Neuse River Foundation

     Riverkeeper Journal: Prologue

Tour de Neuse: Day 1 (April 7th)
     West Point on the Eno/ Flat River to Eno River Boat Ram

When Larry Baldwin, the lower Neuse Riverkeeper and I decided to do Tour De Neuse we felt it was important to start at the head waters, where the Eno and Flat Rivers come together to form the Neuse River. We also wanted to feature those who are doing positive things to benefit the river throughout the trip. How appropriate but to start at West Point on the Eno River where the Eno River Association hosts it’s annual Eno River Festival and has worked for 40 years to acquire land along the Eno to help create a wonderful park system along the 33 mile length of the Eno River. (more...) 

Tour de Neuse: Day 2    
     Eno River Boat Ramp to Rolling View Recreational area on Falls Lake
We got started a little late today. When we dropped the trailer off at the Rolling View the weather was beautiful. My wife Kathy and my 19 month old daughter Krista assisted in shuttling us up to the Eno River Boat Ramp. As we packed our gear, Krista wandered out on to the Rolling View beach on Falls Lake to play in the sand as the sun glistened on the water. By the time we arrived up at the Eno, the sky was turning dark. It started to thunder and lightening as soon as we put in the water. A bass boat accelerated around the bend in an obvious hurry to reach the boat ramp before it rained. He quickly idled down to minimize his wake once he saw us. “How far ya headed?” He asked. “Two hundred and sixty miles down stream to Pamlico Sound” I replied. He looked perplexed, not knowing what to say. (more...) 

     Rolling View (Falls Lake) to Falls Dam
The rain had finally stopped, but we woke up to a cold, chilly morning. We had to pack up our gear before we got out on the water. We were trying to stall anyway, hoping it would warm up before paddling. It was a sunny day, but the wind was blowing pretty hard. Our put in at Rolling View was rather somber as we immediately faced a strong head wind. I had originally intended to stop by Rolling View Marina to visit owner and Neuse River Foundation member Amy Poole. Rolling View Marina is family business. Her family used to own the land around Big Lich Creek long before the Army Corps of Engineers built Falls Lake.  Amy, like Gerald Thacker, never considered herself an activist for clean water, but the Butner pollution trade prompted her fight for Falls Lake. (more...)

     Auburn Knightdale Road to Highway 42 Clayton
Today started not on the river, but in a library along the river at East Clayton Elementary School. More than 60 third grade students participated in Tour De Neuse. I gave a one hour environmental education presentation. I had been so busy with Tour De Neuse, I really did not have any type of presentation prepared like I would for adults. When I rolled out my only prop, a large map of the Neuse River Basin which would occupy their attention for about 30 seconds at best, I realized this might be a tough gig. (more...) 

By now the Tour had taken on a life of its own. I had been paddling for over a week, writing journals about our travels down the Neuse River almost every night—and still falling behind. I had not watched TV for over a week. I barely had time to read the paper. I was spending very little time with my family. It was Tour De Neuse 24/7. Today was no different, by the time we finished shuttling our vehicles down to Howell Woods Environmental Education Center (in southern Johnston County) and got back to the put-in, it was almost 3:00PM. We still had 15 miles to paddle. I was joined by Charles Wilson, a Baptist Minister, at the last minute. I met Charles on Day 1 of Tour De Neuse, which now seemed like months ago. He had mentioned he might try and join me further down the river. (more...)

Heavy rain made for a great sleep last night. By 3:00AM the rain stopped and by sunrise Howell Woods came alive. The 3000 acres that encompasse Howell Woods exploded with a symphony of owls, morning doves and thousands of birds making their presence known. It was a wonderful thing to wake up to, and it was the only sound I could hear. No cars or planes, just the sounds of nature on a sunny spring morning. I made a pot of coffee and began work to finish my journal before we got on the water. It was a relaxing and creative environment for writing. Thankfully, Charles slept in late which gave me time to work. (more...)

Alan Capps was waiting for us at the boat ramp when we arrived at 9:05 AM. We quickly unloaded our boats and headed down river with our local guide. Alan was familiar with this stretch of river having grown up in the area, but Larry or I had never been on this stretch of the Neuse. It was the only section, with the exception of the last 30 miles of the lower NeusePamlico Sound, I had never been on. Needless to say, we were excited that drains into Pamlico Sound. (more...)

Today was a scheduled non-paddle day. It was designed this way for two reasons. First, it was scheduled as such to allow for the end of the Tour de Neuse to be on a Saturday. And secondly, it allowed us the opportunity to spend some time in Goldsboro to get better acquainted with that town and develop relationships that would be helpful in working toward a healthier Neuse River. An appointment had been made weeks ago to take a tour of the Goldsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). (more...)

The Tour continued today after a day off the water. We returned to the Highway 117 Whitetail Landing Boat Ramp where the last leg ended. The public was invited to paddle with us on Tour de Neuse. Alan of Carolina Kayak Adventures joined us again to help us with shuttling. We really did not know if anyone would come out to take advantage of the free rentals. Having Alan along with us again for a second day was certainly a big help. Although Alan was only able to join us for the first half of the trip, it was still great to have him along. (more...)

Tour de Neuse: Day 16
     Rt. 70 Bridge to Rt. 55 (Oaks Bridge)
Today is an exciting day in Kinston. We are continuing our celebration of Earth Day which was on April 22nd by doing a tree planting at the Neuseway Nature Center. Prior to that, we enjoyed having a total of seventeen (17) canoes and kayaks join us to paddle from the Rt. 70 Bridge to the Nature Center…a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. On this day, I would be joined by Phil Hartman, Bill Olah and a new participant to our trip. Karen Mulcahy, who is the Green County GIS Manager, and also the founder and president of the Contentnea Creek Paddle Club in Snow hill. The four of us would do the paddle from the Nature center to Oaks Bridge. But before that, we had some celebrating to do in Kinston. (more...)

Tour de Neuse: Day 17
     Oaks Bridge to Grifton (Contentnea Creek)
Today’s continuation of the Tour de Neuse would be the first time that we ventured off of the Neuse River proper. The decision was made to include the town of Grifton in the trip by traveling up stream on the Contentnea Creek, as this tributary is the largest sub-watershed in the Neuse River system. (more...)

Today’s trip was scheduled to be a short 9 mile paddle because of some planned presentations in Grifton that morning. Two Science classes from Ayden-Grifton High School had planed to join us along the banks of Contentnea Creek to talk about the creek, the Neuse River and the Riverkeeper Program. But due to some conflicts, those meetings had been cancelled. So we had a relaxing morning before heading down river to Maple Cypress Landing. Joining the trip today would be Dave McCracken, another Neuse River Foundation Board member from New Bern. Bill Olah and Joanne Somerday would also continue the trip on this leg. It was a bit rainy and overcast as we started out around 10:00 am, and we dressed accordingly. We had some rain overnight, so it was wet and cool for the beginning of our paddle day. Joanne, Bill and I were looking forward to paddling down stream on the Contentnea, since our up stream paddling experience the day before had not given us much opportunity to enjoy the scenery. What we had been able to focus on had been rather breathtaking, so it was going to be a real treat to be able to spend some quality time on the Contentnea. And we were not disappointed. (more...)

Tour de Neuse: Day 19
     Maple Cypress Landing to Cowpen Landing
Last night was the first time we have slept in our own homes for eight days, and it felt good to be in a familiar bed again. However, it was still easy to get up the next morning with the anticipation of another day on the Neuse River. Today’s paddlers will include Bill Olah and, back again, was Dave McCracken. Only three of us on the river today, but an enthusiastic group all the same.  Once again, Mother Nature would supply some much needed rain during our paddle. It is still rather amazing that even a day on the river when it is raining is better than a dry day in the office. (more...)