Yes, there is a place you can rent. You can either call Manzanita Outdoor to ask about that in advance, or you can just head to most of our lakes on weekend days and rent once you get there.

I don’t know if guidance is provided, but that’s an interesting question you should bring up with Manzanita.

I hope you’ll also visit AboutPrescottArizona.com for more information on local kayaking.

Love for you to share your experiences here after your trip. Send me pictures and or comments on the kayaking and rental and I’ll post for others’ benefit.

Regarding swimming: Bad news on our lakes, which seem like puddles when compared to Lake Michigan.

I’m originally from the midwest and, you know one of the hardest things to adjust to here is the dryness, and the attendant lack of bodies of water. The only real swimming opportunities around here are at swimming pools.

Sometimes Goldwater Lake is open for swimming, but generally the others are not. Contaminated water is the main reason… I hear what you’re saying and you are very wise to ask about that.

My former husband is from Harvard Illinois and he used to crack me up…. if we were driving down a country road and he saw a pond, he would just want to jump in. He also loved swimming in Lake Geneva. Not me – I like to be in a boat but not in the water.

Now there are a few well hidden water holes that people talk about, very cold, but deep and small surface area. If splashing around in those would suffice, you might enjoy that adventure.

As to apartments hunting, I don’t know of any centralized apartment searching business here. You might find something in googling, but I think better is to consult our local newspaper (The Daily Courier) or some of the smaller weeklies (Raven Review or Read It News).

Now that I think of it, Craig’s List is now serving Prescott, so you might track something down that way.

If someone knows more than me, perhaps they will chime in.