The Museum of Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska is very excited as they recently acquired a 36 foot long birch bark canoe which will become the centerpiece of its latest exhibit, "The Voyageurs" which opened on May 1.

The canoe is about 40 years old and was built with the same materials and methods as the boats used to haul trade goods across North America from the 1600s to about 1850 by the men known as voyageurs said Gail DeBuse Potter, the Chadron museum's director.

Palmer Fest is expanding. For the past four years the whitewater kayaking weekend in Palmers Rapids, Ontario has been extremely successful. For the first time, they are expanding and adding a sea kayak and canoe focused weekend which is shaping up to be a really cool and unique event.

Bryan Smith has just announced the tour dates for his latest sea kayaking film, Eastern Horizons. The official launch will be at Canoecopia in two weeks then he out on the road until the end of April promoting the film.

If you are planning on catching the film when it stops near you, Bryan is suggesting getting tickets early as many spots completely sold out when Western Horizons was released.

This weekend was the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show, the weekend when all the companies who offer anything related to the outdoor world comes together and hawks shows off their wares.

To be honest, I have never really enjoyed going but each year I make the pilgrimage to see what is new and to talk to a bunch of friends who I know running booths. This year was generally speaking, no exception. The same ho-hum booths quickly thrown together and filled with a smattering of products that they hope will appeal to the common man walking by.

The current economic climate seemed to have a major effect on who came and what size of booth they rented. Almost everybody scaled back considerably and there were several canoe manufactures missing who normally would be there.

This event is also different then other shows I go to as the emphasis on new boats is clearly canoes. Ontario is solidly canoe country it just makes sense. The gang from the Complete Paddler were there with their kayaks which was great to see. They are one of the few Valley dealers for Ontario and still waiting for some new products to come in later this spring.

There were a couple of bright spots that I thought was really interesting:

Have you ever wondered what a shark looks like on the inside but not willing to get eaten to see first hand?

If so, the Auckland Museum in New Zealand is holding a public necropsy this Thursday (January 8 11am-1pm) of a 3m long, 300kg Great White Shark to raise awareness of threats to the protected species.

Highlights of the tour will include stomach contents and measurement of internal organs.

Fisherman found the shark dead last week, tangled in a grill net and notifies the museum of their find.