This photo was taken on the deck of the lovely Gaston Visitors Center, overlooking the White River, and Bull Shoals Dam. It shows some of the participants having their brown bag lunch, after a morning of classroom teaching on paddling basics.
From the Gaston Visitor Center, the 11 folks in the group caravaned to Brown's Beach on Bull Shoals Lake, to begin our in-water training of kayak basics. All the kayaks were furnished by Bull Shoals/White River State Park, and were included (along with paddles and lifejackets) in the $30 fee for the all-day clinic.
The park is fortunate to have an ACA-certified (American Canoe Association) instructor (named Julie) who taught the class, with the assistance of other park staff.
In this group of photos, Julie is seen demonstrating how to lift one's kayak, and carry it, in a way that reduces the chance of back injury/strains.
In this group of photos, Julie is demonstrating how to get into, and out of, one's kayak, using the "3 point" system, for stability.
This group of photos shows the "Boat Over" procedures, when someone in the kayaking group turns over, falling into the water, and causes their boat to be upside down in the water. Julie, along with participant Betty, demonstrated how the boat could properly be restored to upright, and the wet kayaker could be assisted back into their kayak.
Another possible scenario we learned about, was how to get the boat to shore, if the above procedure fails.
Julie also demonstrated how one person could re-enter their kayak from the water, without assistance from a helper.
Julie taught us the proper placement for our hands on the paddle, by reminding us our elbows should be at right angles to our paddles.
We also learned how to do several different types of paddle strokes, and were able to practice these strokes in the calmer waters at the back of the cove.
Brown's Beach is an excellent starting place for kayakers, as it has a paved loading ramp, with access to a quiet cove, or the entire lake. There is also a restroom near the launch ramp.
After the "intense" training was over, Julie threw the contents from a big mesh bag of colored balls, into the water. The purpose of the game was to see who could gather up the most balls. (Tip: being at the end of the cove is a huge advantage, as all the balls float toward you instead of away from you!)
The goal of the game was to get us to use all the different paddle strokes Julie had taught us, in order to maneuver our kayak into position for picking up the balls.
The competition was "nose to nose", but after a short time, all the balls were gathered up, and prizes awarded.
This game could be adapted for YOUR next outing on the water, for a fun way to get some paddling experience!
It was a delightful day to be at Bull Shoals Lake, and I saw lots of smiles from the gals and guys who were able to attend!
This photo was taken from the back of the cove, looking out into the broader lake body. Of course, the closer your kayak gets to the main lake, the rougher the water becomes.
I was giving thanks to God, as I remembered his promise to me ( as stated in Isaiah 43:2 ): "When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."
Although most of the participants were people I met for the first time on the day of the clinic, I was glad to see my friend, Karen, that I knew from the Women Hiking the Ozarks (W.H.O.) group.
When the clinic was finished, those who wanted to, could enjoy the "sand and surf" of the adjacent swim area of Brown's Beach. If you are interested at trying out the sport of kayaking, rental boats are available at several Arkansas State Parks. Likewise, training clinics are offered regularly at some of the parks, and Lake Ouachita State Park offers some overnight kayak outings. For more information, just visit
www.ArkansasStateParks.com
A day on the water will give you "MILES OF SMILES"!! Tricia (Note: I have written several articles about kayaking in various locations in Arkansas, and out of state, that you can see
, if desired, by entering the word "kayak" in the search box, at the bottom of this blog.)
There is nothing that can compare with an early morning walk along an ocean beach----especially, if one lives in a state that does not border any ocean shorelines! That is why I signed up for a Road Scholar program ( www.roadscholar.org ) program that involved visiting several of the barrier islands on the coast of Georgia, in the southern USA.
The first morning of the program involved visiting a beach on St. Simons Island, with a trained and experienced naturalist, pictured here. Georgia Graves leads Beach Walks on the Georgia barrier islands and you may contact her by phone at 912-266-2473 or email her at georgiabeachwalk@bellsouth.net .
Just minutes after we arrived at the beach, Georgia spotted this indentation in the sand, and drew a circle around it. She stuck her fingers down into the indented sand, and as if by magic, pulled out a live mollusk, called a whelk. I was impressed!
I was curious what Georgia carried in her basket, and one of the items was this clear dish, that she filled with sea water, and then placed various critters into it that she found along the beach. That way she was able to tell us about the animals, pass around the dish, and then return them to the ocean without harming them. Since I have had a life-long interest in marine biology, and even started out my freshman year in college as a marine biology major, I found this up close study of marine life fascinating!
There were several whelks along the beach, and Georgia is holding one that is designated as Georgia's "State Seashell"!
I encountered large jellyfish the size of hula hoops when scuba diving (which I carefully tried to avoid touching!), but I had not had the opportunity to photograph any of these smaller jelly fish that we encountered on our beach walk.
I was surprised when Georgia told us that these particular jelly fish were harmless to touch, and invited each of us to see what they felt like.
A very helpful aspect of this group beach walk was that Road Scholar provided each participant with sound amplification devices. This meant that we did not have to be extremely close to the naturalist, in order to hear what she was saying.
This photo shows the microphone that Georgia wore, as well as the over-the-ear device that each of us had, that enabled us to hear what she was saying.
In Arkansas, we grow cucumbers that are green; however, along the barrier islands, cucumbers are brown! That is because green cucumbers are plants, but this cucumber-looking thing is called a "Sea Cucumber", and it is an animal!
Georgia spotted a slight movement in the sand, and started on a frantic search to catch what was causing the movement. 
We all had a good laugh watching her scurry about, but in the end, she caught her goal, which was a ghost crab. 
Even in an area where there is seemingly nothing of interest, the naturalist taught us to observe the patterns in the sand. She pointed out that the variations in the colors of the wave patterns left by the shifting sand, was the result of different kinds of dissolved minerals that the ocean water flows through.
The biggest marine critters we saw on our beach walk were the horseshoe crabs; and we saw several of them!
Georgia fearlessly picked up one of the animals and pointed out its carapace, which is the hard outer shell that protects it. The mouth of the horseshoe crab is in the center of its five pairs of legs. 
The horseshoe crab can use its long, straight tail to flip itself over, when it inadvertently gets turned upside down.
Although the habitat for horseshoe crabs is mostly in muddy bottoms and shallow ocean waters, they occasionally come on shore to mate. In most cases, the female is larger than the male.
The female will lay 60,000-120,000 eggs in batches of a few thousand at a time. Shore birds eat many of the eggs before they hatch.
The blood of horseshoe crabs is blue, because instead of hemoglobin to carry oxygen, they use hemocyanin, which contains Copper. Their blood also contains amebocytes to defend against pathogens. This characteristic is why the blood of live horseshoe crabs is "harvested" to produce Limulus amebocyte lysate, which is used to detect bacterial endotoxins, in medical applications. So if you have ever received TPN (total parenteral nutrition), blood transfusions, etc., there is a good chance that your product was tested for safety, using blood from a horseshoe crab!! How cool is that!
This "niche" market is very important to the medical field, and points out the importance of not letting any of God's creatures go into extinction! This includes that ugly-looking horseshoe crab! The story of the horseshoe crab is a good visual aid to help me remember my FBC First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verse from Ecclesiastes 3:11, that says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." If God has made everything beautiful in its time, that includes me and the horseshoe crab, so that gives me "MILES OF SMILES"! Tricia
I had a request from Nurse Betty (the Kayaking Clinic participant who assisted Instructor Julie in the "boat over" drill) to enlarge ( aka, "magnify") the series of photos I took that showed the steps in the rescue. I had to compress the boat over rescue photos in the original blog, because my blog format limits how many photos I can put in any given post publication. So I am adding these magnified photos, in accordance with the Bible verse in Psalms 34:3 that says, "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together."
Remember that you can find out about the numerous kayaking opportunities around our state, by visiting 
I hope these magnified photos will give you "Miles of Magnified Smiles"! Tricia