: On long trips and at speeds to 100mph...

Somehow I thought that we kayakers were supposed to be environmentalists of sorts, but I keep getting surprised. Last year at a symposium at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the south shore of L. Superior in Michigan, we saw a slide show of kayaking on the Great Lakes. One slide showed the pollution levels throughout the Great Lakes, shown in varying intensities by different colors. There was an audible gasp from the audience when this slide went up, kind of a "What a tragedy. Something should be done to stop that" gasp. Then I walked outside after the show and looked at the high proportion of 17mpg sport-utes that people had driven to the symposium...

On the other hand, at a symposium 3 weeks ago, the owners of Betsie Bay Kayaks showed up with 2 people, 3 kayaks, a display stand that held all 3 of those kayaks, an assortment of paddles and spray skirts, and their own luggage -- in a Chevy Celebrity station wagon that got much better mileage.

Dean