Canoe Picnic On the Banks of the Potomac River in a Mad River Canoe | Scenic Views of the Potomac River by Canoe

It was June 2009, a beautiful Saturday morning in Maryland. It was the day planned for the river picnic in our newly purchased Mad River canoe. Now mind you, I have been in a canoe all of one time maybe forty something years ago while at camp. My husband, the great excursionist, had it all figured out. We would tie the canoe to the top of the car and drive it to our launch zone some twenty miles north of Hancock, Maryland where we would park our truck to take out and reload at the end of our three hour cruise. I know, I know, I couldn't help myself. It was a great plan.

The Mad River canoe was purchased from a friend. It was a lovely canoe with gorgeous wooden rails and two very comfy wooden chairs with back rests. The canoe was 16 foot long and big enough to hold a family of four. The Potomac River is known for its under currents and can be quite violent after storm runoff, but today it was running at medium height and calmer than a week earlier after the storms came through. I was a little nervous, but excited too. Hubby had already taken the canoe on a maiden voyage a couple weeks earlier so he knew what to expect and how to navigate the river.

It was time to launch, life jackets on - check, paddles in canoe - check, sunscreen on - check, picnic basket on board - check, cell phone (just in case) - check, water - check, ok I think we're ready. After we walked somewhat into the water, I got in first and as hubby got in the canoe rocked to the side. I got my first flash of going in the drink. For some reason he thought that was hilarious. We were off and paddling into the Potomac River. What adventure was waiting around the next bend?

As we gently paddled along, I learned how to spot the rocks ahead of us by the way the water would ripple a little. This gave us some advance notice so we could turn the canoe a little to avoid a head on collision with a water boulder. Is this sounding like fun? Just joshing. There were a couple really huge boulders that we missed by a few inches along the way. I was concerned a few times when the sides of the canoe scraped the rocks below, but hubby assured me it was fine.

On the banks, we observed a white-tailed doe refreshing herself in the distance. As we got a little closer, she tucked herself into the trees nearby all the while checking us out. A group of people where in a huge river tube floating down the river and swimming along side of it. There were lots of camp fires going for lunchtime grilling river cuisine, that kind of made us hungry. It was time to rest for our picnic lunch. Hubby remembered a place from his previous trip that would be a good place to rest the canoe while having our picnic. Over to the side of the river was a sandy pebbled embankment good for resting the bottom. We navigated over out of the river current and the canoe came to a rest. The sun was a scorcher out there on the river, we were happy to get some shade from the trees hanging over the embankment during our picnic to cool off a little. I was very glad to have made the decision to where my all weather long sleeved shirt. It whisked the water off my skin and kept me cool from the sun.

Of course we had to nose around the shoreline while we were resting. I found fresh water oysters along the river banks and lots of other little shells. I was sure to check under the big rock BEFORE SITTING, just in case, my hubby thought that was also hilarious.... what is up with that.

Hubby forgot to mention that there is a small area of fast moving water like rapids we had to pass through after lunch. As we caught glimpse of the rapids ahead and started to approach the area, my heart starting pounding.  I felt at the mercy of the water. Hubby assured me it was going to be fine and taught me how to paddle to keep the canoe straight into the current so we would not turn over... did you say turn over? Are we having fun yet?

As we entered the fast moving water, the canoe sped up with the pace of the river and my rock navigation had to step it up a notch. We did scrape a few times, but not too badly. After a few minutes we were clear of the rapids and the canoe continued to cruise with the river current as we were in a little deeper water.  That was enough excitement for one trip, the rest was smoothe ride. Breathing a little easier now, taking in the sunshine, the view of the mountains, listening to river birds singing, watching occasional wildlife was all a real thrill. It was like a day of Animal Planet.