Last Saturday's Kayak Demo Days, an annual event put on by Garfield-based Ozark Mountain Trading Company, put several kayakers on Lake Ann's shimmering waters.
Bruce Jenkins, part-owner of the company, said this was the busiest year he's seen. This is the first time he's run out of life vests and paddles, he said, and several people were waiting in line to try a boat.
"This thing blew up," he said.
Among those kayak samplers was Leanne Uchtman, who came down from Springfield, Mo. It was an easy choice, she said, because it's a pretty drive and she loves the area.
"We want to buy a new kayak and we're not sure what style," she said.
There aren't many opportunities to try a kayak before buying it, she said, and it's an expensive enough purchase that one wants to get it right the first time.
She lives near a lake, she said, and wanted something she could use for fishing in that lake as well as float trips in Missouri's waterways.
This was a good chance to talk with staff and try things, and the weather was great, she said -- though her balance wasn't quite perfect.
"They do flip over, my clothes are proof of that," Uchtman said.
General News on 06/05/2019