivers, Riverwoods: Exploring the Wild Neches takes readers on a unique adventure along, and sometimes into, the wild and murky waters of the Neches River. The Neches flows through the heart of East Texas, past primordial bottomland forests, timber and oil industries, and elusive denizens—humans, alligators, bobcats, and herons. Although the river and its watershed have inspired authors, artists, and photographers, it can also seem impenetrable, intimidating, or just plain unsightly to outsiders. Spending many days canoeing the river and nights camping on the banks, Charles Kruvand was drawn to the complicated allure of the Neches river and woods. Once common across the southeastern United States, the Neches bottomland forests exemplify an ecosystem that has almost passed out of existence. Thad Sitton, an East Texas native and noted historian, opens the book with an introduction to the historical, cultural, and ecological significance of the Neches River. He takes readers through time from early Native American inhabitants to Spanish and Anglo settlers to present-day East Texans. He also describes the environmental battles fought over preserving parts of the river woodlands surrounding the waterway and wildlife that have depended on the river for sustenance. Through beautiful photographs and stirring recollections of his trip along the river, Charles Kruvand weaves a rare portrait of one of the last wild rivers in Texas.
Author: Shane Townsend Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1493016350 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 243
Book Description
From the canyons of Big Bend to the cypress swamps of Pine Island Bayou, the waters of Texas have something for most every type of paddler and every paddling mood. One might float the diminutive Comal River, argued to be the shortest river in the world. Another might dig deep and follow the four-day, 260-mile route of the Texas Water Safari, which Canoe & Kayak Magazine referred to as “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race.” Whitewater is here too. Lakes are as well. And, the Texas Gulf Coast is home to sandy beaches, knobby mangroves, and sea grass flats. Meanwhile, Texas is home to some of the fastest growing cities in America. And, paddling is the fastest growing outdoor sport in the country. “Paddling Texas” is a guide for those who are new to either and all those who love both. Featured trips offer easy access, secure environments, good facilities, great fishing, superb wildlife viewing, and beautiful scenery. “Paddling Texas” gives recreational paddlers and anglers all the information they’ll need to paddle many of the best trips in Texas.
Author: Natalie H. Wiest Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 160344775X Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 186
Book Description
Within about seventy-five miles of downtown Houston, some 1,500 miles of rivers, creeks, lakes, bayous, and bays await discovery. Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways, by longtime paddler Natalie Wiest, is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to experience Houston’s well-watered landscape from the seat of a kayak or canoe. Before introducing readers to the quiet, green world that lies within and around the heart of the city, Wiest gives some pointers on water safety (including swimming and boating); on weather, flood stages, and legal access; and on an often unseen but always present paddling companion—alligators. She also provides a gear checklist for a day trip, a brief guide to boats and paddles, and a “sampler” list of easy places to paddle for true beginners. Presented in nine chapters, each organized around a river system or coastal basin and comprising a “suite” of paddling trips, the excursions described by Wiest offer a general description of the destination, directions (both driving and paddling), and details about the paddling conditions and access sites, which are all publicly owned or managed. Each chapter lists mileages, USGS gauging station numbers, and GIS locations when applicable. Also including ninety color photos and more than thirty detailed maps, Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways offers both novice and experienced paddlers a helpful and enjoyable reference for experiencing nature at water level, in and around Houston. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
Author: Ken W. Kramer Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1603442014 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 165
Book Description
In ten impassioned essays, veteran Texas environmental advocates and conservation professionals step outside their roles as lawyers, lobbyists, administrators, consultants, and researchers to write about water. Their personal stories of what the springs, rivers, bottomlands, bayous, marshes, estuaries, bays, lakes, and reservoirs mean to them and to our state come alive in the landscape photography of Charles Kruvand. Allied with the Texas Living Waters Project (a joint education and policy initiative of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Environmental Defense Fund, among others), editor Ken Kramer joins his fellow activists in a call to keep rivers flowing, to protect wildlife habitat, and to save tax dollars by using water efficiently and sustainability. INSIDE THIS BOOK:Introduction: the Living Waters of Texas—Ken KramerWhere the First Raindrop Falls—David K. LangfordSpringing to Life: Keeping the Waters Flowing—Dianne WassenichHooked on Rivers—Myron J. HessFalling in Love with Bottomlands: Waters and Forests of East Texas—Janice BezansonOn the Banks of the Bayous: Preserving Nature in an Urban Environment—Mary Ellen WhitworthA Taste of the Marsh—Susan Raleigh KaderkaBays and Estuaries of Texas: An Ephemeral Treasure?—Ben F. Vaughan IIIRio Grande: Fragile Lifeline in the Desert—Mary E. KellyLeaving a Water Legacy for Texas—Ann Thomas HamiltonTexas Water Politics: Forty Years of Going with the Flow—Ken Kramer
Author: Laurence Parent Publisher: University of Texas Press ISBN: 029277415X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 201
Book Description
Since it was first published in 1996, Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites has become Texans' one-stop source for information on great places to view scenic landscapes, tour historical sites, camp, fish, hike, backpack, swim, ride horseback, go rock climbing, and enjoy almost any other outdoor recreation. This revised edition includes five new state parks and historical sites, completely updated information for every park, and many beautiful new photographs. The book is organized by geographical regions to help you plan your trips around the state. For every park, Laurence Parent provides all of the essential information: The natural or historical attractions of the park Types of recreation offered Camping and lodging facilities Addresses and phone numbers A locator map Magnificent color photographs So if you want to watch the sun set over Enchanted Rock, fish in the surf on the beach at Galveston, or listen for a ghostly bugle among the ruins of Fort Lancaster, let this book be your complete guide. Don't take a trip in Texas without it.
Author: Bob Spain
Author: Bob Spain
Author: Krista Schlyer
Author: Charles Kruvand
Author: Shane Townsend
Author: Natalie H. Wiest
Author: 
Author: Ken W. Kramer
Author: Laurence Parent
Author: Gina Donovan