The Creek comes into our pasture about .7 of a mile above the bridge on the State Line. However, that’s the straight-line distance; it’s more than twice that far along the meandering channel. Those measurements are taken from the air photos available from the County. There have been several generations of many families who have operated as the “Navy” on Kanranzi Creek. And, they’ve used a wide variety of “vessels” but it’s all been fun!

Over the Fourth of July holiday this year one of our neighbors, a family of four, went canoeing on the Kanaranzi. It’s actually a family of five, but the oldest girl is in her own home with her new baby. So, these are actually new grandparents and an uncle and aunt! The grandmom probably floated the Creek as a kid, at least we know that she spent time down there.

A few years ago, the boys from another neighborhood family floated the Creek in inner tubes like this one, but theirs had air in it. They usually made the trip when the water level was high and the ride was fast. These days, the water level is low so you might have to get out and carry your craft and leave footprints in the mud. Also, there are now a lot of trees that have fallen from the eroded banks, so maybe you have to get out and carry your craft around a fallen tree in the channel.

Going back forty years, our own kids floated in the Creek on a rubber raft that their grandpa got for them. So, this is still another type of “vessel” in the “Navy”. This is also the sand bar where one of them was “attacked” by a monster (snapping turtle) from the deep. Going back even farther in time, brother Bob and I built rafts out of tree limbs, fence posts, and scrap lumber, but none of those rafts floated very well!

Back before boats were made of rubber or fiberglass, Bob and I got an old wooden rowboat from one of Dad’s uncles. We were thrilled because it worked better than our homemade rafts. However, the following spring the flood washed it away and sank it. Years later, erosion exposed the boat and then another flood buried it again. One of my grandkids helped me dig in a sand bar looking for it, but we had no luck. There’s also supposed to be buried treasure along Kanaranzi Creek, but that story will have to wait for another post.