On evening dog walks, Chelsie and Matt Vawter’s two sons, Linden, 10, and Liam, 8, like to duck behind trees and pretend they’re wild children living in the woods.
It’s an easy game to play growing up in Harrison Bay State Park, where Matt works as the park ranger and Chelsie homeschools the boys – though many of their lessons occur outside of their waterfront home, among the 1,200 acres of surrounding forest and beyond.
The Vawters are always planning an adventure – their most recent: to sail the length of the Tennessee River.
Since 2019, the family has been section-sailing the 600-plus mile river in their 18-foot Hobie Mirage tandem kayak, equipped with an easy-to-operate mainsail. To date, they’ve sailed a total of 137 miles or 21% of the river.
Because they bring the boys, Chelsie and Matt are more conservative when it comes to mileage and weather conditions, so progress can be slow. “But,” Chelsie says, “we asked if they wanted to try to do it with us, and they said ‘yes.'”