Podcast Summary:
Adventure, laughter, and teamwork filled the day as 18 students who are blind or low vision joined State Services for the Blind and Wilderness Inquiry for a canoe trip on the Mississippi River. For many, it was their first time on the water, but with guidance, encouragement, and life-long memories being made, students and parents alike built confidence and new friendships. Alongside paddling, they shared stories, spotted eagles, and even braved a downpour together—proof that nothing could dampen their spirits.
This canoe trip is just one of many activities SSB offers. From camping and snowshoeing to peer meetups, picnics, and cooking classes, these events help students grow independence, build connections, and explore the outdoors in safe and exciting ways. Parents gain peace of mind knowing their children are supported while discovering new skills and friendships. Opportunities like this show students they can live, work, and succeed while embracing adventure.
To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.
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Full Transcript:
[Sounds of geese honking]
Jeff Thompson:
State Services for the Blind of Minnesota, SSB, offers students opportunities to explore and engage in activities, events and opportunities to meet others sharing the same concerns and interests from canoeing adventures,
Speaker 2:
Let’s power paddle forward all together. Let’s countdown together. All on 3. 1, 2, 3.
Jeff Thompson:
camping excursions.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we did like a campfire with like marshmallows yesterday
Jeff Thompson:
Open Chat meetups
Speaker 4:
Before class starts, the number one thing I want to do with new teachers is build rapport because it’s a tool that you can utilize later and it will definitely help you in the long run.
Jeff Thompson:
Snow shoeing
Speaker 5:
They kind of feel like shoes except there’s, wow what are all these squares and rectangles on them? Are those to help it on the snow?
Speaker 6:
Yeah, that’s right, traction so you don’t slip and slide on the ice. So they get more…
Jeff Thompson:
Picnic gatherings, round table discussions with peers and much much more. You can find all these events and opportunities on the SSB website and be sure to check out and subscribe to the Spectacle newsletter and stay up to date with all the upcoming events. And check out the numerous podcast episodes on the news for teams page.
[Sounds of geese honking]
Jeff Thompson:
In September, 18 students learned about canoeing and went on to the Mississippi River north of the Twin Cities for an hour and a half paddle adventure. The canoes were provided by Wilderness Inquiry.
Speaker 7:
The Wilderness Inquiry is a non-profit organization and basically our mission is to get people outside. All kinds of people, all kinds of outside, just to connect with ourselves and each other and beautiful beings like Mama Missy, the Mississippi that will be going down today, yeah. We are very excited to be with y’all and be paddling today with y’all.
Jeff Thompson:
And their team captained the three canoes teaching, encouraging and giving all the students and parents the confidence to adventure out onto the great Mississippi River.
Speaker 7:
We’re going to get these life jackets on. And then once you have it on and both zipped and then there’s a little hidden clip that I miss sometimes at the bottom.
Okay, we’re going to go through some paddles. We’re going to talk about three different paddles we’re doing today.
So first of all, the way you hold your paddle, hold it up with one hand and with the next hand just give the T at the top a high five and then wrap one thumb under. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect.
So let me see some forward paddles. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Pushing the water behind us. Let me see some backwards paddles. Yes, we’re going backwards. Break. Skrrt. Beautiful.
Jeff Thompson:
Teamwork was developed and the calm water was an inviting invitation into great conversations as students from across the metro area gained new friendships and companions.
Speaker 9:
Corn and chili. I feel like chili needs to have corn in it.
Speaker 10:
Never too much soup.
Speaker 11:
I’m not a huge soup fan.
Speaker 10:
I don’t like the really creamy ones, but
Speaker 11:
I’m the opposite. I don’t like the thin ones.
Speaker 10:
I do not like the yogurt texture.
Speaker 11:
I can handle yogurt and pudding but
Speaker 10:
It’s cool how everybody like just has that one.
Speaker 11:
Personally, I think it kind of depends. Like sometimes there’s too much tapioca in pudding.
Speaker 10:
Who’s disrupting my pudding texture?
Speaker 11:
That’s crazy.
Speaker 10:
I just like, I don’t know, that really lowers my mood for the day if I have a lump in my pudding.
Jeff Thompson:
Yep, you can’t write this stuff.
Speaker 11:
And then my phone is rate 80.
Speaker 9:
I think my phone is also 80.
Speaker 11:
I have a friend whose speech is literally, it just sounds like a rapid fire. [rapid fire sound] I’m like, what is this? How do you understand what it’s saying?
Jeff Thompson:
With three large canoes gliding through the water, each team, each canoe, settled in for their own unique journey.
Group:
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight.
Speaker 12:
Yeah, I think we won.
Speaker 13:
Yeah. We definitely won. Oh yeah. They’re behind us.
Jeff Thompson:
Eagles were spotted.
Speaker 14:
They’re waving at us to the left. Oh, look an eagle, there’s an eagle up to our left. It’s big, big wings.
Speaker 16:
Like a bald one?
Speaker 14:
Yeah, a bald eagle. It’s going over the trees.
Jeff Thompson:
The sounds of nature were taken in.
[sound of water lapping against the shore, geese honking]
Jeff Thompson:
And then the weather took center stage. With clouds rolling in, the paddling sped up to try to outrun the oncoming rain.
Speaker 7:
I’m seeing this cloud up to our left. It’s like these big dark clouds.
Let’s get, lets get some power paddles forward all together. Countdown to three. Three, two, one.
Speaker 7:
One, two, three, four, five, six, I’ll stop yelling, keep paddling, thank you.
[sounds of paddles in the water, gently knocking against the canoe]
Speaker 15:
The rain is coming.
Speaker 16:
Thankfully I have my watch set for waterlock so I should be okay.
Speaker 15:
Rain runners.
Speaker 16:
Oh, it’s really coming down now. Yep.
Jeff Thompson:
Even though we all got soaked, the spirit stayed high and everyone, I mean everyone, worked together to complete the journey. The team from Wilderness Inquiry were awesome and parents and shuttles were waiting at the Carl W. Kroening Nature Center, located just north of the Twin Cities, right on the Mississippi River. Drenched in rain, the students laughed and chatted all the way up the hiking path. And although the rain kept coming, the students didn’t let a little water upset the moment.
Speaker 17:
We’re going this way
Speaker 4:
There’s a little bit of leaves and you might feel some branches.
Speaker 18:
Whoa, this is, this is coming hard.
Speaker 19:
I would be so soaked if we were on the river right now.
Speaker 20:
You’re soaked anyway.
Speaker 19:
Yeah, same.
Speaker 4:
Let’s get inside. Let’s get inside. You’re good. You’re good.
Jeff Thompson:
This canoe trip was just one of the events that students had an opportunity to register for. Last month, a camping adventure and another canoe trip was taken as well, down the St. Croix River. There was a picnic meetup event, an online chat call amongst peers, and a cooking class was actually held at the new facilities at State Services for the Blind.
So much going on. And of course, we can’t forget the snowshoeing adventure that was held right here in Minneapolis at the Fort Snelling State Park. Be sure to contact your counselor and find out more, or call Shane DeSantis at 651-385-5205, or send an email to Shane at Shane.DeSantis@state.mn.us. He’d love to hear from you.
Speaker 3:
Wilderness Inquiry is a nonprofit organization based out of Bloomington, Minnesota. And it’s our mission to get everybody outdoors, regardless of their age, background, ability, identity, all that. We just want everybody outside, come as you are, we’ll get you in a canoe. This one in particular is on the Mississippi River on the north section of it, north of the Twin Cities. So it’s a nice calm area and it’s really beautiful and it’s fun to see the city from an interesting perspective that we normally don’t get to see.
All summer long, even throughout the fall and the spring, and even in the winter we do some stuff as well. So we have things here in Minnesota, we have things around the country, even internationally. There’s some stuff in Patagonia, there’s some in Glacier, I think New Zealand, all sorts of different things. So all over the place. Something for everybody, get them outside wherever.
Wilderness inquiry dot org. On the web, yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
Be sure to contact your State Services for the Blind, your Voc Rehab, and find out what they can do for you. Live, work, read, succeed.
For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com. And if you want to leave some feedback, give us some suggestions, give us a call at 612 367 6093. We’d love to hear from you.
I want to thank you for listening and until next time, bye bye.
[Music] [Transition noise] –
When we share-
What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities