Paddling By

It has been over a week since my journey down the river came to an end at the steps across from Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I am left with mixed emotions of elation at such an accomplishment and also a longing to return to the simple life of paddling every day.

I have found some of the experiences that I miss from the river:

• Beautiful starry nights
• Not having an agenda
• Watching the sun rise and set over the river
• Paddling in the cool of the morning just as the sun is peaking up over the horizon
• Letting the strong current flow over my body after a long day of paddling
• Meeting people who I have never known in my life and being overwhelmed by how quickly they treat us like family

Also, some experiences will not be missed:

• Having sand in my food, in my sleeping bag, in my life
• Mosquitos everywhere… including the swarm that only appears as soon as I am all set to do my business in the woods. If you think I am kidding… well, I laughed at Michael when he said there were no mosquitos in site and then as soon as he was all set to do his business a swarm approached. I laughed until it happened to me the next time.
• Putting sunscreen on daily

I have also found that adjusting to life off the river has produced unexpected issues. Who would have thought that I would have to adjust to seeing myself in mirrors again or bathing on a regular basis? Life is just so proper off the river.

I know that I have learned a lot from this trip and have gained a new appreciation for many details of life. I hope to be more generous after this trip. (Not that I feel I was stingy before the trip, but the bar has been raised.) I also feel I will be much more appreciative of the nuances of life including seasoning on food, taking time to simply relax, the art of storytelling, and just how much culture we enjoy in the states.

Well, I am sitting at a computer in the apartment above the H.C. Porter gallery in Vicksburg. We walked into the gallery and started looking around. Next thing we knew, we were chatting with H.C. Porter herself (She goes by Chris). She invited us to spend the night, and we agreed.

Chris is best known for her “Backyards and Beyond” collection which is a set of photos she took of Mississippians after hurricane Katrina. She then silk screens the black and white photos onto canvas and paints over them, creating a very stylish mix of striking colors and black and white images. She does an excellent job capturing people and their surroundings.

Anyway, we have had an excellent time here, and enjoyed our conversations with Chris and Karole. People have been overwhelmingly kind to us. Chris offered to let us sleep in her house and gave us the key to her studio after knowing us for only about 15 minutes. I hope that I can be so friendly, hospitable, and trusting when I have my own place to offer people.

Hurray for air conditioning and no mosquitos last night! Thanks Chris and Karole!

One of my favorite parts of this trip is actually not the endless hours of paddling every day (though that can be fun, too).   In fact, if I were to rate the things I enjoy in order of enjoyment, it would go something like this:

1. Meeting new people

2. Exploring new cities

3. Paddling

The hard part about cities is finding a place to camp.  We have discovered that even the largest metropoli (is that the plural of metropolis?) have little hidden spots along the river.  In Peoria it was a forested bank along a drainage ditch.  In St. Louis it was floodland behind a catholic school, in Memphis it was the tip of Mud Island.

Here in Vicksburg, well, I won’t say, because we’re still camping there and I don’t want anybody finding us.

But the librarian told me my computer time was up. Sorry. I’ll write more later.

A typical day starts with Andrew rising at the crack of dawn and cooking us breakfast.  Andrew is definitely the early bird of the group.  Breakfast usually consists of oatmeal with powdered milk, brown sugar, and a dash of milk.  We then pack up all of our gear into the holds of the kayaks and start paddling for the day.  The morning process typically takes around two hours.

Before we are on the river, we feel out the day and decide how we feel and how far we would like to go that day.  The paddling in the morning usually covers the most miles.  We will go for a few hours and stop and eat a can of fruit.  Like most of our eating, this process is very ritualistic.  After we get the can of fruit open, we each take a sip of juice from the can.  We then proceed to take turns eating a piece of fruit, occasionally sipping the juice until the can is empty.

After the snack, we put in some more miles before lunch.  Lunch almost always consists of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but sometimes we use jam instead of honey.  Lunch is served in three rounds.  Each person makes a round of sandwiches for the group giving us a total of three apiece.  Sometimes, we might take a little swim in the river to cool off or spend some time napping before we hit the river again.

The afternoons are spent grinding out more miles before we reach our destination.  Sometimes we stop by a town in the afternoon to get some water and possibly buy some more groceries.

Paddling on the river is usually quite varied.  Each day brings us an assortment of waves, eddies, strange currents, barges, and beautiful scenery.  I enjoy paddling with some waves on occasion because of the sheer thrill of the experience.  It also is more interactive than just paddling on a placid surface.  We enjoy napping and floating during the calmer sections of the river as long as there is a current.  It is rather disappointing to wake up from a nap and realize you haven’t made any progress.

Many of the locals along the river, have a fear of its power.  I suppose if I were to live along the banks in the shadow of a mighty river that has destroyed so much life and property, I too might fear it.  Though I have never felt out of control on the river.  The kayaks are very responsive and since we sit so low to the water, we are able to balance pretty easily.

By the time we stop for the evening, the sun is in its last phase.  We try to find a camping site that has a sandy beach to land the kayaks on and also so we can avoid the mud.  Sometimes, there will be some woods we can set the tent in or we will just place the tent on the beach.

We do most of our cooking on a fire.  Although, we do have a small backpacking stove if we need to use it.  Some of our favorite dinners include Macaroni and Cheese with spaghetti sauce and summer sausage, ramen with black beans, and rice with crunchy noodles, soy sauce, and beans or meat.

Dinner is followed by relaxing, reading, journaling, or if we are exceptionally tired: sleep.  After some down time, we crawl into the tent, hoping to not let in any mosquitoes, and drift off to sleep to begin a new day.

The day Michael arrived to Cairo to join the journey, Andrew and I woke up to watch the sunrise over the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi River. It was breathtaking to see the mighty Mississippi flow into the lethargic Ohio. At the confluence, it appeared that the Ohio was actually wider than the Mississippi, but the Mississippi was moving much more water.

As the sunrise marks the beginning of a new day, so this day marks a new phase in our journey. It has now been over four weeks since Andrew, Dustin, Dan, and I started on this journey. The memories that stick out in my mind the most of the interactions with the people we meet along the way. The generosity of those we meet is surreal.

A notable encounter was when we met a father/son duo, Jerry and Peter, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.  They are in the midst of biking from L.A. to New Jersey.  That was inspiring to meet another group that is off on an adventure as well.  You can read more about their adventures here.

Almost every small town we stop in is a treat as people offer us rides, showers, food, and/or conversation.  (Not every town is like this though.  Some are just quiet affairs and we are back on the river in no time.)  I love talking to these people.  Whether it is just to hear their comments about how dangerous the river is and how crazy we must be to those that simply see the adventure and desire to live our adventure vicariously.  I love them all.

As this new phase is well underway, I am understanding just how blessed we are to experience this trip.  The people around us are merely the icing on the cake to this grand adventure.

Just wanted to give a shout-out to all the fine people that have helped us on our way so far. Steve and Owen, thanks for your curiosity in our trip while we were portaging across South Bend.

Marcus, loved meeting you while you took pictures of us. Nice camera, hope you rouse up some interest with the pics. You were very supportive and kind to us.

 Jerry from Niles, Michigan, thanks for the friendly conversation and taking us to fill up our water bottles while the weather was miserable, rainy, cold. Nothing like a little encouragement to start out a rough day. 

Joe, Notre Dame alumnus, thanks for the ride to the store to pick up beer and brats for my 21st birthday bash. A fellow study-abroad participant. Dan, Andrew, and I met in Russia, and now here we are! 

Dave and Karen from Buchanan, Michigan, you saved us more time and energy than you know by dragging our kayaks in your truck across the dam. Hope you took pity on that goose that followed us around and bit my fingers and kept walking in front of your truck. He just wanted to be one of the guys.

Thanks to the Chinese take-out restaurant in Buchanan which sheltered us from the rain and cold and let us drink big containers of hot, green, leafy tea and chop-stick some rice. In your restaurant we observed a Mormon pamphlet that provided us much entertainment then and even now. 

Now for the lovely company of the Riverside Cafe, St. Joseph, Michigan. To the owners Phil and Dawn who welcomed our famished frames with open arms and let us pitch our tent in the back lawn of the bar, gave us a free appetizer and half-price shots. Dave and Shelby, what can I say, you took care of us. The food was delicious and much-needed the drinks were very nice too, the music, keno. You are good people with good hearts and your kindness will come back around soon, I’m sure. 

Mike at the bar also, thanks for the wood you bought us to help start a fire for breakfast. Would have been difficult to scrounge up wood in the middle of the city. 

John and Scott, our guardian angels from the local kayak shop in St. Joseph, thanks for the fateful advice and the safety equipment you bought us without a though. Scott literally gave the shirt off his back to Dan. I think you guys stirred up some karma for taking care of us so well. We are so appreciative of your help. Way to be our providence.

Chris and Prithee (can’t imagine how to spell your name), our second set of deus ex machina on the day, thanks so much for coming to chat with us for whatever reason you did and helping us carry our gear, leading us to a camp spot and Chris, for letting us borrow your tent. A little breathing room much appreciated. 

Dan and Ben, thanks so much for opening up your home to us, strangers of strangers, and letting us crash and make dinner in your house. You guys really challenged us to be giving, selfless people. Much appreciated. 

We love you all and thank you eternally for your help, interest, and conversation.

D

We paddled out of the St. Joseph river and hit the swells in the lake.  It was exhilarating to fight the wind and the waves and to feel the cold spray in my face.  It was also a little scary after the smooth waters of the St. Jo.  We landed on the beach and hung around, drying off and letting the sun soak into us after two straight days of cold and rain.

After a random ultimate frisbee game instigated by the Notre Dame women’s team who happened to be hanging out on the beach, we ate a delicious lunch of cheese and avocado.

I’m pretty tired right now, so I am going to skip to the important facts.  We found out more about what we were into with Lake Michigan.  Bad weather was rolling in, several of the guys had only been kayaking for about 4 days in their whole lives, and we decided that paddling the lake was not the wisest thing.

We called Terry, and he was willing to come pick us up and take us around the lake to Chicago.

Tomorrow we put into the river.

Today was a busy day… after a short, but restful night of sleep, Andrew and I headed over to Fluid Fun to test out the boats and do some last minute shopping. It was great to actually see the boats and get out on the water a little. It seemed to make the trip all the more real. I am now starting to get the little butterflies that I craved the day before. Finally I can think to myself that this trip is for real and also have physical proof.

Later in the afternoon, Andrew’s friend Dustin arrived with Dan and Ruth, two other friends from his semester in Russia. We barely had time for introductions before the reporter from the South Bend Tribune arrived. The interview was pretty brief as Andrew had already had a phone interview.

Sometime after the interview Dan decided that he would join us for the first leg of the journey. After a quick check with Matt, the owner of Fluid Fun, it became official. So now tomorrow we have a fourth joining us for the first leg of the journey.

It is promising to be an adventure unparalleled in my life. It is becoming quite obvious that the best is yet to come.

This is the start of the adventure.  Today, Andrew and I will fly up to Chicago to meet up with Dustin and head over to Bristol.  I must admit that emotionally I haven’t quite realized what is about to take place.  My head has been spinning like crazy trying to get everything together for this trip and still there are items left unsolved…  This trip could prove to be very interesting and I like that.

We are planning to start kayaking on Friday at 10AM.  Other than that time, we have no schedule… simply us and the water.