Index of States Kayaked by Charlene Swankie

I DID IT!  Finished the 50th State, Hawaii, on my 70th Birthday, almost a year ago now.
This is a work in progress… I will also add elevations.  I am also updating the state pages with more details.  (updated 5/7/2015)

State	Order	Date	Location	Elevation
Alabama	46	10/23/12	Justins Bay, AL (solo)
Alaska	49	8/20/2013	Holgate Glacier, Holgate Arm near Seward, AK
Arizona	2	06/2009	Watson Lake / Vickie Walker; Cibola NWR (N.P.)
Arkansas	43	10/7/12	Beaver Lake (solo)
California California2	1	3/2008 ? ? ? 08/30/2009 08/03/2009	1) Monterey Bay(many times) 2) Morro Bay (fb) 3) Spooners Cove @ Montano de Oro State Park (fb) 4) Elkhorn Slough 5) Gold Lake (fb) 6) West Shore of Lake Tahoe(*maiden voyage) / Elle Beals (fb)
Colorado	39	10/11/11 and Summer 2012	Jackson Lake State Park nr Orchard (solo) (*Pelicans) Meadow Creek Lake nr Rifle (solo)
Connecticut	20	10/25/10	Put in @ Westerly, RI and paddled back and forth from CT-RI down to Little Narragansett Bay. (solo) (*Swans)
Delaware	23	11/02/10	Cape Henlopen @ Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge-put in @ Boat Ramp Access Rd. (solo)
Florida	29	11/26/10 12/19/10 12/30/10 10/?/12	1) Santa Fe River @ Columbia State Park, High Springs / Judy Luke family 2) Cedar Kay /Gary Lepak 3) Ichetucknee Springs State Park/Gary Lepak 4)   (solo)
Georgia	28	11/16/10	Tybee Island (solo)
Hawaii	50	5/16/2014	Off Maui	/sons
Idaho	6	10/18/09	Upper and Lower Priest Lakes (solo), Priest River, ID	Moose Family Video
Illinois	36	09/23/11	Lake Shelbyville (solo)
Indiana	35	08/19/11	Lake Monroe @very large boat launching area off Hwy 446 (solo)
Iowa	37	09/28/11	Clear Lake @ McIntosh Woods State Park (43.12237,-93.45856) (solo)
Kansas	41	10/02/12	Wilson Lake @ Wilson State Park – Otoe Launch (solo)
Kentucky	34	08/18/11	Fredericks Landing, Wilder, KY Boat Launch (solo)
Louisiana	47	10/25/12	Small unnamed pond/marsh nr Hwy 190 and Hwy 90(Chef Menteur Hwy) east of Slidell (solo)
Maine	17	10/12/10	Long Pond on Mount Desert Island, Arcadia National Park (solo)
Maryland/DC	24	11/02/10	Put in @ Ocean City Municipal Airport on Sinepuxent Bay… near Mystic Harbor & paddled across to Assateague State Park/Island (solo)
Massachusetts	19	10/21/10	Secret Lake in Athol / Kay Gleason
Michigan	14	08/31/10 09/05/10	1) Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary @ Alpena (solo) 2) Launched @ Gross Isle (solo)
Minnesota	12	08/03/10 08/07/10	1) St. Louis River @ Floodwood (solo) 2) Ely – Boundary Waters Canoe Area (solo) (write up BWCA)
Mississippi	45	10/12/12 10/24/12	1) Sardis Lake @ Engineer Point Public Use Area 2) Pearlton
Missouri	44	10/09/12	Coombs Ferry Public Use Area, Blue Eye, MO (solo)
Montana	7	10/19/09	Flathead Lake (solo), Lakeside, MT
Nebraska	38	10/10/11	Lake McConaughy, Ogallala (solo)
Nevada	3	08/25/09 12/03/09	1) Cave Rock, NV (solo) 2) Callville Bay Marina @ Lake Mead (solo) fb
New Hampshire	16	10/19/10	Harriman Reservoir in S.W. corner of state. Rt. 9, Molly Stark Trail.
New Jersey	22	10/27/10	Sandy Hook nr Fort Hancock @ Gateway National Recreation Area (solo)
New Mexico	40	10/15/11	Lake Caballo nr Truth or Consequences  on Rio Grande River (solo)
New York	15	09/25/10	Grand Island @ Beaver Point / Matt Beals
North Carolina	26	11/10/10	Jordan Lake / Judith Sookne
North Dakota	11	07/28/10	Langlier’s Bay on Lake Oahe (solo)
Ohio	33	07/28-29/11	1) Mad River / Cheryl and David Simmons (6.5 miles) (fb) 2) Buck Creek State Park lake (solo)
Oklahoma	42	10/06/12	Robert S. Kerr Reservoir @ Sallisaw Creek Park (Cherokee Nation) (solo)
Oregon	4	08/31/09	Siltcoos Lake, OR (solo)
Pennsylvania	32	07/24/11	Loyalhanna Lake. Camped @ Bush Recreation Area (solo)
Rhode Island	21	10/25/10	Put in @ Westerly, RI and paddled back and forth from CT-RI down to Little Narragansett Bay. (solo)
South Carolina	27 or 28?	11/13/10	Folly Beach (solo)
South Dakota	10	07/28/10	Missouri River on Lake Oahe @ Mobridge (solo)
Tennessee	30	07/18/11	French Broad River to Nolichucky River nr Newport / Leadvale @ Rankin Bottoms. (solo)
Texas	48	10/30/12	Mountain Lake nr Grand Prairie (fb)
Utah	8	11/02/09	Quail Creek Reservoir nr St. George (solo)
Vermont	18	10/19/10	Harriman Reservoir, nr Medburyville (solo)
Virginia	25	11/05/10	Kayaked here. First Landing State Park @ Broad Bay N.W of Virginia Beach .(solo)
Washington	5	09/9-15/09 09/9-15/09 09/12/09 07/01/10	1) Elliott Bay @ Alki Point  (solo) 2) Wenatchee – Turtle Island @ Lincoln Rock State Park (solo) 4) Port Angeles / Gary Lepak 5) Port Townsend /Gary Lepak (fb) 5) Port Angeles / Gary Lepak
West Virginia	31	07/23/11	Sutton Lake (solo)
Wisconsin	13	08/14/10	Apostle Islands National Lake Shore, north of Bayfield, WI (solo)
Wyoming	9	07/23 or 25?/10	Big Horn Canyon Recreation Area @ Horseshoe Bend Lake(solo)

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New Additions to My Blog

My apologies, I am very far behind in my blog.  My hope for the next two weeks is to get it all caught up.  At the moment I am at least trying to get all of the photos up for each state I visited, then go back and add the text, notes, links to the photos.

8/2/2011-all photos are now up.  Adding text and links.

Here are the latest additions.

13th State: Aug. 14, 2010 – Wisconsin paddle and visit to Bayfield. Bayfield.

14th State: August 30(?), 2010 – First attempt. Sept. 5, 2010-Detroit River Paddle.

15th State: Sept. 25, 2010 – New York State near Niagara Falls.  10/3/10 - Visit with Vandweller Cuzzin’ Dick.

16th State: Oct. 16, 2010 – New Hampshire, slide show… text to follow later.

17th State: Oct.19, 2010 – Maine – Acadia National Park.  Friends-Jackie and John Morgan.  Fryeburg Faire – an other worldly experience.  Some of the BEST of Maine.

18th State: Oct. 19, 2010 – Vermont

19th State: Oct. 21, 2010 – Massachusetts – with vandweller Kay (oldmapsne).

20th and 21st States: Oct. 25, 2010 – Rhode Island and Connecticut.

22nd State: Oct. 27, 2010 – New Jersey and Mike (Hillwizard).

23rd State: Nov. 2, 2010 – Delaware.

24th State: Nov. 2, 2010 – Maryland.

25th State: Nov. 5, 2010 – Virginia

26th State: Nov. 10, 2010 – North Carolina (with Judith)

27th State: Nov. 13, 2010 – South Carolina

28th State: Nov. 15, 2010 – Georgia

29th State: Nov. 26-Dec. 31, 2010 – Florida (three paddles)

30th State: July 18, 2011 – Tennessee

31st State: July 23, 2011 – West Virginia

32nd State: July 24, 2011 – Pennsylvania

33rd State: July 28 and 29, 2011 – Ohio. Ohio (continued).

A couple other topics added:

An interesting trailer

My life transition

I am willing to do a 8.5" x 10.5” pencil sketch for anyone who donates a minimum of $15 plus $5 for postage and handling to my PayPal Gasoline account.  See my artwork.  Or on my old website… digroots.com.

I’m getting sick of genealogy!

Tennessee – before heading up into NC.  This is the Douglas Lake looking toward the Douglas Dam… which dammed up the French Broad River where I believe my ancestors had farms.

Asheville, NC

Did I say that?  I’ve been mesmerized by searching for my roots since I was 24 years old – and that’s been more than four (4) decades ago.  Sometimes too obsessed to eat or rest.  Then Ancestry.com came out and I’ve been wild to track down each of my ancestral lines.  And I’ve really enjoyed doing research for others as well as my own family.  But, having been totally devoted to this obsession for over two full months… I do believe I’m reaching the point of maximum saturation for diggin’ roots. 

For one thing, it’s too sedentary.  I need to be up moving around more and staying more active.  When I’m out in the field like I’ve been the past couple of weeks… I do get more activity, but what happens, I get to a library or archives, walk around get what I want to look at and plop my butt down for hours more… then return to the van, get on the computer, and enter the new stuff I found.

The Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Today I drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville, NC a ways, went into the Southern Highland Craft Guild exhibit at the Folk Art Center… drooled over some of the beautiful things… and left with some free brochures and booklets.  This is where I’d do my Christmas shopping, if I were a millionaire.

Reems Creek, in Buncombe County, NC.

I’ve enjoyed driving around the areas where I believe my ancestors lived… but the problem with Eastern TN and Western NC is that the roads are narrow and hilly and windy all at the same time.  Most times there is no place at all for me to pull off quickly with an extended van hauling a 12 trailer. .. and people are always on my tail.

Once a Methodist Parsonage, but now a Bed and Breakfast Inn.

Yesterday I believe I visited the home my ancestors (Calfees) lived in during the Civil War era and later.  That was pretty neat but the discouraging thing is that I can’t prove the link between my great grandfather and those individuals due to the fact he may have changed his name.  Ughhh! And most the people related to those people are dead, and those living that I know… well most don’t care, and the few that do care about our roots, don’t believe I’m barking up the right tree.  Uggghhhh!

From the driveway of the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, looking back toward Asheville, NC.

This week I planned to visit two places in Asheville NC and do more research.  The Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society and the downtown Pack Library.  I just scooped them out this afternoon and there is no place I can park.  Downtown was a hustle and bustle this afternoon which really surprised me.  The only way I can do it is drop my trailer someplace and just drive the van in.  There is lots of “tagging’ in this town and I don’t feel safe leaving my stuff in my van.. and don’t want to lock it up in the trailer and leave the trailer someplace unless I can leave it on private property someplace. 

This is just too complicated and I want to just start driving west… but where? ND where the river is going to bust it’s banks, or OK where another nuke plant is being threatened, or where?  None of the water here that I’ve seen so far motivates me to get the boat out.  And the population density here… well, let’s just say I’m in shock.

I feel depressed and miss my friends, my sister, my family in Washington State.  I feel like the van is becoming my coffin.  I need to get out of the East and back to the wilds.  I’m not motivated here to take good care of myself.  (Well, not all my blogs can be uplifting, and I needed to vent and after all, it is MY blog!)

Pout (:

(O.K. who wrote that and where did Charlene go???)

The headwaters of the French Broad River in North Carolina… it runs down into Tennessee.  I believe my ancestors travelled up and down this river.

But I have learned some interesting things about this branch of the family and if I am correct, I hope others will be thrilled with my findings.

S.O.S. Message to my Followers.

They tell me I’m a pretty good artist so here is a question for my followers:  Would you be willing to buy (say for a minimum of $15) a sketch of yourself, your loved one, or a favorite pet… in exchange for a donation for gas… NOW? I’m feeling frantic, broke and desperate.
Here are some recent sketches:
David Hair, Sr., Dalton GA, June 2011.

And o’ cuzzin’ Dick Tracy, Dalton, GA, June 2011.

And my first trip out as a vandweller was to the Slabs, CA.  I met Mike and Heidi (if you are a Vandweller… you know who I’m talkin’ about). That was the week I installed the roof vent in my own van.  Mike supervised as best he could from the sidelines as he was not feeling well.  The day or two after I got the fan in, Mike was hospitalized.  Camp kinda fell apart after that and I felt helpless and useless… so I gathered what few painting supplies I had on hand, went up the hill where the two old tanks are (if you have been to the Slabs, you know what I’m talkin’ about)… and painted this little sign for them (kinda my way of praying):

And they got married I think the following year??? Or was it the same year????  Anyway… ol’ Roadie got a makeover and got renamed Taj.
Decided we needed a sign so Vandwellers could find us at the next gathering and so painted this one… or here is a part of it anyway… I’ll post the whole sign when I find it.

That would be KatieTwoKnives’ dog, Mutt, and behind him is Bob Wells’ old trusty Homer.  I love those dogs. Oh, here is the whole sign.

So, can I do a sketch for you?  They will be 8 1/2” by 11” and I’ll send you the sketch by email as soon as it is done.  You will need to pay the postage… should be the flat rate envelope… I’ll double check the price.
My son is a skydiver.  He wanted a painting for Christmas one year of skydivers at sunset.  So here’s the one I did for him.

I’m stuck in NC with more Calfee family research to do, only $60 left, almost out of gas, and no income until 7/20.  Had some major expenses in May and June (along with ending up in the hospital) and wanted to find some way to honestly get a little more income, as soon as possible.
My question to my Followers is:  How much is such a sketch (pencil) worth???  What do you think?  I’m thinking a minimum of $15, and postage on top of that.  I would appreciate all comments and truly appreciate any advance payments.  For those who have helped me in the past, you get a free sketch on request. Send me a photo or two, the full face kind, the more wrinkles the better (in the person, not the photo) and I’ll have the finished sketch back to you via email in a couple days and by USPS mail as soon as funds are received.

See a Gallery of my Art Work.

 

This would help me so very much.  If you are able to help me, thank you in advance, very very much.
Charlene Swankie (charlene.swankie@gmail.com)

26th State: North Carolina (Nov. 10, 2010)

Finally, I got to kayak with another Vandweller member, Judith.  What fun that was.  Got to help her assemble her new inflatable kayak and we were off to a nearby lake, I forgot the name of it.

On the way there a “serious” box-dweller passed me.  Look at that.

And I saw cotton fields.  What a hoot!

 

We saw so many Great Blue Herons, we lost track of the count.