Photo by Brian Rogers © 2020 on a GoPro
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – Have you happened to see a gigantic swan floating down the Little Miami River? Well, I am here to tell you that it wasn’t just your imagination! On Saturday afternoon Symmes Township Resident, Nick Dyson, shared with us some photos that showed himself and his family and friends floating down the Little Miami in a huge inflatable swan. Dyson shared his “swan story” with us so that those who frequent the State and National Wild and Scenic, the Little Miami River, and our famous Loveland Bike Trail would be sure to look out for the swan all the way from the Amazon!
“My friend Brian Rogers is the director of student ministries at Northstar Community Church, and he initially bought the swan on Amazon to use with his students and volunteer leaders in the retention pond that was going to be made with all of the construction going on at Northstar/The Care Center,” Dyson explained, “However, in the final renovation there ended up not being a retention pond at all, so he took the swan out for its inaugural float about a month ago on the Little Miami with all of his volunteer youth leaders. He then busted it out a second time to use this past Saturday the 25th with both of our families, including their exchange student from China. We put the swan in the river at the Monkey Bar in Foster and got out about 2-1/2 miles downstream at the Deerfield Township river access on Shore Drive. There are only a few spots on the river where the river access is wide enough to put the Swan in the water because it is so huge,” Dyson said.
Dyson provided us with some incredible photos of the “swan-filled” afternoon so that we could share the story and photos with the Loveland community! We want to thank you Nick for sharing your story and some really fun photos with us! Check out Dyson’s photos below!