New facility for Capco Products and Big Foot Canoe Rental in Volney to be featured at Grand Opening

by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer

Tiny towns sometimes go through great effort to put themselves “on the map.” Sometimes, small communities are fortunate to have a business or two known on a larger scale to help get the word out.
Big Foot Canoe Rental and Capco Products, both located in Volney and owned and operated by Steve and Marcy Palmer, are two such businesses.
The Palmers started Big Foot Canoe Rental in 2003 with six canoes and two kayaks. Today, they offer 32 canoes, 32 kayaks and 47 large innertubes measuring about 48 inches across. “We have been growing every year,” says Steve. “It keeps getting bigger and bigger.” They were so busy last summer that Steve says the peak season was “just a blur.”
The Palmers say they talked about having a canoe rental business for probably close to 30 years before they actually did it. They would go out paddling with their sons, Mike and Nick, when they were younger, but they waited until the boys were both finished with school before opening their business.
The first year they were open most of their business came from family and friends. Then, in 2004 Nate Hoogeveen (currently director of River Programs at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) published his book “Paddling Iowa.” Hoogeveen spent time with the Palmers paddling the Yellow River, and that write-up in the book really set things in motion. Once the general public learned some facts about the Yellow River, such as that it has the most drop by mile of any river in Iowa or that it has a lot of trout, they started to come to see for themselves, and return.
“A lot of people come here for the first time and are amazed,” Marcy says, referring to their appreciation of the area’s natural beauty. They have had visitors from across the state of Iowa, with a lot of draw from the Quad Cities, Des Moines, Madison, WI and Rochester, MN. They have had guests from the east and west coast of the United States, and even from South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Russia and Greece. Another thing that helped their business along was Allamakee County Conservation putting in the Volney Park Landing, which helped them with access.
Rental season has already started at Big Foot Canoe Rental, with the first rental of the year going out February 20. “It totally depends on the weather,” Marcy says. During peak season, especially when there are holidays, reservations are highly recommended, if not required.
There are three basic voyage choices for those renting canoes, kayaks and tubes, all going downstream from the rental business: Volney to 16 Bridge (approximately two hours, 4.25 miles), Volney to Ion (six hours, 13 miles), and a two-day trip from Volney to the Mississippi River (approximately 22 miles). On the two-day trip, paddlers camp at remote campsites which are part of Yellow River State Forest’s South Unit and are accessible only by canoe. The Palmers put on a lot of miles hauling canoes back and forth from the Old 16 Bridge and Ion back to Volney.
Visitors also enjoy Jasmine, a dog owned by Steve and Marcy’s son, Nick, and who is the self-appointed mascot of their business.
When they were looking for a name for their canoe rental business they chose to name it Big Foot after Big Foot Road, which runs through Volney. “It’s catchy and people remember it,” Steve says. People often ask if they have seen Bigfoot, and many people get their photo taken with the small Bigfoot statue outside their building. They have even been called Mr. and Mrs. Bigfoot, and a young customer with his grandparents not too long ago swore they found Bigfoot’s footprints.
Both Steve and Marcy say they have asked many people how Big Foot Road got its name, but they say no matter the age of the person they ask, the answer continually is, “It has always been called Big Foot Road.”
From 2003 to 2011 they operated the canoe rental business out of their front yard. Then last year Steve took over his dad’s business, Capco, and they built a new 60' x 80' building to house both businesses.
Steve’s dad, Allan, started manufacturing a fiberglass mineral feeder in the late 1960s in Tipton. Allan’s parents owned Rainbow Gardens in Waterville, and in the early 1970s Allan and his wife, Patricia, purchased that building and moved the business to Waterville. Years later, they moved the business to the old cheese factory in Volney.
Allan created his own power washer design, and in 1981 three men that Allan knew formed AaLadin Cleaning Systems. Capco became one of the first distributors of their pressure washers.
Today, Capco focuses all its energy on sales, service and repair of pressure washers. Their pressure washers range from 1,500 psi to 5,000 psi, offering both electrical and gas-powered units. They are designed mainly for industrial and agricultural uses, such as cleaning out hog barns. Capco’s service area includes the eastern half of Iowa, along with some of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Prior to taking over Capco last April, Steve was operating his own custom washing business. He phased that business out and they did their last custom washing job several weeks ago.
Steve’s mom, Patricia, kept the books for Capco for many years. Now, Steve and Marcy work side by side. Both of their businesses are mainly staffed by themselves, and Capco has a full-time service technician, Dean Gunderson. Steve sometimes finds himself on the phone trying to diagnose problems and offer advice to those with pressure washers needing repair, helping them fix the units themselves. Steve says they would be interested in possibly hiring another reliable employee. The canoe rental business does have some high school kids who work part-time during the summer months.
AaLadin is based in Elk Point, SD. Steve, an Army veteran, tries to buy as many things American-made as possible, such as the hoses coming from Peosta and the reels made in Lincoln, NE. To learn more about AaLadin products go to www.aaladin.com.
Steve and Marcy’s two sons did not stray far from home. Mike lives close by and works road construction. Nick lives in Volney and owns and operates Palmer Electric.
The Palmers will be holding a grand opening and open house for Capco Products and Big Foot Canoe Rental Friday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and they invite everyone to come see their new facility and product lines. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with the Clayton County Pork Producers grilling pork loins. Door prizes will be offered.
For more information on Big Foot Canoe Rental go to www.bigfootcanoerental.com  or follow them on twitter (@bigfootcanoe) or call 563-539-4272.