38
outdoors
SWAMP BOOGIE
SWAMP BOOGIE
DEBBIE DOSS LIFTS THE PADDLE
head out of
the latte-colored water and lets it rest on the kayak. Her bright vessel drifts smoothly, deliberately, like a horse let off its lead, past gargantuan trees in the flooded timber of Bayou DeView. Overhead, the azure sky is spattered with overhanging tree branches, grating the light into shards while echoing bird calls emote from every direction. Debbie has paddled this route hundreds of times, but still, the sight of the place, the Sistine Chapel of the Arkansas Water Trails, never fails to take her breath away. “Nature is my only religion, and the outdoors is my only church,” Debbie told me. “DeView is a very sacred one.”
words Dwain Hebda images courtesy Debbie Doss
If you’ve ever wondered what primeval looks like, you’ll find it on the Arkansas Water Trails, paddling routes that deliver a mind-bending view of The Natural State. It’s a scene you
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
