#canoecopia

Like everyone else, I was crushed to learn that Canoecopia 2020 was cancelled. I don’t follow professional or college sports very much, so my first indication that things were going very wrong came last Thursday afternoon when Kevin Callan ( the “Happy Camper” ) posted on Facebook that the Canadian college where he has a part-time job had issued a policy basically barring him from traveling outside of Canada. Not too long after Kevin’s post, other folks started posting that they had made the tough decision to not attend Canoecopia.

I felt sad when I read these reports, but I completely understood the concerns and reasoning behind the decisions. At that point I hadn’t really considered how many people attending Canoecopia could potentially be personally effected by the Corona virus. Several people who had to cancel are otherwise healthy individuals, but they have medical issues which compromise or weaken their immune system and make them more vulnerable. Then there is the fact that the demographics of the Canoecopia attendees trends towards an older population. These decisions were tough, but there is little doubt that protecting your health is more important that attending this event.

Shaken by these cancellations, I checked with my sister Melody and her husband Ric to see what their thoughts were on our plans to attend Canoecopia. We discussed the risks. We all felt fortunate that the virus poses little threat to our own personal health. Our concerns were for the people in our lives that we might put at risk if we were to be exposed to the virus. We discussed our strategies to limit our exposure and limit the chance of us spreading it to anyone else. Ultimately, we decided to carry on with our plans to attend Canoecopia. Little did we know, but those plans would never come to fruition.

Canoecopia 2020 was cancelled. I haven’t had a chance to speak with Darren Bush or ask about the details of exactly how the decision was made, but shortly after the cancellations started pouring in, an announcement was posted on the Canoecopia web site that the event had been cancelled. Darren made a short post on Facebook saying that this was the toughest decision of his lifetime. I can not even imagine the heartbreak that Darren and the entire Canoecopia team must have experienced at that time. Canoecopia is their biggest weekend of the year. It’s the event that they plan for and work on for months in advance. My heart goes out to the entire Canoecopia Team, the Rutabaga staff, the speakers, the exhibitors, the volunteers, and other support staff.

As soon as I heard the news I phoned my sister so she could cancel our hotel reservations. Thankfully, she was able to cancel our reservations. My next call was to Josh Berndtson ( Jay Kangler ) so that he could do the same. Unfortunately, the reservation Josh and Erica had were non-refundable, so they decided to go spend the weekend in Madison. I quickly made the decision to drive up to Madison on Saturday morning to meet Josh and Erica.

It turns out that Jonathan Van Buskirk is going to school in Madison and his father Darrel had planned to go to Canoecopia with him, so there was also an opportunity to meet them as well.

The Rutabaga Store.

Alliant Energy Center.

Empty parking lot.

As I got into Madison around 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning, I decided to swing by the Rutabaga store. I didn’t really know why, but I just felt the need to go there. Upon arrival I could see that there was a flurry of activity in the store. There was a big cargo truck parked near the front door and the parking lot was about half full with vehicles. It was pretty apparent that the store wasn’t open for business, but I still got out of my car and approached the front door to read the sign posted there. The sign was just saying that Canoecopia had been canceled and that the store would open as soon as they could get everything put back together. I could see people in the store working, but they obviously were not open for business and I didn’t want to bother them, so I headed back to my car.

As I got back into my car and prepared to leave, Dan Bowers, Rutabaga’s store manager came out the store front door and waved to me. When I got back out of my car he said that he noticed my Illinois license plates and figured I had come to Madison for Canoecopia. He was just wondering how he could help me and we talked for a few minutes. I expressed how bad I felt for everyone effected by all of the cancellations and how it would effect Rutabaga. Dan said that he appreciated my concern. He reassured me that the Rutabaga team has a plan and will recover from this situation. He told me that they have received an outpouring of love through phone calls and messages from customers who want to continue doing business at Rutabaga. He said that really helped their moral. Dan said that they plan to extend the 15% Canoecopia discount on their entire inventory, in the store or web site, through the end of the month. So, if you had planned to make a purchase at Canoecopia, as I did, you can still get the Canoecopia discount price. I was sure glad to hear that because I am on a tight budget. Dan said that they were working to get the store put back together ASAP, but it will probably be March 20th before the store is open again. If you need something before that you can always call them or go to their web site. The web site is Rutabagashop.com and the phone number is 608-223-9300.

I didn’t really know why I wanted to stop at the Rutabaga store, but by the time I finished chatting with Dan Bowers, I felt a lot better about the whole situation and what was happening. We will get through this … together. That’s the great thing about a strong community. We’re all there for each other. I think it’s kind of strange sometimes the way things work out. Rutabaga had their biggest event of the cancelled at the last minute, and yet they consoled me. I can’t say enough good things about the Rutabaga staff.

In case you are wondering, I will not receive anything for mentioning the Rutabaga store in this blog and I will not make any money if you buy something from the Rutabaga store. They have just given me unparalleled service over the last three decades and work their butts off to treat their customers right, so I am a loyal supporter.

As I was leaving the Rutabaga store, I noticed that I had a text from Josh on my phone. I called him and arranged to meet at his hotel. I also got to meet Josh’s wife, Erica. We went to the hotel lounge area and had a nice visit. It was kind of surreal meeting Josh because I have watched about 60 hours or so of his YouTube videos on our television at home. I tease Josh that he is kind of a celebrity to me and my family because we have watched him on the television so much.

I have only met a few people that I have seen on T.V.. It always seems a little bit strange to me at first. It doesn’t seem real. Josh is just a regular, down to earth guy, and exactly the way he seems in his videos. That’s one of the things I like about Josh’s videos. They are about as real as it gets. He doesn’t hide anything. He just gives it to you straight and honest.

By this time it was almost noon. Josh and Erica had been planning to visit the Zoo or a museum in Madison, but everything was closed because of the corona virus. They had been talking with the staff at the Sheraton were they were staying, trying to figure out what there was to do in Madison that weekend. As it turned out, the hotel agreed to refund one night’s reservation, so Josh and Erica were heading home after lunch.

Josh and Erica contacted Darrel and Jonathan and it was decided that we would meet at Monty’s Blue Plate Diner for lunch. After a short drive around downtown I found the cute little diner tucked into a narrow, pie shaped, corner lot in this quaint college town neighborhood. The service and food was top notch.

The company and conversation was absolutely awesome. It was mesmerizing to listen to Josh, Darrel, and. Jonathan relive their time on the river. I asked a few questions and told a few stories of my own, but mostly I just tried to soak up as much information as I could. I guess we talked for about two hours, but it seemed like much less to me. I could have sat and visited all afternoon. Unfortunately, everyone had things to do and all too soon lunch was over and it was time to go.

I probably annoyed everyone with my stories and questions, but I did manage to keep my mouth shut long enough to learn a few things and pick up some good tips. Thanks Josh, Erica, Darrel, and Jonathan. I really appreciate your patience, helpfulness, and supportiveness.

Even though Canoecopia 2020 didn’t turn out the way any of us wanted it to, the opportunity to venture up to Madison, meet some other paddlers, and know that things aren’t quite as bad as they seemed, made me feel a little better about the situation.

This is just a random photo from my drive back home. It’s just too good not to share.

Stay safe, stay calm, and wash your hands.

“Sitting is the leading cause of death.” – Dr. Richard E. Silberman

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