On the river

white cloud, Kanasa!

Day 3 on the river

I have to make this quick as my battery life is dwindling on this iPad and I want to have some life left in it for tomorrow.

I got another late start due to dealing with a poor cell tower signal and trying to send emails. I did put in about 36 miles today which was good. It was a very fast day and I saw lots of pretty country. Two bald eagles with one holding a fish in its talons. Pretty sweet.

The Missouri is one big tree lined ditch. I never realized how altered this river was until I floated down it. I did pull off and walk up to one of the dikes to look around. It ran both directions as far as the eye can see. It got me thinking about what hope do we have when we treat a mighty river as an enemy that has to be subdued? I understand the whole flood control and commerce argument for having tamed the river but, wow, it's totally controlled for the 563 miles I'll travel it and it's that way all the way to Montana. That's a lot of effort on our part.

I'm getting into the paddling grove and my body feels pretty good. I'm realizing that this stretch down to Kansas City is basically my shakedown trip. I got the canoe so late that I had no time to test what works and doesn't in regards to packing, etc. I'll be stopping in Kansas City for a day at Becky's brother's place and I'll go through my stuff and toss what I don't need.

I was really in a depressed mood Sunday and yesterday. I knew a long trip would be tough psychologically but I thought that would happen weeks into the trip. It was tough leaving Becky and the boys and I'm having real questions about whether I can paddle upstream on the Mississippi from St. Louis. That kinda made the blues as I've been thinking 563 miles is failure. Today I paddled my ass off and just enjoyed each mile, something I had been forgetting to do.

From what I can gather it looks like I'll have to stop in St. Louis. If that's the case then I'll just enjoy the little time on the water I've had.

One last item. I didn't realize the railroad always runs along the river. The trains pass every 30 minutes or so. Not good for a tired body wanting to sleep!

JB

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Five hundred miles to Saint Loo-ee!

Day two was half good and then the rest of the story...

It was uber cold here in Nebraska last night. I woke several times to the sound of some beast I've never heard before wailing away and then the same scream from up river. I got up at about 6:00 a.m. and got a slow start eating breakfast and packing the canoe. It was a quick run down to Indian Cave State Park where I arrived at 11:30 a.m. Just as I was pulling up to the park two older gents in a Park truck stopped to ask what I was up to. Two minutes later I had convinced them to drive me to get water at the pump about a mile away. Ron and Lenny are both retired and working at the park for the summer and were nice to talk to after being alone for two days.

I continued down river to Rulo, NE, where I'm sitting at the riverside park typing this and thinking about dinner. When I got to town I stopped at the first house where I could put in and asked for directions to the park. The old gent directed my past the bridge and "I couldn't miss it, just look for my wife and daughter and a red pickup truck." They had been there fishing (and drinking beer!) all afternoon. Seems the entire town converges here, many in golf carts, to fish, drink, and socialize. I was the subject of attention for a few hours.

One local did stop by and talk to me about the river situation. We are 2 feet above flood stage and he indicated if we get rain as predicted it will crest and be a real mess. The Corps of Engineers is expected to release water from the dam in South Dakota and tha could flood me out. I'm having little trouble navigating mid channel but it's a battle when I come to shore. After I added the water at lunch I could barely turn into the current and paddle up stream when making a landing. The water is flowing at 93,000 cfs here at Rulo. When I get to St. Louis it will be running at 250,000 cfs. I just can't imagine paddling upstream in that for any distance and it doesn't look like conditions will improve in a week and a half when I arrive.

So, the rest of the story is what to do. I talked to Becky today about the possibility of terminating the trip in St. Louis. Her advice was wait a few days to decide what I will do. I still have 500 miles to travel to the Mississippi River but I'm heavily loaded and the high water levels have put me in a foul mood.

Randy, my newfound friend here in Rulo put it best "you picked the worst time of the year in the worst year to make your trip. Too bad it isn't September. Oh well, it is a beautiful evening on the river so I'll worry about my troubles tomorrow.

Cheers!

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First day on river

We got a late start from the house this morning (that never happens?) and drove to Nebraska City to put in on the Missouri River.  The Gilg family was kind enough to come with and make it a special occasion.  We arrived in NE City around 10:15 a.m. and drove down to the river to find minor flooding.  The good news was we parked in the middle of the road and unloaded my gear and canoe.  I loaded her up and after photos and hugs and kisses hit the river with my start time around 10:45 a.m.

The river is flowing very fast and I have to watch out for whirlpools created by bar dams the Corps of Engineers installed to direct the water to the center of the channel to create enough flow year round for barges.  The rudder system on the canoe comes in handy at those times in keeping the bow directed downstream.  I hadn't realized how fast I was moving but by noon I realized I would make my daily trip mileage with little trouble.  I did stop for lunch around 1:00 p.m. and that was more tricky than I thought it would be.  With the current so fast it's hard to approach a landing site without shooting by.

At around 4:00 p.m. I passed Brownville, NE, and the nuclear power plant.  I had planned to continue paddling until 5:00 p.m. but I saw a MO Parks campground and decided to call it a day.

The first day out I've seen a few bald eagles and lots of vultures and misc. ducks.  I'm in a funky mood now that the planning and anticipation has passed and I'm actually doing this trip.  I know it will get easier once I get in a routine but I do miss my wife and kids.  I'm also a bit sore from the first day's physical exertion.  Oh well, I should sleep well tonight!

Time to make dinner and get some sleep.  I hope to check in every day but that will depend on if I can charge batteries on the iPad and my phone.  I didn't see another person on the river all day so I'm going to have to plan stops at towns along the way, the first probably being on Tuesday.

I'll attach a few photos of the river and my campsite.

JB




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My current home

Now that it stopped raining and the sun came out this doesn't look so bad.