Day 16

Day 16

With three days of easy town living in a row we were eager to paddle back into more remote places. At 6 we set off down the sickly Mississippi river channel leading 15 miles back to the Aikien Diversion channel and other half of the rivers water. The water was smooth as glass and provided a mirror image of the shore line and silver sky's above. The usual deer stood munching on the grass as we paddled past small riverfront cabins and campers. The sediment filled waters were still rising and lazily rolled and boiled like a huge ribbon of chocolate milk. Just before the seperted waters were reunited we stopped at a beautiful but abandoned homestead on a bluff above the waters. The site was dominated by a large two story barn, surrounded by an old hen house, several granaries, a shed or two and the crumbing remains of a home. We poked our heads into broken windows inspecting the remains of another life and time. Wooden spooked car rims, a massive wood burning stove with a 8 eyes and two large ovens, rusting steel cans that ounce held auto lubricants, fresh ground coffee and livestock medicines. It was nice to stand under the shade of the cottonwoods and think of a happy family living a simple life here.

As the two currents of the river were rejoined they boiled and fought against one another, forcing the banks back to the widest we had yet seen. Just as quickly the land and trees on the riverbanks became to change, the towering silver maples and low banks gave way to oak, pine and cottonwood packed hills. With the winds to our backs and surging currents below we quickly moved into the heart of the Waukenabo State Forest. Our friends the eagles and Ospreys were often perched in the tree tops as we moved down stream. Shortly after 1 we realized we would make our 39 miles goal with plenty of time to spare so we slowed to little more than a drift. While we enjoy our time at camp each evening we have discovered that taking time to slow down and take it all in makes the transition to shore a much more enjoyable one.  We were aiming for a another Department of Natural Resources boat access only campsite and were happy and confused the sign show camp 300 yards. Having never seen such a sign I asked Shawn what he thought? He laughed and said it was upstream behind us because that how laughable these sites have been. I guess he was correct because we carefully scanned the river banks and never saw Half Moon campsite. Luckily we found Half Moon boat landing a half mile downstream. We set up camp, bathed in the river and I built a small fire while Shawn did an phone interview for the TV station back home. Shawn produced a canned ham that I warmed near the fire and shortly after eating a rain cloud chased us into our tents for the night.