Karen Duquette cooled off in the Meramec River on a hot day, while waiting to start the canoe trip. Lee Duquette stayed on shore. |
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Then a bus took the two RV Gypsies from the parking
lot at Meramec Caverns to Meramec State Park, where they launched
their canoe.
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Below: Exiting the bus, Lee
Duquette walked towards the canoes. Because this was on Labor Day week-end,
there were a lot of canoes and tubes on the Meramec River. However,
this was a very enjoyable canoe trip. The river was mostly calm, with
a bit of a current now and then that gently glided the canoe without
the two RV Gypsies having to paddle. Yes, the two RV Gypsies would recommend
renting canoes from Caveman Canoe Rentals. There were spots to stop
and cool off in the water, which Karen Duquette really enjoyed. |
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Below: Karen Duquette sat
in the front of the canoe as usual, and held her big camera (not a cell
phone) behind her hoping to get a photo of Lee Duquette. Success! -
Then she passed the camera to Lee, who photographed Karen's backside.
Good Job! |
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Below: The tree lined river
was lined with cliffs. The two RV Gypsies paused to watch several boys
climb a very short distance up the cliff and jump into the river. |
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Below: Several
people and their large rafts played inside one of the cliff's caves. |
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Below: Since this was Labor
Day week-end, the Meramec River was full of people having fun. Below
are some photos of the largest group of people; young people, who offered
the two RV Gypsies some beer as they passed by. They were having lots
of fun. Sometimes Karen Duquette thinks that it would be nice to be
in a large group. They have meet up with a couple or two along the way,
but never a big group like this. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
stopped to take a swim. As Karen Duquette sat down on the rocky bottom
of the Meramec River, the current started sweeping her away. Her hero
husband saved the day! |
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Below: A little dog in a life jacket enjoying the water on a hot day - and a big dog floated by in its own tube. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
took another break in an area where the river was a bit calmer. Karen
Duquette's feet floated to the top and her sandal tried to get away. |
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Below: The
two RV Gypsies had to hold onto the rocks on the bottom of the river
in order to stay in one place. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
got back in their canoe. After awhile, Karen Duquette decided that she
wanted to float down the river while Lee Duquette paddled the canoe.
She experimented with the life jackets to find the best way to float
alongside the canoe. Lee thought she had lost her mind! |
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Back in the canoe, Karen Duquette tried
to get both herself and Lee Duquette in a photo by just holding the
camera up in the air. She was not very successful. Karen uses a digital
camera for photos, not a cell phone, so a selfie stick will not work
and she can not see what she is taking when she tries to take both of
them. |
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Below: Success came on the
4th try - sort of! By then, Lee Duquette was busy paddling the canoe
again. |
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This was
about a 4-hour canoe trip for the two RV Gypsies, with time in the water
of course. |
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