Clear Waters Outfitting Company Blog

River Clean Up: May 21!

2011-05-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

We’re grateful to own a business just feet from one of Minnesota’s best assets – the Mississippi River. And we always make it a point to respect and preserve this natural treasure which is why we want you to join us for a cleanup day!

Not only will you be helping to keep this area of the river clean and beautiful but - as long as you take a garbage bag and help fill it - we’ll give you 50% off shuttles and equipment rental.

Plans are also underway for a “lunch ferry”, special guests and history lesson so bring the whole family, enjoy a day on the water and help take care of one of our most precious gifts!

Reserve your spot TODAY: call, email or fill out our online form!

A New State Water Trail ?

2011-02-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hey there CWOC fans,
Are you up for creating more quality paddling in Central MN? Well....our friends on the Elk River are taking on a very noble cause. They have some great momentum going in an effort to make the above stretch of the Elk River into a designated state water trail. However, they need more help in getting it done. We have a composed letter that you could sign and send off to our local legislatures before this legislative session ends. Just send us an email and we can send you the letters. Then all you need do is fill in your name at the bottom, print out, sign and put in the mail. If you have any questions, contact Tiffany Determan at the Sherburne SWCD (763-241-1170 ext 3). She is a main reason why this effort is gaining momentum.

Thanks for all your support and pass on the word!

Dan & the CWOC crew

New year, new ambitions!

2011-01-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hi CWOC friends!

With every new year, comes new ambitions, hopes and goals... We're hard at work planning new and exciting things for our most dedicated friends, neighbors and customers. We're looking forward to continuing to offer the BEST service and HIGHEST quality equipment in central Minnesota.

As we prepare for a great second season, we invite you to keep in touch! We're always active on Facebook, adding gear to our online store and sending out monthly e-newsletters.

We look forward to seeing you soon! Until then, we'll be hoping for an early ice-out on the Mississippi, staying warm at the Creamery and catching up on some fun video like this one (we have no idea what they're saying but doesn't that look like wicked fun?!).

All the Best,
Dan & the CWOC Crew

Grand Opening!

2010-08-05T17:10:00.001-07:00

The grand opening of our retail store is now set for August 21 & 22. (Yes, it's the same weekend as the infamous Clearwater rodeo. Come for the canoes... stay for the clowns, right?!)

All the details for the weekend can be found on our website at www.cwoutfitting.com/grandopening.

With expert demonstrations, vendor booths, weekend-only deals, food and live music it's sure to be a good time. Hope you can join us!

July Update

2010-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

We wanted to get a quick update out to let you know our paddle trips on the “Wild & Scenic” Mississippi River have been going great!

The trips are very nice and great for all abilities whether a first timer or seasoned veteran. All of the groups that have gone out so far this year have had wonderful reviews and are promising to come back for more. Now is the time to come check it out if you have not done so already. We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

Oh & stay tuned... we just painted the floors and walls in the newly-remodeled Creamery building (our soon-to-be retail store). The electricity and plumbing has all been redone and the sod has been beautifully laid outside. Our GRAND OPENING is getting close and we're getting excited to announce the date and details soon.

Keep up to date on our progress and plans on Facebook or here on our blog!

VIPs, Store Hours & Website...

2010-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from a group we had a week and a half ago. It was not the best weather that day but they still went out!

They're all wood strip canoe enthusiasts. The group included the well known Bob O’Hara (www.canoeing.com/advanced/feature/bobohara.htm), Tim and Sandra Eaton who own www.canoeing.com, (a wonderful canoe resource - also did the feature story on Bob) and Alex Comb, owner and builder of Stewart River Canoes (www.stewartriver.com).

It was fun and an honor to have them that day. They had a lot of great things to say about what we have going on! :)

As far as the construction goes... Well, it goes. Slowly but surely. We've had a few setbacks and have delayed the grand opening until July. However, we do have regular hours now so please stop by and take a gander at everything!

Mon–Thurs: 10am to 6pm
Fri: 10am to 8pm
Sat: 8am to 8pm
Sun: 8am to 6pm

If you need directions just visit our website: www.clearwatersoutfittingco.com/contact.html. Speaking of website... we're working on a cool, new one which will launch in the next couple of weeks. It will feature a better listing of the boats we have in stock - which is the most popular page on our current website.

Stay tuned for more details on everything and thanks for your continued support of central Minnesota's only canoe and kayak retailer ON the Mississippi!!

Construction Continues!

2010-05-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, despite the wind and threatening clouds we tore off about half of the roof from the Creamery building today. Pretty exciting stuff! Now a construction company will come in and rebuild that side of the roof. Earlier this week we poured cement in what will be the bathroom and side entry, on the other side of the building. Everything's framed up on that side, ready to put up walls in order to divide up the rooms.

The outfitting/storage building is coming along nicely. There are tons of boats in there so now it's just a matter of organizing all of them as well as all of the other outfitting gear including paddles, packs, lifejackets, vehicle carrying systems, portage yokes, CWOC logo gear, maps, the list goes on and on... we're getting TONS of calls which is awesome.

~~What's more exciting is that we've set a date for the grand opening! Mark your calendars for June 19 & 20. It'll be a weekend full of fun stuff - activities, giveaways, demos and the like.~~ Just kidding! There has been some unexpected delays and so we're postponing our grand opening until later in the summer. Be sure to watch the website, this blog and facebook for the dates and details!

Here's a couple pics and video from today's work on the roof:

(don't worry - the walls stayed in tact!) :)

One Happy Camper!

2010-04-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago we received this unsolicited testimony from one of our customers...

Dear Clear Waters Outfitting Co.,

I recently purchased a green coat for my husband. It arrived quickly! My husband was so delighted with the jacket that he put it on over his Green Bay Packer jammies and posed for the attached picture. He is one happy camper ! Thank you so much for this great jacket….he just loves it.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Happy Camper

Note: you can find those great looking fleece jackets on our online store (http://store.clearwatersoutfittingco.com). Happy shopping all you happy campers out there! :)

Spring is here!

2010-03-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Down on the banks of the Mississippi where the ice blocks jump from bank to banky...

Canoecopia 2010!

2010-03-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our inaugural visit to Canoecopia was awesome! There were nearly 250 vendors, tons of speakers and lots of amazing information. We talked with lots of suppliers whose products we hope to be carrying in our store soon. They were very excited to hear about Clear Waters Outfitting and all eager to be a part of what we have to offer. We talked to reps from Kokatat, Yakima, MSR, MTI, Chota, Keen, Astral Buoyancy, Seattle Sports, Cache Lake Foods, Spring Creek, Scotty, Werner, and others. Now we just need to sort through them all, decide on the ones that fit, and start building relationships with them!

There were lots of well known and great speakers from the paddle sport industry although there were 8 different speakers each hour so we did not get to see as many as we would have liked. Oh well... I guess there's always next year!

And thanks Rutabaga staffers for hosting another successful event!

Here's well known angler-philosopher Jimbo Meador talking shop with a event-goer.

Mike Cichanowski (founder of Wenonah Canoes) along with myself, Sandra & Dana Henry (from Wenonah as well).

Here we are at the Duluth Pack booth!

Waiting for a sign?

2010-03-07T22:02:00.001-08:00

We've been ramping up our marketing efforts with a few "signs" around the area. On our van...

On our new building... (especially visible if you're on the bridge, coming from Clear Lake into Clearwater).

Before the Clearwater exit as you're going west on I-94...

And the best one... (discovered along with lots of other philosophical and encouraging words of wisdom scrawled on the walls and doors of the creamery building!)

More progress... more pictures!

2010-02-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Things are moving along with our retail store... we'll be finalizing a date for the grand opening (probably in early May) so check back soon!

This weeks update

2010-02-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we have our first publicity in the area. Check out the article that was done in the local paper. You can see some neat pictures and get some info on the following link.

http://westsherburnetribune.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=15156&SectionID=13&SubSectonID=54&S=1

I was pretty happy with the article except the slight misprint. The trips we will be offering are not 2 and 4 mile, they are targeted to be about 2 or 4 hours. Always good to get free publicity:)

On the construction side, the new building is framed up (see picture) and should be enclosed in the next week. The renovation of the old creamery is moving along slow but sure as we are having to repair more of the structure than we anticipated. Hopefully we will be able to make up some time along the way as we are still shooting to be open to the public in May. Can you imagine this building full of canoes and kayaks standing up in rows?

Our planning for the paddle season is going hot and heavy. We are starting to put together some group packages and look at many marketing ideas to bring this beautiful stretch of the Mississippi to as many people as we can. Spread the word :)

This weeks update

2010-01-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I had intentions of updating the blog weekly but have been falling behind on that...sorry. Things are pretty busy right now. Not only are we starting on all the renovations but also busy lining up new products and services for the big grand opening this spring.

We finally got the building permits in line and demo work started (See the sledge work picture). If anyone is in need of letting out some frustrations, let me know. We are finding some old creamery things in the walls and rooms that we hope to have on display in the store. We are also starting construction of our canoe and kayak pole shed this week. It will eventually be full of some of the best deals in the Midwest for canoes and kayaks. You will be able to browse through them and inspect them in side, then when you see one you like, you can take it for a test paddle right out the front door (See the front door view picture). That bridge you see in the picture is the Hwy 24 bridge between Clearwater and Clear Lake.

We are excited to now be the exclusive dealer in Central MN for Osagian canoes and trailers. These top quality aluminum canoes and steel trailers fit right in with our goal to supply high quality and outstanding service for all you outdoor enthusiasts. We are also getting close to landing many other products and services along with some cool apparel. Well, time to go for now but keep checking back to the website for new products, services, and updates :)

This Weeks update 12/20

2009-12-20T20:43:00.001-08:00

Sorry I missed an update for you last week but the construction and renovation in Clearwater is creeping along slower than expected due to permits and dealing with the municipalities. We have started some projects on the old Creamery building but have mostly been getting things stagged and ready to hit it hard once we get all the OK's. See the picture of the old Creamery building before we purchased it.

Look for our new billboard on westbound I-94 just before the Clearwater exit and our kiosk display in the St. Cloud Crossroads mall. We wanted to get them up to let you all know we have some great gifts available on line. By the time you read this it may be too late for Christmas gifts but then again, gifts are good to get any time.....even if they are for yourself :)

This Week's Update 12/6

2009-12-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the construction has begun as we started digging and tearing apart all sorts of things this last week. We are going to be doing a lot of the renovating ourselves so it will take a good 5 months to get things in presentable shape. Then we will probably continue more renovating and updating for a couple years. I will try to remember and take pictures of the progress and post them for you to see.

Despite all the construction work and planning, we are still going to be adding new products and suppliers weekly so keep checking the web site for new and exciting things. We are trying to stay balanced between the construction, adding new products, and all the other things needed to get this business off the ground and have an awesome grand opening for you this next spring.

Another thing on the drawing board is a spring weekend event to showcase suppliers and products, bring in speakers, have special activities, and offer outstanding deals. We are hoping for a fun filled Spring to kick off our first year.

It's official!

2009-11-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Last week we signed the paperwork and are the official owners of property on the Mississippi River in Clearwater, MN. We are overwhelmed and really excited, all at once!

We definitely have our work cut out for us as we prepare to renovate the original Clearwater Creamery. This ideal location will be the future home of our new retail store and outfitting facility. Keep checking back for updates and details on the grand opening in the spring of 2010!!