It was a frosty and cold morning but a big yellow sunrise quickly melted the ice and warmed our hearts. After a somewhat relaxing morning, it felt good to push off shore and feel the tug of the current.

We paddled slowly for the first hour feeling no real need to â??make milesâ??. It was nice to have my friend John Krueger paddling along side. John is a teacher and coach in Mequon and one of his classes is an outdoor skills course. He is also a sixth generation Wisconsinite / Ozaukee County-ite and his knowledge of the roads, buildings, and more along our route was encyclopedic. I joked throughout the day that he should create a narrated â??river tourâ?? for people to listen to while paddling.

An hour later, I accidentally missed my pocket with my phone and it cartwheeled into the river. We spent another hour trying to find it but to know avail. It was frustrating (and stupid) for sure but a phone is just a â??thingâ?? and I didnâ??t want to stress out on such a beautiful day.

Eventually, we reached the Grafton dam and portaged around. I had never been past this point on the river. A short while later we stopped to scout the Chair Factory rapids - a class 3 drop. In a whitewater boat these would have been a piece of cake, but in our longer keeled sea kayaks, the quick turns were problematic. Still, I could feel the pull of excitement; and while we probably should have portaged, we decided to run them.

It wasnâ??t pretty. And John lost his paddle then recovered it. I did a fairly nice pinwheel in the middle then launched firmly on top of a rock, but we made it through, and Iâ??m not going to lie, it was a lot of fun.

Here, the Milwaukee River flows through the â??Grafton Dellsâ?? a picturesque area with 10-20 foot limestone bluffs lined with cedar trees. Coming around one corner, we saw a huge buck (eight pointer) just sitting along side the river. We came within 10 feet of it. It was one of the more incredible sights Iâ??ve ever seen. A deer just relaxing on the riverâ??s edge watching us pass. A few turns later, three more deer waded across the river ahead of us. Then, at the exact same spot the deer funneled into the woods, a great blue heron landed, then followed them in. It was like Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom. Throughout the day, we saw kingfishers, herons, an egret, pileated wood pecker and even a cormorant. It was all amazing.

And most of it was within a few hundred feet of a building, road or other mark of human habitation.

We paddled toward Thiensville into a bright setting sun. John helped me portage around the falls then he packed up and headed home. We would meet a couple miles down river (where I would camp) so he could run me into town (to get a new phone - because a carp is now texting all its friends with mine).

As I paddled away, I looked behind and a perfectly circular moon rose up over the dam. I had put my camera away earlier so I just gaped in awe. It was a beautiful sight. I weaved in and around strainers and sweepers and darkness settled over and great horned owls hooted above.

It was an incredible day!

For those of you interested in giving the gift of adventure to today's youth, please support my effort to raise $5000 for Riveredge Nature Center's summer camps. Donate here and check out the great 'thank you' swag as well. You will also be entered into the raffle for the Old Town Kayak I am paddling.

https://www.classy.org/campaign/wisconsathon/c204957