Pine River News and Conditions 01/29/2012

River Conditions:

Oh, the dog days of winter on the river....well..... not exactly dog days. What got me off (figuratively) and on (literally) my keister at the keyboard to share a slice of the Pine River with you was that a few minutes ago I was drawn to the river windows by our squawking cockatiel, Each time she sees an avian predator she starts a squawking like Armageddon is upon us. Her alert allowed me to watch a mature bald eagle diving down to nab a squirrel... that barely escaped the out-stretched talons by scooting into a maze of exposed maple roots just above the river. As the eagle flared and flew back up to its perch, his wingspan looked to be an amazing 8 to 9 feet. A number of squirrels, lucky, or not, regularly expose themselves across the river from our home as they feed on the kernel corn we sprinkle along the river bank. We do this so we can enjoy the antics of the resident whitetail deer as they vie for their share of the bounty. And we sure don't mind helping them better survive the winter here. And the bonuses are many. To be able to watch the bald eagles that regularly perch outside our windows to fish, and hunt, is one of the biggies. The wow-factor of the Pine River just never ends. It keeps on giving all year long, year after year after year. River conditions: Tough to beat!

What Else is New?

Words from the Wise:

1. We have the best Congress money can buy.  - Will Rogers
2. Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln
3. My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.  - Thomas Jefferson

Pine River Water Flow Conditions

For real-time water temperature and volume measurements on the Pine click here.

Reminders for folks paddling their personal craft: If you are bringing your own craft, you will need to buy USFS Parking Passes @$5/day, $15/week for your vehicles. Also remember that from May 25th to September 3rd, you must obtain river-use permit(s) from the USFS. Permits can again be reserved through the US Forest Service Baldwin District Office for $2/craft. Call 231-745-4631 to check availability and reserve your permits. Or you can visit the Pine and Pere Marquette River Permit Policy Page on the USFS Web Site .

An interesting statistic …..24% percent of our rental guests actually own their own craft, but find it much cheaper and easier to rent ours. Why? It's easy and it saves you money. When you rent from us, we pay for your boat permits and parking passes. And the bigger upside is that not having boats on the top of your vehicle significantly improves your gas mileage, it saves you from having to load them, unload them, risk losing them, shuttle them around while here(or pay us to do your shuttle), and then wash them up and put them away when you get back home.

Please Remember: Alcohol and river-sports are a destructive mix. For safety, social, and resource protection considerations, please wait until you're off the river and off the road, before partaking of any alcohol. Please also remember that Styrofoam packaging or coolers, glass, water balloons, and firecrackers are prohibited on the river. Thanks for preventing litter by using your litter-bag and making sure all cargo is securely tied to your craft.

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