Even though the weather was overcast and windy, it was a fantastic evening to kayak on the river. We hardly had any boat traffic, which made the session calmer.

As a new group, we're trying to figure out what does the power paddle group do? Essentially, what's our identity?

As a group, I think we're starting to come together around the concept of setting a goal/target destination (e.g. the falls) for the session, paddling to that destination at a "work" pace (more than a leisurely pace), and once the goal is met, then checking in as a group to pick our next adventure (that could be setting a new goal destination (e.g. parliament) or deciding to explore some of the coves and side streams and checking out the amazing urban/nature environment near us.

So tonight, @Josie @Katlijn Versavel @Stephanie and i decided our goal was to get to the falls. Once we got there, and everyone was feeling good, we chose to cross the river to the Gatineau side (because there were no boats and karen had mentored us on how to cross safely) and we explored the ruisseau de la brasserie. We ended up seeing a ton of wildlife: muskrats, geese, ducks, herons, and deer. We even saw a baby deer playing with some geese (the geese didn't look too impressed). @Stephanie had a beaver leap out of the water right in front of her kayak. Overall, we ended up doing over 9km and we got to see some amazing wildlife moments.

If this is something that interests you, hopefully you'll consider joining us on a Monday night power paddle!