I finally got out Saturday for a couple of hours to really break in my new canoe.  I took two of my kids and put in on the south edge of Fargo.  We paddled a little over two hours and my wife picked us up at Gooseberry Park in Moorhead.  We covered about 6 miles all together.  We had to portage around a dam.  Unfortunately, I picked the MN side.  After pulling out, I saw that the ND side had a wooden platform to allow you to get out without battling the knees deep mud.  On the down stream side, we had to walk about 1/3 mile to get back to the water.  When we put back in I sunk well over knee deep in the thick topsoil mud along the bank.  After helping my daughter, son and dog into the canoe, I almost couldn't get free from the bank!  When I finally got out, I managed to get into the canoe without tipping.  I sat with one leg over each side and rinsed as much of the mud off my legs as possible before getting them back in the canoe.
 Along the way, we saw several deer, a wild turkey, ducks and geese beyond counting and a couple of turtles.  We also saw teenagers having a paintball game, tons of floating branches and grass clippings that homeowners had dumped in the river, golfers, and mansions.  I haven't paddled on river's much, but it was still fun to get out on the water.