“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” ~Winnie the Pooh
Every once in a while, there needs to be a water day of a different variety…one that involves no wake, no engine, no 70 MPH assault on the big drink. One that involves trees and nature, birds and freshwater fish and occasional reptiles. One that involves miles of tranquil low speed voyage through wilderness under the welcoming shade of stately oaks covered in Spanish moss. A weekend of lazy canoeing, camping, and fossil hunting was in order.
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| A sea of bright yellow wildflowers welcome you to the
river bank.
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I first discovered the magic of paddling the Peace River in central FL about 4 years ago. The amazing folks over at Canoe Outpost in Arcadia, FL run a first-class operation. They offer day trips, overnight trips of up to 3 days, and you can rent everything from just the canoe and paddles, to every last piece of camping equipment. They offer a unique variety of services to accommodate customers that forget supplies/run out of ice/want to have latecomers dropped off at various locations along the route. You can even have all of your bulky camping gear dropped off at a pre-designated riverside campsite, so you do not have to paddle a gear-laden canoe and it will be waiting for you at your destination after a long afternoon of river travel. God bless them, they will even do grocery and liquor store runs for canoers that have Beverage Emergencies! They are also experts in river fossil hunting, and will loan out (for free) shovels and sifters and offer enthusiastic advice to hunters. I shamelessly plug this outstanding small business, because they have been nothing but exemplary each time I have procured their services.
After a delightfully nostalgic 20 minute ride upriver in a revived 1980s school bus, Canoe Outpost staff deposited us and our canoe and our cooler full of adult beverages right at the water’s edge in the tiny town of Gardner. Ahead of us lay 12 miles and 2 days of mellow river travel and multiple opportunities to dig the shallow waters for the region’s famed sharks’ teeth fossils. During the winter time, it is Florida’s dry season, and river water levels are quite low in places…low enough that it is guaranteed that we would be periodically getting out and hauling the canoe over wide, inches-deep sandbars. Another fantastic reason why having camping gear delivery made our day (and our backs) much happier!
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| The typical calm waters that give Peace River its namesake. |
Setting out, we were greeted to a waterway so calm, it looked more like a narrow summer lake than a river (Florida elevation change is so subtle that rivers do not flow in a fury of rapids as they do in most other places). Towering oaks and cypress trees draped in Spanish moss line the banks, as do sabal palms and palmetto bushes. Many places along the shoreline are steep escarpments of sugar white sand, similar to what you would expect to see on a Florida gulf beach, yet 50 miles from the nearest coastline. The morning sunshine and light breezes made the day nothing short of euphoric.
The graveled portions of river bottom contain known deposits of fossils. Besides shark’s teeth, there is a plethora of relics from other creatures , both land and water based, to be found such as horse teeth, turtle shell pieces, ancient fish jaw bones, rib bones, even portions of armadillo shell. But the prize that every fossil hunter on Peace River covets is the elusive Megalodon tooth. These long-extinct giant sharks used to swim the waters of what is today Peace River millions of years ago. They were believed to have been 50 – 60’ long. Their fossilized teeth can be up to 4 or 5 inches long and nearly as wide as your hand!
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| Sifting for fossils in the shallow riverbed. We hauled in over 200 in 2 days! |
There are other joys on the river. Leaning back and drifting on the lethargic current, we sipped rum as we watched beautiful blue-grey wading birds stroll the shoreline. There are also turtles and small alligators basking in the sun on rocks and partially submerged logs. But let us not forget the human component. Peace River is a popular destination for group outings large and small. This ideal weather weekend yielded no shortage of herds of canoe groups. Some were quiet, but others you could hear approaching with the subtlety of a demolition derby. Numerous bands of happy drunken novice canoeists went by as we dug for fossils, ramming into river debris and crashing into rocks to the harmonic scrape of rented aluminum canoe bottoms hitting abrasive surfaces. But soon they pass, and only the sounds of nature and our rapidly emptying flasks rolling around in the bottom of the canoe could be heard once again.
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| A drunken multi-canoe collision at a bottleneck in the river! |
Camping along the river about halfway through the run was superb; we had a site reserved in a grove of oaks about 10 feet above the river. After a tiring day of excavating and paddling under the full sun, unwinding next to a campfire under the stars on a pleasantly cool evening as the marinated churrasco steaks sizzled away on the grill could only be compared to whatever heaven must be. And despite an air mattress that decided to slowly release air throughout the night, leaving my back supported only by bare ground by morning, I slept better than any night in the city in my own (non-deflated) bed.
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| Canoes pulled ashore by a riverside camp site. |
The second day on the river was every bit as enjoyable as the first. As we began to approach the dock back in Arcadia, a small twinge of disappointment that the amazing journey was nearing an end crept in. But it did not spoil a thing. We felt refreshed and rejuventated by the experience (well except for the searing back pain from 2 days of paddling and digging heavy river sediment into a sifter). We were met at the dock by the same smiling and professional staff at Canoe Outpost. After unloading our personal effects from the canoe, a couple of young guys promptly hauled our weekend escape vessel out of the water and up the stairs to be washed and put away until another life-weary adventure seeker calls upon it to take them away.
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| River treasures acquired in the aftermath of the 10 canoe pileup. |
Sometimes a place works a certain kind of magic that indescribably improves your life. Peace River is one of those places. I am a salt water dogette at heart, but there is something about the change in scenery and pace that this river brings that has become critical to my well-being. I make a point to get on the river at least once a year. This trip was no exception. Though we did not hit the mother load and find any Megalodon teeth (this time!), we did haul in 140 sharks’ teeth and dozens of other fossil treasures! There are times when no wake is best. A lifestyle about the water does not discriminate between salt water and fresh, or fast versus slow. There is room for everything, and I believe you need a little of all of it.
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| Shark tooth fossil from Peace River. |
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