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Float Trip Faux-Paws

There’s no better way to spend a hot summer day than floating down a cool Ozark stream. But spending time on the river can turn dangerous if you don’t follow a few commonsense safety rules. And we all know that nature should be cared for — not abused — so that other people can enjoy it, too.

These ornery raccoons are making a few faux pas, poor decisions, and dangerous blunders. Can you circle 13 things that you would do differently?

• Trees don’t love it when people carve things into their
• trunks.
• Look before you sit. Poison ivy might make your rest break awfully itchy.
• “No Trespassing” means “Stay out!”
• Chopping down live trees is illegal in many places and unwelcome in others.
• Diving into water is dangerous (and maybe deadly) if you don’t know the depth or what’s underneath.
• Piling too much stuff in a canoe is a great way to make it flip.
• Not wearing a life jacket when you’re on the water is dangerous.  Standing up in a canoe is a good way to fall out.
• Keep a close eye on campfires, or you might burn up your sneakers — or the forest.
• Trash goes in a trash can, not a river.
• Raccoons can drink straight from a stream. Humans should not.
• Always look over your shoulder before you cast. You want to hook fish, not your buddy!
• Nature is a masterpiece all by itself. Please don’t paint over it.