NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/683373
JUNE 2016 • NEBRASKAland 39 ever known. "I think woman like us create new definitions for what being a woman is. We pave paths for other women and we do it together and not with caddy chick bull[crud]. Well, maybe a little, but we learn and get over it, sometimes better and quicker than many men I know," Jamie said. Perhaps we enjoy kayaking so much because it reminds us of what we should strive to be. Being on the water inspires us and allows us to recalibrate, to reset our inner compass and rejuvenate our purpose. Being on the water is a rebirth of sorts, and it keeps us young and kicking. O Do rivers grow old? They do, in a temporal sense. The Missouri River, according to some sources, is roughly 35 million years old, but it continues to cut and shape the landscape that holds it, constantly adapting despite the obstacles that may be in its way – despite human efforts to tame it. Always moving forward and always reinventing itself, we can learn valuable lessons from the lives of rivers. Our group of kayakers include women from ages 20 to 60, and though – metaphorically – we each paddle at different paces and at different points in the river, we are all going to the same place, and hopefully we all leave with the same conclusion: that it was a fun, wild and fulfilling ride. "There's a special independence with being on the water for sure that was the main allure when I was younger," said Cassidy Gerdes, now 29 and looking back on her days on the water since her first canoe ride with mom, dad, brother and dog. " You prescribe your own challenges and you've got all the room in the world to make your own mistakes and figure out how to recover from them. It's always an adventure, and for me that's always been a draw. "But nowadays, it's more-so that floating is my medicine. The destination is known but moot. All pressure's off, you just get to let go for a while, and watch where it takes you. And most of the time – in a metaphoric sense – it takes me home." Marilyn Tabor's first kayaking experience happened at age 46. Now 60, she has this to say, "I absolutely do not understand how some or most women age. I think that is why most women age the way they do, because they think they are getting older – men, too. Well maybe I've watched one too many people die before I wanted them to and have watched way too many people quit living before I wanted them to. For god's sake, never ever do something or don't do something because of how old you are – only do things because you want to and mostly because it will be fun." Jamie Bachmann, at age 38, said, "I love having you ladies as role models, especially as I start tipping toward the end of an older woman rather than a younger woman. I have to search and pay attention and be grateful and humbled by the very few women that don't grow old and live by some sense of what women are supposed to be and do and look like and love." As for me, young and restless at 26, being on the river helps me to maintain perspective. I often have to remind myself to quit being so hasty – to go with the flow. It's important to take stock in how far you've come, but equally valuable to appreciate how far you still have to go. The river reminds me to slow down and pay attention. I look forward to seeing the stretches of river that the others are paddling, but I'm going to revel in where I am first. ■ o man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and not the same man." – Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher, Born 535 BC. "N Bekah Jessen jumps off a dock while taking a break from kayaking the Missouri River.