When the temperature climbed to the low 80s the third weekend of April, we made a b-line for the Deschutes River. It was high time to launch the Santa Maria — the name we jokingly dubbed our Mad River Canoe — on her maiden voyage of the spring season.

Slipping the canoe into the chilly mountain runoff is always thrilling after a long winter, especially on a day like this. The river was humming with life — ducks, geese, kayakers, paddle boarders, a German Shepard swimming with a stick in the clutch of its mouth – and the Cascades, still blanketed in snow, stood in brilliant contrast to the sky.

Per our usual drill, Owen and I took our seats in the front. Mark took the seat in the back, where he acts as both motor and rudder, and we shoved off upstream toward a series of gentle rapids. With Owen the Lookout perched at the bow, I dipped my hand into the glassy water, mesmerized by its wake.

Canoeing has fast become the Goodman clan’s activity of choice. With a 3 year old, it’s hard to go on long, strenuous hikes (Owen will only stay in a pack for so long) or tear up the trails on mountain bikes. But canoeing, that’s easy. Throw a lunch and some sunscreen into Owen’s Deuter Junior Kids pack, strap the canoe atop the Subaru, and we’re off.

Being the canoe and kayak mecca that it is, Central Oregon offers an incredible variety of lakes and rivers to play in. If we don’t have time for a long outing, we can go on the river (a five-minute drive to our launch spot at the park) and paddle around for 45 minutes. If we want an all-day adventure, we can go to one of the many beautiful alpine lakes along the Cascades Lake Highway. In the summer, we can beach the canoe, splash around the water and then take off again — the perfect mix of busy for Owen.

On this particular day, we kept our trip short. With the late afternoon sun bearing down on us (after an already busy morning of yard work), we decided to float the current back to the beach and pack it in.

And for our travails, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to the frozen yogurt shop.

–Lisa Goodman (Family Ambassador)

Find adventure just beyond your backyard!

• Learn all about the Kids Junior Packs at Deuter.com
• Pick one up from REI
• Grab your own at Backcountry.com
• Buy one from Rock Creek