So what if there is only about 2 feet of water in Sand Creek?

My buddy Justin Fenger and I showed our determination for relaxation yesterday, and in the process, we learned a little about the creek that runs through Jordan.

As I write a little about what I learned about Sand Creek, please take into account that I knew pretty much nothing about it when we set out for our voyage. 

Sand Creek is rockier, shallower, and windier than I imagined. And it's even more beautiful than the small sections we regularly see from the roads.

It took us from 1:15 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. to ride and walk the creek from near the intersection of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and County Road 8 in Helena Township to Lagoon Park in Jordan.

We had three inner tubes, including one for our cooler. The cooler contained: six Cokes; two sub sandwiches; Fritos; Cracker Jack; a map; my car keys; Under Armor, which I wore after the bugs came out; bug spray, which we didn't use; suntan lotion, which we used right after we set out; one bottle of water; and a bag for trash.

The terrain changed from woods to golf course to a long stretch of sandstone just before the falls. We passed under about a dozen bridges, including the golf course pathways and railroad bridges.

One section of the river was 5 feet deep, but much of it was 2 feet deep or shallower.

At least three hours of the eight-hour journey were spent winding around Ridges at Sand Creek golf course. (Yes, we rescued a few golf balls.) This was the only place at which we saw people. 

It was quiet most of the ride. Lots of tweetering birds. Just the wilderness and us. 

In the rocky stretches of the creek -- which I'm told are great for kayaking in the springtime or after a torrential rainstorm -- Justin and I had to pull ourselves over or around wet, sharp, weedy rocks. There were many places where, if we stayed in our tubes rather than walking around the rocks, we'd be rewarded by a short run on a small rapids. One of them was fondly nicknamed Nelly's Rapids, according to the spray painted words on a railroad bridge. The rapids were enough thrill to keep us going, pushing forward as clouds came in, we lost track of time, and the sun lowered in the sky.

Early in the afternoon, the shallowness of the waters unearthed some interesting finds: a Louisville Slugger baseball bat; long-lost golf balls, one of which was mashed so hard that you could see its purple core; an ancient milk jug, corroded by the river and mostly buried in mud; and a couple of railroad spikes.

I found the sandbars and rocky beaches along the woodsy section of the creek to be staggeringly beautiful at times. And we stopped on one to eat our foot-long Subway sandwiches.

The creek slowly rolled us toward our goal. We rode at about 1 mph, if that, bringing a new meaning to the term lazy river.

Justin was looking for a place to jump into the creek, but the water had to be deep enough. We found a rock outcropping and each took a couple of jumps from about 3 feet above the water into about 4 feet of water.  It was old-time fun, indeed.

"Some people grow up," Justin said at one point.

"Not us," I replied.

We laughed. It was a carefree ride down the creek. 

Near the end of our adventure, we passed the Cedar Ridge Arabians farm and contemplated climbing out of the small valley to Sawmill Road. Instead, we decided to ride the sandstone -- apparently one continuous stone -- the rest of the way to Lagoon Park. That was a good decision. 

High bluffs of sandstone towered over us as we neared the park, and low-lying spots reached out to the middle of the creek. The water started moving a little faster, maybe 2 mph.

Fish were jumping. We saw four of them.

Justin pointed out what might have been a 15-inch trout just below the water, and later, we chased crayfish for a bit.

We climbed up a creek bank near Highway 21, took a short walk down a path that once was the dangerous Sawmill Road intersection, and towed our cooler and tubes into the park. My car was there, and I dropped Justin off in Helena Township, where he'd parked his truck.

Justin was late for work. I took a Coke for the road, drank a glass of water and ate pizza at home, and went to bed.