We started our 3-day, 12-mile trip down the Peace River in Arcadia, Florida on Wednesday.  Everything we needed for the journey had to be loaded into our canoes since we would be camping along the river.  In addition to our tent, sleeping bags, food and supplies, we had to fit 2 adults, 2 kids and a 90-pound Golden Retriever.




After paddling 4-miles the first day, we set up camp along the river, just upstream from the Brownsville bridge.




As soon as we got the tent up, it was time to get a fire going and start cooking.




Waterfront dinning has never been better!




Everyone was tired after a long day of paddling and setting up camp.
Time to potty in the woods and cozy up in our sleeping bags.




Thursday, we woke up to a beautiful morning.  Ginger was guarding our canoes.




Ian & Ginger and Amy-Grace loading up for another day of canoeing.





Amy-Grace & Ian searching for fossils and shark teeth in the river.  We found a handful, including some really good ones.  The kids had a blast as we paddled up and down the river, stopping several times along the way.





She never liked the water before but Ginger was right at home on the river.




Back at camp, it was time to relax.




Except for Ian and me who had to scour the hills for firewood for cooking, heat and light.




Most importantly, we needed a good fire to melt marshmallows.




Annette enjoying the night and especially the marshmallows.




Amy-Grace playing on the beach on our way back home.
We had to paddle 8-miles in a 15-MPH headwind to make it all the way back upriver to return our canoes by 5PM.
We started at 6AM to eat and pack-up camp and were on the river at 8:15AM.




It took 9 hours of HARD paddling to complete the last 8-miles and get back to our car.  While sad that the trip was over, we were relieved to have completed our 12-mile mission and were really looking forward to a shower and a real bed.




We had such a great time.
We hope to camp again at least twice per year and make it a ShappyFam tradition.