This has been an adventurous summer for La Grange’s Lynn Benz, her family (including her five kids) and friends. A self-proclaimed outdoors person, Benz rides the bike trails every day.

While riding through the Salt Creek path to the zoo, she mused, “It would be fun to go out on the water here.” She thought of kayaking, but the cost of a kayak was more than she wanted to spend.

Benz mentioned the idea to her dad, Bill Adams, also a person who loves the outdoors and he said, “I’ll give you that old inflatable fishing boat — you can take it out.”

Ellen Clayton, fellow biker and seawoman dubbed her new adventure “The Salt of the Earth Tours.” Benz began slowly, hoisting the inflatable atop her car and putting it in Salt Creek at Brainard Avenue. The maiden voyage included Benz and her friend Anne Herman, also of La Grange. They journeyed to Graue Mill, where they were met by a “support SUV” driven by a family member.

Since then, Benz has been out three more times, taking different routes. When Clayton and Benz’s daughter Molly, 16, went out with Benz, they again launched from Brainard and went west of Maple Avenue through the forest.

“The trip takes about three hours — it’s amazing how much slower than on a bike we go, but it is really fantastic.”

So far, three of the five Benz children have gone along with their mother: Matt, age 11, Claire,14, and Molly. The college-age kids, Emily and Joe, have not yet made the plunge with their mother.
Clayton’s commentary on the adventure: “It’s like we were a million miles away.”

Yes, it is a little buggy. There are dragonflies and lots of spiders. The creek however is relatively clean, though there is a muddy bottom.

“So far, I have only gotten my feet wet,” Benz said.

Though she does love the outdoors and the water, she does not particularly want to get her head wet in the Salt Creek.

The boat is a Sevylor Fish Hunter that holds six people. At first, the paddles were a little cumbersome, so Benz invested in a really good kayak paddle.

“Now it is much easier to paddle down the creek,” she said.

The boat is big and bulky, so the car has to be parked close to the end of the day’s journey. There is always someone to pick up the tour group at the other end.

When her parents were visiting from Starved Rock, Benz invited her dad (age 80) out for a tour. On this trip, Matt joined the duo. They launched the craft west of Maple Avenue and paddled to the boat launch at First and Ogden avenues in Lyons.

“It was an awesome trip. It had just rained, so the water was high and the current was really fast,” Benz said. That trip took only two-and-a-half hours rather than the customary three hours.
Benz and group have seen only one other group of boaters while they were out. They have, however, seen a lot of wildlife, including muskrats, beavers, and in shallower water, big bucks walking right across the creek. There are even blue herons in their midst.

“On our last trip, there was a blue heron that was about 25 yards in front of us. Each time we would go around a bend that beautiful bird was there and would fly off. It was like the bird was watching us that day. We saw him at every turn.”

As Benz says, “When we are out on the water, we could be anywhere. How can we live this close to the city and have all of this? What a great place to live.”

Want to learn more about paddling in our rivers and streams? A great resource is the book “Paddling Illinois: 64 Great Trips by Canoe and Kayak” by Mike Svob. Maybe he will add inflatable boats to his title.