hi, i'm scott siepker.and i'm amanda mullen. welcome to the latest editionof iowa outdoors. on this episodeof iowa outdoors, we go deepwith lloyd cunningham, whose passion is photographingwhat lies below the surface of lake okoboji. we go to charles citywhere they've created a new whitewater racewaydesigned to draw a mix of people who find their funon top of the water.
chef jon benedict will show youhow to impress your friends and thrill the kidsby preparing pizza on the grill. and we have the latest newsfrom the eagles nest in decorah, iowa. we'll have all thatand more... >> so sit tight... iowa outdoorsis about to begin. >> funding for iowa outdoorswas provided through a reap conservationeducation program grant.
up to $350,000 are availableannually to support educational projectsabout iowa's natural resources. information is availableat www.iowadnr.gov; the gilchrist foundation,founded by jocelyn gilchrist, furthering the philanthropicinterest of the gilchrist family in wildlife and conservation, medical careand social services, the arts andpublic broadcasting, and disaster relief.
>> many of iowa's naturalwonders you'll find on iptv can be found iniowa outdoors magazine, the iowa dnr's premiere resourcefor conservation, education, and recreation activities. subscription information can befound online at iowadnr.gov. we're here athoney creek resort located in southern iowa'sappanoose county. iowa's first state park resortopened in 2008. >> covering 825 acres,honey creek resort is located
on the northern shore of iowa'ssecond largest body of water, rathbun lake. >> the 11,000-acre lakeis the signature draw here. rathbun was createddecades ago for flood control when the armycorp of engineers plugged the flowat the chariton river. >> the water management projectwas big enough to draw president richard nixon asthe keynote speaker in 1971. >> man-made damsare the cornerstone
for many iowa lakes. for years iowa'stowns and cities utilized different toolsto modify and slow the flow of iowa's streams and rivers. >> in charles city,one community has built what they hope will bea waterway to prosperity by turning the cedar river intoiowa's first whitewater project. >> who would have thoughtsomething like this could ever happen in iowa?
>> this isa world-class feature. i've boated a number of placesaround the country, and i've played ina number of places. i've played insome actual play features like in salida in colorado. this is by far and away -- i don't want to diminishthe quality of that park, but this park is equallyevery bit as good. it's fantastic.
>> iowa's first whitewatercourse is now fully operational. kayakers from acrossthe state and midwest are flocking to charles cityand the hydraulic features specially designed forfast-paced paddling. >> but the project wasn'twithout its challenges. a low-flow damhad to be changed to make a safer passagefor kayakers. planning and construction costsled charles city to invest one million dollars inthe downtown whitewater project.
community leaders wereapproached by paddlers like steve welliverand ty graham, who dreamed ofan iowa whitewater course for much of the past decade. the river's low-flow damin charles city, similar to those utilizedacross the state, are known as death traps for anyone caught inthe churning waters. engineers sought to removea top section of the dam,
creating a water feature thatwas safe but still challenging. >> no other place like thisfor about 800 miles from here. this is theonly thing like this. we've played atold broken down dams, which is what yougotta do in iowa, but this is great to havesomeplace safe to come play. >> when paddlers presentedthe whitewater course to charles cityofficials in 2006, the project very quicklygained steam.
>> we were readyto get going on it, but then the flood hit, so the state pulled the moneyfor that for flood recovery. >> the floods of 2008raised the cedar river to historic levels, devastating communities and potentially doomingthe whitewater park project. but charles cityredoubled its efforts. construction crewsspent the majority of
the winter and spring assemblingnot only the water flow but the water front as well. all of these large rocksthat line the new course had to be brought inby heavy equipment. >> the people of charles cityhope the cedar river project will bring inlots of visitors, but the green spacesalong the bank are just as important. >> plans were designed to drawnot only the seasoned kayakers
but casual park goers as well. green spacesup and down the riverfront provide a scenic view of actionon the water and an open invitation to enjoya sometimes forgotten asset. when the park opened in 2011, kayakers from near and fardiscovered a variety of options. three major water featuresline the whitewater course. ranging from beginnerto advanced, each feature providesa new spin on the cedar river.
entering the whitewater courseat its upstream point, you'll first encounterdam drop, or double d. once the site ofthe charles city low-flow dam, its now a safe churnof the cedar river. >> my favorite is probablythe dam drop, the top one. it's just really easy. you can sit up there and surffor what feels like half an hour at a time. it's notbut it feels like it.
i can do anything up there. i learned how toloop up there. i learned how toflat spin up there, which is turning your boatall the way around. >> next up is doc's drop, a water feature that has alreadydeveloped a serious reputation. >> the middle oneis named after me. my nickname is doc. it's kind of a monsterat most levels.
>> clearly the middle feature,doc's drop, the really major rodeo hole, really requiresyour undivided attention. when i go and paddle out there,i know i need to be on my game. it's exceedingly powerful. >> the third and final dropis exit exam and draws plenty of paddlersto the downstream section. >> exit exam down here,a lot of fun. part of the beauty ofthis feature --
these three featuresis that at different levels it presents differentopportunities. so it would be hard to pin downwhich one is my favorite. on a different dayat different levels, any one of them could clearly get my attentionand keep it easily. >> if you're looking fora calmer path with less turbulence, each water featurehas a safety chute,
so a first-timer can bypassthe expert section. >> this course isn'tjust for kayakers. hundreds of tubers glide throughwhitewater park every week. young adults and familiescan find local businesses nearby that have begun renting tubes. the water is even safe enoughfor a pair of tv hosts. in the back of your head, even though you knowyou're totally safe out here, there's so many people
and you're wearingthe proper equipment, in the back of your mind,you're thinking, well, this is natureand it's pretty powerful. >> it's a fun shockerto your system at first, because the first timeyou go through, you get flipped over. but the second time,it's a lot of fun. >> on a sunny day in mid-july,the cedar river flow rate is 2,500 cubic feet per second,or cfs.
different rates generatedramatic changes in the water features. >> today is a testament ofthe raw nature of heavy rains fromsouthern minnesota just days ago created a rush ofwater downstream. >> the water flow was500 cubic feet per second 48 hours ago. today it's at9,000 cubic feet per second, making the course unsafeuntil the flow rate drops.
in only a matter of days those water levels drop backinto a safe zone, leaving the course openfor adventure seekers from across the country. >> they had somebodyhere from oregon. i know there have been peoplehere from nebraska and kansas, minnesota, wisconsin. people are hearing about this and realizingwhat a great place it is.
it's great to beout with other boaters. >> once you get peopleexcited about it, you can take care ofyour river, you can get something like thisgoing for your community, it brings economic impact. people come stay in town,eat at the restaurants. that's what we dowhen we come up here. >> the charles city main streetis just a stones throw away from the cedar river.
>> experts predict that visitorsto the nearby water project will spend anywhere from $45-$75each day in charles city. that could be a greateconomic boost to any iowa town. with iowa's firstwhitewater project operational, could there be morein our future? die-hard paddlers concede it takes tremendouscommunity effort and financial backing, and we're intough economic times.
>> have a visionand get it done. charles city,when they first heard it, they thought it wasthe best idea ever. they pursued it and didn't let the naysayersdeter them one bit. >> the decorah eagle's nestis still one of the most popular streaming videos online. in late june peopleall over the world watched as three young eagletsspread their wings
and left their nestfor the first time. with their ultimatedestination unknown, raptor specialist bob anderson set out to safely captureone of the young eaglets and fit it witha satellite transmitter. but to do that,it takes a team of experts and a lot of patience. iowa outdoors was thereto capture all the action. in late july bob anderson turnedoff the live-streaming video
that allowed the worldto witness a pair of eagles nurse three eggsinto healthy eaglets. the website was visitedmore than 205 million times as viewers watchedthe raptors mature and finally leavethe nest on june 16. but nest cam fansand even bob anderson, a raptor specialist,did not know the eventual destinationof these young eaglets. >> everybody asks what happenedto the babies from last year.
that's a question i've heard since we've been filmingat this nest, and we can't answer it. so by puttinga satellite transmitter on one of the babiesthis year, we'll be able to follow itfor years and years. we'll be able to getgps coordinates, and we'll find outwhere these babies roam until they reach adulthood
and eventually establishtheir own nest site. >> to achieve his goal offitting one of the eaglets with a gps transmitter, anderson began leaving fish outfor the trio of young eagles. according to anderson, all three were practicallyeating right out of his hand, but on july 11 when he attemptedto trap one of the birds, they became apprehensiveand wary of the bait. >> we thought for sure
we'd catch one withinthe first few minutes, so it was obvious it wasmaybe the strings, the traps, maybe the extra people, but something changedso we had to change options. >> the following dayanderson returned with a second trapknown as a pandam. the pandam, which works bysnaring the foot of the bird, was easier to hide, making it less conspicuousthan the bow net.
by mid-day, however,the eagles were still not showing much interest inthe fish being used as bait. just as anderson was aboutto call it a day, two of the young eaglesswooped in for a closer look. >> i was kind of convinced we'dmissed our window of opportunity because all of last week i had them almosteating out of my hand. yesterday and today theyweren't even looking for food. they didn't seemto be hungry at all.
it was a huge reliefoff my shoulder when i was able to grabthat leg of that bird because i knew once i gotahold of that leg, i knew we were home free. i knew we were going to geta transmitter on it, so i immediatelybecame elated. perfect. perfect. congratulations, bob. >> once captured the eaglewas identified as a female
and tagged withan identification band before the satellitetransmitter was fitted. feathers will eventuallyhide the custom harness, made of teflon ribbon. the transmitter, capable of tracking the eagleanywhere in the world, is solar poweredand weighs 55 grams. since 1998 brent mandernackhas fitted 17 eagles with gps satellite transmitters.
all of those eagles, however, nested in canadaand migrated south. >> this is a little differentthan what i've been doing. these are birdsthat are born and raised here, so it will bereally interesting to see what kind ofmovements they show. where these young of the year goin that first year, we don't really know. >> the longest functioningeagle transmitter
lasted seven years, and the transmitterdoes not hinder the bird in flightwhatsoever. while it will providean opportunity for everyone to track one ofthe decorah eagles now that it's left the nest,it will also provide unprecedented scientific datafor ornithologists. >> the parents don't migrate.they stay here year round. but do the babies migrate?we don't know.
we're going toanswer that question. we're going to learna little science here, and we're excited about that. >> the high-tech eagleis now referred to as d-1 for decorah first satellite. you can keep track of d-1by going to raptorresource.org. first click on what's new, then on where is d-1. the main lobbyhere at honey creek
stands as the culmination ofa multidecade's dream. as early as the 1960s,state officials sought to construct a state park resortin order to draw visitors from inside and outsideiowa's borders. the honey creek's journeyfrom concept to completion was decades in the making. when planners envisionediowa's first state-park resort, a main lodgewas the focal point. more than just a hotel,this lodge serves as
the cornerstone ofa recreation destination. the preserve, a 7,000-yard layoutdesigned by a midwestern firm, combines golfand natural landscapes, providing rolling vistasof prairie grasses and the estuariesof lake rathbun. the preservedraws golf enthusiasts from expert to casual. in addition toa sprawling golf course,
visitors can grab some sunand waves at the beach below honey creek resort. visitors can sign upfor kayak lessons and venture out onthe lake rathbun water trail. if it's too hot outside,the lodge is a great place to cool off, kick back, and maybe get caught up on thenewest edition of iowa outdoor. >> summer is best spent outsidearound the grill. if you love the taste of foodcooked over an open flame
but you're ina burger or brat rut, chef jon benedict has asuggestion that's easy to cook. and your friends and familyjust might be impressed. >> the big trend today inrestaurants is wood-fired pizzas or grilled-styled pizzas. today i'm going to show youhow to take a pizza right from your grill at homeor while you're out camping and make it forthe whole family. what i have here issome premade pizza doughs
i was able tobuy at the store. i've oiled them up witha little bit of olive oil. i'm going to push it witha fork in some spots to keep big bubblesfrom happening when we grill it. i'm going to precookthis dough on the grill for maybe two minutes a sideto get them cooked and going. then we'll pull them offand top them. a couple minutes a side. our pizza dough has been cookingfor a couple minutes now.
we don't have to worry too much;we oiled them up. they should flip right over. they should notfall through the grill or stick to the grill gratesmuch at all. they're looking really good. got some nice grill marksgoing on with them. i'm going to take them off andset them on my cutting board. we're going to top themwith all the ingredients. we're going to make twodifferent pizzas today.
we're going to makea margarita pizza. i like to put extra pestoto start my margarita pizza out and some fresh iowa tomatoes,fresh mozzarella cheese. we're going to put downsome fresh basil that i got out ofthe garden this morning. we're also going to makea barbecue chicken pizza. start with a little bit ofthe barbecue sauce. put it over the pizza crust we've already grilled offslightly on one side.
put down somepieces of grilled chicken, a little bit of sweet corn, and some roasted red peppers. you can put any ingredientsyou want on it, any sauce you want to start withor any cheese you want to use. you want to use cheese that'sgot a nice melting part to it and something that willsmooth out as it melts and give you a nice flavor. i do like to put a littleextra cheddar on it
just to give it that colorand that barbecue kind of feel. once my pizza is ready to go,i'm going to use a spatula. i'm going to set itright on my nice hot grill. it will probably take five tosix minutes to cook this pizza. while that pizza is going, i'm going to show youhow to make a margarita pizza. i'm going to start with a littlebit of this basil pesto. i'm going to spread that outon our premade crust. you can use any crustor any dough you like.
the premade crusts at the storeare really ideal for backpacking because there's no prepand they're really easy to use. we've got some really niceiowa fresh tomatoes, fresh basil that i picked rightfrom the garden this morning. this really makes this pizzanice and fresh tasting. we're going to leave themin whole leaves and spread them out. this pizza gets topped withour fresh mozzarella, and it's readyto go on our grill.
one good thing aboutmaking grilled pizzas at home is it gets everybody outsideand doing something on the grill more than justhamburgers and hot dogs. if you're having a party, everybody can bring overtheir own favorite ingredients and make their ownfavorite pizzas. hannah, that's a greatlooking pizza. now that everybodyhas made their pizza, i'll go ahead andput it right on the grill,
and about five or six minuteslater it will be cooked. cooking pizzas on the grillat home is easy to do. be very carefulwhen you're doing it that you don'tburn your crust. watch your temperatureand you'll succeed in cooking some great wood-firedoven pizzas at home. >> recreation on iowa's lakescontributes millions of dollars to local economies every year. but have you ever wonderedwhat lies beneath the surface
of iowa's great lakes? that curiosity ledlloyd cunningham, a photographer,to don his scuba gear and explore the underwatertreasures of lake okoboji. >> i have a real passionfor underwater photography, and i have a real love ofthe iowa great lakes and west lake okoboji. i've dived in theclear water springs in florida. i've dived in the keys,the caribbean,
and even inthe baja peninsula, but this is myfavorite place to dive. >> weeks beforea summertime rush of visitors flood the cool watersof west lake okoboji, lloyd cunninghamis already here. donning a wet suit withscuba gear in hand, lloyd prepares for an icy dipin 40-degree water. >> i didn't gainany weight this winter. it just got softer.
it's a challenge. this is not recreational divingto dive in 40-degree water. dives are generally short. i typically dive in this coldwater not more than once a day and a dive of not more thanabout 35 minutes because you will chillall the way to the core. >> this excursion ismuch more than recreation. it's a trip back in time. from a 1940s ice truckto hundred-year-old structures,
cunningham opens an underwatergateway for the rest of us. >> the bottom of the lakeis a time capsule, in my view,of collectibles, of interesting parts ofthe lake's history and past. that's the major drawof the lake for me. every dive in west lake okobojiis a treasure hunt. lloyd, a retirednewspaper photographer for the argus leaderin sioux falls, spent his weekdaysdocumenting fires, accidents,
and friday night football. he spent his free time hereat west lake okoboji. much to the surprise ofmany long-time iowans, this glacial water bodyis a hidden scubadiving gem. >> the lake is134-138 feet deep, depending on where you actuallydrop your depth finder. that depth lends itselfto clear water. anything that fallsinto the lake -- sediments, silts, and sandsyou'd see in midwest lakes --
all settles throughthat top layer of water down to the bottom, leaving the topvery, very clear. >> okoboji was formedby the wisconsin glacier more than 100,000 years ago. one of only three blue waterlakes in the entire world, visibility can extend 40 feetduring peak periods. however, that windowis only briefly open. the spring days of mid maypresent the best opportunity
to catch a glimpse ofthe lake bottom. we journeyed alongside lloydfrom the water's edge to a structurebrimming with fish. >> there's a towerin the bottom of the lake. this was a water intakebuilt by the city of milford in about 1917. the tower is roughly15 feet tall. it's a crib full of stoneat the bottom, and holds uprightan 8-inch iron pipe.
it was built on the ice and then lowered to the bottomin 30 feet of water. that tower provideddrinking water and fire protection waterfor the town of milford until about 1945. it's been replaced byother intakes now, but it's still a havenfor panfish and a hunting groundfor walleye and pike. >> lloyd has clockedmore than 350 dives in okoboji.
while his first-hand accountskeep him coming back, it's his underwater photographythat has captivated residents and tourists alike. >> it was amazing to me the first time i was onthe bottom of this lake, i recognized that i couldactually make pictures here. making a goodunderwater photograph is a balance of workingwith the water, working with the light,
working with thevisibility that you have and taking all thoseinto account as you approach the diveand make a photograph. >> one of his signature photosis a 1940's era ice truck resting for more thanfifty years below the surface. but it requires expertnavigation to find. motoring out tothe center of west lake, lloyd found his spotin a matter of minutes. >> on the bottom ofwest lake okoboji
is something calledthe ice truck. in 1948 it slipped off the iceand sank into 22 feet of water in the middle of smith's bay. when i began diving in 1992, i'd heard thatthe truck was out there, but i could not find anybodywho had actually seen it, and most divers had assumedit had rusted away. it has becomethe most popular dive site on west lake okoboji now.
>> much of the floating matterin these images was stirred up by our divers. the swirling sediment can createa dark and hazy image. it's just one of the reasonsunderwater photography requires skill and patience. >> good diving practices areyou always dive with a buddy. but when you arediving in waters with a bottomas soft as this bottom, it can easily bestirred up by random --
or a clumsy kick of a fin. you'll lose the visibilityyou're after when you're trying to make goodquality underwater images. so in that casei mostly dive alone. >> the ice truck,underwater shipwrecks, fish sanctuaries,these are images that have captivated lloydduring his dives. but so havethe stories behind them. lloyd says his photographs
have drawn the attentionof local historians, always curious if he has comeacross a relic from decades ago. >> they'll have seen a boat sinkfrom their lakeside cabin, and they want to knowif i know the details, or they'll ask me what i've seenat the bottom of the lake. it seems to generatea lot of discussion about what's down there, and i guess that's allpart of the fun. sometimes i discover thingsthat i didn't know were there.
every dive in west lake okobojiis a treasure hunt because you never know what kindof an artifact you make recover when you divein this beautiful lake. >> that wraps up this editionof iowa outdoors. we hope you've enjoyed thejourney from honey creek resort to charles city, decorah,okoboji, and back again. >> if you want to revisitany of our stories or link familyand friends to them, go to our website atiptv.org/iowaoutdoors.
>> and after youvisit us online, maybe you'll finda reason to visit one of iowa's manyoutdoors destinations. captions by:midwest captioningdes moines, iowa
0 Komentar untuk "winter activities"