"Flood City: HFD Wasn't Prepared to Handle the Memorial Day Flood "

"The weary crew of Rescue Boat 42 motored through Meyerland’s flooded streets in silence. Two rescue workers from the Houston Fire Department sat at the front of the boat — they were working a 24-hour shift, and throughout the early morning hours had responded to call after call across Meyerland, Houston’s hardest hit neighborhood during the Memorial Day flood..."

"Goodbye to the River Man, mentor and friend, Don A. Greene"

"Goodbye to the River Man, mentor and friend, Don A. Greene (1948-2014): Saturday, we set out at dawn to cast Don's ashes on the waters of Buffalo Bayou at the spot he requested: where the springs in Memorial Park seep out of the Beaumont clay and puddle on the clay terraces..."

"In the Land of Sand and Surf"

"Just a couple hundred miles from the largest sand desert on Earth, one of the world’s longest and most unusual manmade rivers flows under the scorching desert sun. The Wadi Adventure whitewater park was conceived as part of a tourism vision for Dubai on the Persian Gulf coast. In 2012, when Wadi opened its doors to the public, 50,000 visitors enjoyed the plush white pillows and shaded lounge chairs of the VIP zone next to the artificial rivers. But mixed in with the tourists was a core group of canoeists and kayakers with a mind to train in the off-season..."

"Survive Anything on a Trip"

"How to survive bear attacks, lightning, leeches, and other nasty things that can happen to you on a trip..."

"Lost and Found - Understanding the inner workings of search and rescue "

"Up until the early 20th century, large rescue operations were highly unorganized and often ineffective. It wasn’t until the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 that the international community was galvanized to put a greater importance on safety at sea.  This was a fundamental turning point in maritime safety..."

"Woodstock on the Water: PaddleQuest, an Adventure Race for the Rest of Us"

"Even those who participate in PaddleQuest have a hard time trying to explain it. Officially, it's a canoe and kayak race. But it's also a narrative story experience, an improvisational community theater experiment and a treasure hunt. It's live-action role-playing, Woodstock on the water, an outdoor, all-day drunkfest, but you still have to keep your shit together – there's a maze of islands to navigate in the Backwaters, which is tough to do with a buzz, especially when you've got Bog Demons lurking around every turn..."

Safety Reminder

"Man found dead after canoeing accident"
"Duck hunter suffers self inflicted gunshot wound"
"Body found in Smith River"

"Buy Less, Paddle More"

"Work deadlines, family commitments, romantic distractions, dirty laundry, Zumba class. Our busy lives are already chock full of excuses that keep us from paddling. Gear shouldn’t be one of them. Lately, however, I’ve noticed a concerning trend: The very equipment that is supposed to help us get outside sometimes holds us back. In our quest to find the perfect gear to accompany the perfect trip, we lose spontaneity and flexibility, stretch our bank accounts and limit our opportunities for actually getting out on the water..."

"Sweet Dreams - Sleeping In Your Canoe"

"Most of my memories of summer camp so many years ago have blurred into a collection of snapshots. The exception to this is the nights we spent bedded down in the middle of the lake, one to a canoe, staring up into a star-filled night. We were anchored so as not to drift away in the night and rafted together around an old aluminum rowboat from which our counselor strummed the guitar. Another counselor tended the fire that crackled from within a large steel pail. Magical nights indeed. In the years since, I have, on occasion, slept out in my canoe, and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way..."

"What lies beneath: 127 cars in the bayous"

"On the morning of on July 9, before the sun hit its baking point, Amy Dinn met a crew of like-minded souls at McGregor Park in southeast Houston. They unloaded canoes and kayaks, carted them down the concrete bank, and headed off to scout a paddling trail the city's parks department was considering for Brays Bayou... This part of Brays has come to be known as a place mortal possessions are lost, forgotten or abandoned with impunity... the underwater landscape conjures a post-apocalyptic wasteland, filled with sinister relics of urban life..."