Day 44

Day 44
I slept till 7 this morning without waking for even a moment, something I don't think I have done the entire trip. I still felt tired and would have gone back to sleep but the  sun was quickly turning the tent into an oven. It was hot, sticky morning with fog still hanging about in the shade on the east side of the river.  I quickly covered the couple of miles to Quincy and  Lock and Dam 21, locking through without having to wait. I was thankful to see a layer of cloud cover was moving over the sun, I hoped it would last all day. I was planning a stop in Hannibal MO the birth place of Mark Twain. The current was slow in this area but the sun was covered making for a not unpleasant paddle. I covered the 15 miles by about 1. As I neared the town I was greeted the sound of a calliope organ playing. Calliope organs use the steam or compressed air from a train or river boat to make music on a set of pipes. The paddle wheeler Natchez in New Orleans has one on board and i really enjoy listening to the man play it before the river crusies. I was disappointed to realize what I heard was a bad recording of the real thing. I docked the canoe at the local boat club private pier because I could see lots of people walking around the park. I checked google for restaurant options and settled on BBQ. I made my way into town to discover it was a tourist trap, tons of crap shops selling t shirts, candy, ghost tours, and old junk. I made my way to Mark Twain's boyhood home and saw a line of 30 or more people waiting to enter. I took a walk around the outside and headed to go get BBQ. I had a plate of sub par ribs before rushing to escape the crowds and the fake river town. I did learn from a plaque in the park that Mark Twain took his name from the river call for safe depth on the river, 12 feet, Mark Twain. I paddled on to Lock and Dam 22, where I saw several barges up and down stream waiting to pass the lock. I called the Lock Master and he said come on through. He explained they were doing some electric work and couldn't let barge traffic pass but I could lock through. I paddled out of the lock into a stiff head wind and had to work hard to cover minimal water. Around 6 I was starting to worry about finding a camp because the water was higher in this area than it had been in several days. I rounded a curve to see a boat ramp with a paddler and tent sign. I beached the canoe to check things out. It was a nice public camp ground with a new out house and plenty of camping spots. I picked a spot with a picnic table, fire ring and pile of split maple logs. I quickly made a fire because the mosquitoes were bad and then set up camp. I walked to a floating swim dock, while swimming I was thinking about how clean the river has been the last two days, very little trash in the water or on the beaches making it easy to relax and enjoy everything.  I snapped a few photos of the sunset as I ate dinner and reflected on the trip so far. I thought I have settled into a enjoyable routine the last couple of weeks and am afraid that will all change in another week when I pass St Louis and enter the southern half of the river.