Canoe Escape on the Hillsborough River

Canoeing with Christ details

2010-01-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

As we said in our last post 2010 is going to be a great year. This year our company has come full circle. Thanks to all the all the hard work God has been putting into us and Canoe Escape we are now at a place where we can share his creation with you.

Our first public outing that can be signed up for will be February 20th at 1 p.m. Canoeing with Christ's lead guide Phil Evans will be leading this trip. For 3 hours we will be exploring the river and stopping to share the fine points of Gods creation with you. There will be six "life lines" to grab onto and experience. Here is a clip of one of the many "life lines" we have prepared.

The corner stone of our new program is Job 12:7-10 (New International Version)

7 "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

We have several options for you to experience a Canoeing with Christ trip. If you are an individual we will have scheduled trips you can sign up for. If you are part of a small group, church leader, retreat organizer, or just have a lot of family and friends you want to bring out, we can set up a private event for you. Our private trips require a minimum of 8 people, but they are run on your chosen date and time.

The rate for our trip is only $39 per person. However for our first scheduled trip on February 20th and the first 10 groups to sign up. We will extend a special rate of $35 per person. So please call for more info and get your reservations in soon!

Rates include guide, canoe, paddling equipment, guide, and transportation to and from the river. Canoes seat 2 paddlers however if you do not want to paddle and just ride along in the center of the guides canoe or friends canoe that is fine. You should feel free to bring along some drinks and snacks.

Canoeing with Christ

2010-01-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

2010 is going to be an amazing year. We are looking forward to our new paddling experience. Canoeing with Christ is a new three hour guided journey down the river. On this trip we will open your eyes to God's creation and what it can show us about how we live our lives.

This new trip has been in development for years and is finally ready. By using a mixture of scripture, facts about plant and animal characteristics, and some parables relating it all to us, you will never look at the world the same.

God speaks to us in many ways. His word we read, his voice we hear, and his creation that we see, are just a few. Those of us that are focused on God are good at reading the word and hearing his voice. However understanding and appreciating what we are seeing is a whole other skill most of us do not have. Canoeing with Christ will reveal to you what God has really created, beyond the surface. I.E. how Spanish Moss can teach us to be a comfort to others, how water plants can teach us about the tangled webs in our lives, and how the Anhinga can remind us of our sinful nature and the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. These are just few examples of the many wonderful lessons to be learned along the river.

This outing is the perfect bonding and growth experience for individuals, families, small groups, church outings or retreats. You can either drop into one of our scheduled experiences, or for groups of 8 people or more, schedule your own date and time. Please join us for an amazing day with God and his creation. For more details call us at 813 986 2067.

Lead guide Phil Evans talking with Jean Faulk

A Tri-colored Heron navigating a tangled web of aquatic plants

Lead guide Phil Evans and Canoe Escape founder Joe Faulk talking about the merits of Resurrection Fern under the watchful eye of a Limpkin.

Reflection.

The anointed Anhinga with Spanish Moss.

New years eve moonlight trip!

2009-12-18T07:25:00.001-08:00

Well everyone we just wanted to let you know, that Dec 31 is our first ever new years eve moonlight trip. The meeting time at Canoe Escape is 9:45 p.m. Then we head for the river. We will paddle a Little over an hour through the wilderness area to Lettuce Lake, and will arrive a little before midnight. We'll celebrate the new year with a champagne toast and explore the lake for about 30 minutes. Afterward the group will paddle about 45 minutes to the take out.

Reservations are required so call the shop at 813 986 2067

rates are as follows
Tandem Canoe or Kayak $70.00
Solo Kayak $60.00
3rd Passenger in canoe $25.00

sorry no kids under 12.

This is a family friendly event not a booze cruise. This is a fun and unique way to ring in the new years, and we hope to see you.

Moonlight trip report

2009-12-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well Nov 28 we had our first moonlight trip of the season. It was a small group of 6 canoes but we had a great time. Everyone got to the shop about 4:45 and after getting signed in we hit the water at 5:30. The trip would take up about 3 hours on the water from Trout creek park to Riverhills park. Roughly 5 miles with a break at Lettuce Lake.

Once on the water we took a 15 minute paddle up river from Trout creek park. We normally do this to see a variety Woodstorks, ospreys, herons, egrets, limpkins and spoonbills on that stretch of the river. Once it got dark we headed down stream and paddled under the Flood control gate between Trout Creek Park and I-75.

Now it is finally getting dark. This pick shows the evening sky and it's reflection off the water.

As we moved down stream we entered a section of the river called "the narrows" The river here gets down to about 50' wide for a mile or so. The canopy here blocks the moonlight some what so for this stretch, so it can get really dark. You can however get close to the birds and shore for picture taking.

Once past the narows we came into lettuce lake and took 30 minutes to explore the area. Here you can make out some gator eyes in the pic. They are glowing back red from my headlamp. There is only one gator here. His eyes are reflecting off the water between us making it look like 2 pair of eyes.

Once we got the the lake the temperature dropped down into the high 40's everyone bundles up and was ready to paddle in for some coffee and desert.

The fog started to roll in along the river and it made for some intersting pics. we even encoutered a family of racoons in the fianl stretch.

Ah the bus at the take out, our chariat awaits.

At last we arrive at Perkins for coffee and desert. Great service and pies as usual from the staff at Perkins on Fowler ave. Apple pie and coconut cream seemed to have been the most popular choices this time....well next tot he cofee and hot tea.

Thanks to everyone who came out. I had a great time leading you down the river. Hope to see you all again soon.

Tampa Bay and Company outing

2009-11-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Joe and I had a great day on the Hillsborough River with Tampa Bay and Companies FAM tour. A total of 21 meeting planners from around the U.S. came out for a tour on the river. We had a wide range of planners that focused on everythig from fortune 500 companies to schools to church ministries. We paddled trip 1 from Sargeants Park to Morris Bridge park. As is normal this time of year, we saw alot of wildlife. Atleast 40 gators, hundreds of egrets and herons, woodstorks, limpkins and more. After our trip we were greeted at Morris Bridge Park by the catering staff of Mise en Place. This is Tampa's finest French restaurant and catering company. They prepared a lovely spread of fresh grilled food, served on white linen under the shade of the oak trees. This was no doubt the best after trip meal I've had in 18 years on the river!

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Joe is greeting our guests for the fam.

Giving paddling instruction to the group before we hit the water.

Exploring the river.

Stopped at "the Lake" for some fresh fruit, drinks and some nice Florida sun.

My canoe paddling down the river

More shots on the river

Landing at Morris Bridge Park

The Mise en Place catering staff with tables set up for lunch Yum!

Our guests enjoying a gourmet lunch and refecting on their Hillsborough river trip.

We just want to say thanks To Norwood and Susan from Tampa Bay and Company for organizing this event. We had a great time sharing our services with the group and look forward to taking care of their clients.

Guided trip report Joe and Pam

2009-11-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took Pam and Joe down trip one for a guided tour. They were visiting from Connecticut and drove over from the Sheraton Sand Key in Clearwater. Pam and Joe come to Florida once a year to visit family, but this was the first time they paddled on the Hillsborough River. I think Pam looks nervous in this picture. Could it be the Alligators?

After leaving Sargeants Park we headed up into Flint Creek and saw several gators, a limpkin and a variety of Herons. Here is nice 8' alligator enjoying the morning sun in Flint creek.

Once Moving Down stream we found ourselves paddling under the canopy of trees. There was an amazing amount of wildlife out. We saw roughly 40 gators, 6 limpkins, 10 Woodstorks, countless turtles and all the Egrets and herons. November is the Beginning of the wildlife viewing season, and it will continue to get better until it peaks March-May. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you will see more wildlife on a 2 hour canoe ride here than on a week long trip in the Everglades.

About 1 hour into the trip we came to "the Lake" a small section in the middle of the trip where the river gets wide. Usually we take a break somewhere here to eat lunch and observe the wildlife.

Wood Stork in flight.

Camo Gator.

A little further downstream we come to where Cowhouse Creek starts and the Hillsborough turns due North. The next mile you will always see alot of turtles and alligators. Although Pam is now relaxed around the gators, Joe is still keeping a watchful eye.

Sun tanning friends?

Super turtle!

This was another amazing day on Hillsborough river,. We were on the water for 3 hours and for a final treat, I spotted a red shouldered hawk on the bank. It had a banded water snake in his talons! The snake looks like a branch in the photo but if you look close you can see it. From here we had only a few hundred yards to go before ending out trip at Morris Bridge Park.

2009-10-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone thanks for visiting our blog. We opened our shop 18 years ago and have been running trips on the Hillsborough River since. The upper Hillsborough is one of the best wildlife viewing places in the United States. You will be hard pressed to find a place that all year long has the quantity of wildlife that the Hillsborough river has.

The river supplies the Tampa Bay area with about 70% of the drinking water. As a result the upper 30 miles of the river is made of a series of Parks, Preserves, and eco ranches. There is no housing or development of the upper section of the river! These pics were taken on Section one and two. They will give you an idea of what the first 9 miles looks like.

As you can see from some of the pics, this is a beautiful place. If you are into wildlife watching and nature, then this is a great river to explore. Beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife and a lack of civilization make the Hillsborough river a premier paddling destination. We hope to update this blog atleast weekly so check back often for trip reports, upcoming events, and intersting facts about the river, canoeing and our shop.