So, what does one do on a day off in central Iowa? I've been looking for kayak launch points along the river. 

It's a completely different ball game in the winter. I found several places where the roads
approach the river, and a snowy trail or frozen stream bed has a nice slippery path that will
allow me to get the boat right down to the water. 

At Yellow Banks park, which is about 15 miles south, the road down to the river is blocked off.  I walked down (about 1/3 mile) and back. The road is covered with snow, so it would be easy to pull the boat down there. There are bald eagles flying about, and no other people for miles. 

I also spent an hour or so cross country skiing on Easter Lake. The geese are still flying and
squawking. I saw lots of geese by the river, also. 

So, excellent adventures to be had. I hope all is well with you. Just a few more months of
winter, which is actually kind of sad. I've had a blast so far. 

January 25, 1998 

Well, lots of news. 

I did get downstream. The shallow areas are a stopping place for Canadian geese. Several
times I would come around a bend, and there would be a sound like a waterfall, then it seemed as though the whole river was rising up. There were literally thousands of geese in the air as I passed by. 

For 2+ hours, there were always bald eagles in sight. It was a magnificent trip. 

I unlocked my bike at the Rt. 46 bridge, locked up the boat (to a tree), and rode back to the van via the back roads around Easter Lake. One advantage of winter kayaking is that the snow makes the ground so slippery that one can get access to the river any place the road passes by. 
The Rt. 46 bridge is the first river access for miles, and it's a part of the river I had not traveled  before.