Low water on the White

The reason for the lull in posting this week is that Martha and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the River View Hotel in Calico Rock, Arkansas.  We paddled our boats on the White River on Wednesday and Thursday, and otherwise just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

The White River at Calico Rock will be the site of a big racing weekend on June 23-24.  On Saturday morning, the United States Canoe Association's Aluminum Canoe Nationals will tear up the White, followed by the Arkansas "Big Dog" Canoe and Kayak Race that afternoon.  On Sunday morning the traditional "Big Dog" C2 Race will take place.

The water on Wednesday was very low (around 1000 cfs at Calico Rock, according to the USGS), and our friends at the River View tell us it's been that way all spring.  If it's like that on June 23-24, racers will have enough water to race on, but the bottom-drag will be tough.  On Thursday we found more water flowing down the White (around 1200 cfs).  I hope the demand for electricity will be sufficient for the damkeepers up at Bull Shoals and Norfork to let it flow next month.

The White River on Wednesday, between Red's Landing and Calico Rock.  Normal summertime dam releases make the water three or four feet deeper here.

Martha loves to paddle on the White River.

Martha took this photo from Lovers' Leap in Calico Rock, just above the Arkansas Highway 5 bridge, on Thursday morning.  The gravel bar in the lower left of the picture had been much bigger the day before.