Today is June 29th and we find ourselves halfway through Iowa. Actually, we're writing from a library in Fulton, Illinois on the East banks of the Mississippi River. Yes, we are still having fun.
We have completed 826 miles to date which means we have completed over 1/3 of the river. Yes, it has taken much longer than what we had originally planned for but we are still as passionate about completing the trip as ever.
The river has opened up greatly since its beginnings in Itasca. In many places it is miles wide. In fact, we have stopped calling it the Mississippi River and have renamed it the Mississippi Lake. The locks & dams that the Army Corp of Engineers put in place in the 1930s, to make transportation easier, have reduced the current to almost nothing which means we have to put more effort into paddling to achieve our new goal of 33 1/3 miles per day.
Recently, a typical day sounds like this:
Wake up between 6:00 - 7:00 am
Break down camp
On the river between 8:30 - 9:00 am
Paddle until 2:00 pm
Take an hour for lunch
Back on the river between 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Paddle till 9:00 pm (sunset)
Set Up Camp
Eat Dinner
Take a swim in the river
Pass out between 10:00 - 11:00 pm
We keep our days interesting singing songs, telling jokes, and annoying each other throwing Ed-Nemesis around. Ed-Nemesis are a bug that only live for 24 hours and have, as of this week, made their appearance by the millions along the banks of the river. They wait for a passing boat or in our case a canoe and they jump out of the trees hoping to land on the vessel and hitch-hike. Their real name is the Fish Fly but they annoy Edmund, so we call them the Ed-Nemesis.
We have beefed up, pardon the pun, our diets as all last week we realized we were not eating enough food for the amount of work we are doing.
Tune in next time....
We will not be able to post any new pictures until we get to a faster internet connection which may take a couple weeks, apologies.
-The Crew
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2 comments:
Hey guys, this is Scot Hall(met you in Lancing, Iowa). I made it back to Keokuk on Thursday night. I had better see your sorry faces at the Purple Cow before too long. Just a couple miles south of Keokuk, a big purple building tucked in some trees in a row of cabins on the Missouri bank.
319.795.2661 - When you're coming through give me some notice; I work 8am-4pm. The Cow is closed on Monday and Tuesday, but I'll be around. Call.
Good Luck, Scot.
Hey fellas, keep cruising. I actually meet a guy from Switzerland in Zion National Park and he's doing a blog of his travles as well, so now I've got two to follow. But the previous guys comment remided me of it and all the people you must meet on the way. That's sweet. Keep it up and good luck.
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