Lokahoma: 2025

Moraine Lake, Canada

Around 2000, I bought my first kayak from a big box store in Olathe, Kansas. I had to figure out how to load and unload it myself from my Isuzu Rodeo. For the first year I owned it, I didn't know a single other person in Oklahoma with a kayak. Before too long, I got a second kayak from Ocean Kayaks in Washington and had it shipped to Oklahoma. I didn't bother to order a paddle with it, because I knew that there were a couple of stores around town that sold kayaks, so I figured I could buy one locally. That turned out to be harder than expected. While these stores technically had a kayak for sale, they didn't actually have a paddle in stock to sell with it. I ended up with a $20 leaky paddle from WalMart.

Around this time, my brother had bought his first kayak, then his first 100 kayaks. They were all over the yard and inside his home owned by the city on the property of Martin Park Nature Center. Dave told me that he was going to open a kayak store, and I was as skeptical as anyone else in the state. He proved me and the rest of the world wrong. When I spotted a car going down the road with a kayak strapped to the top, I could tell you who it belonged to in those early years. Between the social paddles, full moon paddles, and the "ya-yas", the kayaking network multiplied rapidly. Soon, I started seeing boats on cars that I no longer recognized.

I worked for three years at the WildCare Foundation - a large wildlife rehabilitator in Noble, Oklahoma. During the summers, my two kayaks were always on top of my car. Each day after work I would alternate taking different co-workers (and my boss, Rondi) out for a paddle on Little River in Norman. Most of them ended up buying kayaks for themselves from OKC Kayak. I told them a little white lie when I said that it was just a one-time investment - until you need a buddy boat. There were also some memorable wildlife releases by kayak, including a mink. There may have also been an incident when Rondi and I cracked her windshield trying to put the kayaks inside her car instead of on top when we were caught in a windstorm and didn't want to try to load them on the roofrack.

One sunny winter day, I was in my boat with my feet propped on top enjoying the calm waters of a cove on Lake Hefner. An older couple were walking their two little pups along the path on shore. The woman called out to me, "that looks so relaxing." "It is!" I replied. "We should go home and get our boats," she said to her husband. "You have kayaks?" "We do! Do you know Dave Lindo?" "Who?" "Dave Lindo. He owns OKC Kayak and is a neat guy. You should know him." I finally had to admit that I had known him for 36 years (or however old he was at the time). "Is that your brother?!" Truth was out. Later that day, I saw Dave at a neice's birthday party. I told him that I had met Doris and Tom. His response? "They told me you weren't wearing your lifevest." Doris and Tom became dear friends for the rest of their lives. I now have the kayak that Doris used to paddle.

Many weekends were spent paddling up and down Stinchcomb with friends. We hauled hundreds of pounds of trash and miles of abandoned fishing line out of that river. Walter and Michael were champions of getting the biggest trash hauls to shore - propane tanks, tires, and even a chest freezer! Kayakers were always leaving the waterways cleaner than it was when they got there.

There were some epic battles between the sailing community, the city, and the kayakers. The sailing club ended up bogarting Hobie Beach and forcing the social paddles to launch from the newly-dubbed, muddy Paddler's Point. That was the same spot where Dave came to the rescue when Doris contacted me about a pelican that couldn't fly at Lake Hefner. I had moved out of state and she knew that I was coming to town and asked if I knew anyone who could help rescue this poor bird. I needed the distraction that week and offered to use her boat to try to catch the pelican. After some futile attempts, I called Dave to see if he was around and could bring a second boat. He showed up a few minutes later with a trailer full of kayaks, popped one in the water, and within seconds we had cornered the pelican and he was able to grab him. "Charlie" the pelican is a whole other story, but last I heard, he is still living his best life year-round as a flightless bird on Lake Hefner.

Dave has taught me to try to find a way to say "yes" to some epic adventures. I had just started a new job when he invited me on a kayaking trip in Alaska. His Alaska trips had been on my bucket list for a while, but between the costs, vacation time, and lack of a petsitter, it just wasn't in the cards for me. Dave removed the cost obstacle and I figured out the rest. Five years later, I got another chance to go on his Alaska trip again, this time with my Sweetpea. Most recently, my Sweetpea and I got invited last-minute to join Dave and some badass kayakers on the Selway River in Idaho. Lesson learned - if you get invited, you should go. (Second lesson learned - make sure your lifevest fits well, oh, and hold on to your paddle.)

Now, most of my friends own kayaks, or paddleboards, or both. When I first met my Sweetpea, he already had one kayak and was in the process of building another one out of wood. All of our dogs (and one foster dog) got to go kayaking with us. We have gone kayak-camping in Glacier and the Yellowstone wilderness. We have paddled together in many states and several countries. I still get together with some of the original "ya-yas" for girls' trips. The friendships and community that have bonded on the water are some of the strongest and longest-lasting. I bought my first boat for the independence, but kept paddling for the kinship.

While many of my friends have supported OKC Kayak and Tulsa Kayak, I have to admit that I've never bought a boat from them. There was a time or two that I was able to sneak in the store and either pay cash or have my Sweetpea pay when Dave and his wife, Melissa, weren't there. He then put both of our names (and probably our mugshots) at the register to warn his workers to never let that happen again. We even bought some things online using our dog's name, only to get a call from Dave five minutes later to ask if our dog stole our credit card as he cancelled the transaction. I eventually passed my two original kayaks on to other people and upgraded to one from OKC Kayak, thanks to Dave. Numerous kayak racks, NRS straps, paddles, stickers, and outerwear have been provided pro bono over the years.

OKC Kayak and Tulsa Kayak were like Field of Dreams - "if you build it, they will come". Oklahoma is now a top spot for world-class kayakers and even the Olympics. Without Dave and Melissa, I doubt that would be the case. Now, those kayak stores are scheduled to close their doors for the last time at the end of August. REI, Costco, and Amazon will never be able to replicate or replace what these stores created. Dave remembers almost every boat and who bought it. These weren't just financial transactions, these were entry passes to a whole new community and lifestyle. Well done, Dave and Melissa. Thank you, and see you on the water!