Day 66

Day 66
I made it through most of the night without being woken up by storms. It did rain hard for a few hours but none of the high wind and hail that many of night time storms have brought. I set an alarm for this morning not something I normally do but I have to meet people at Mud Island in Memphis at a set time. I am glad I set the alarm because it was a cool and overcast morning and I could have slept away half the day. The wind was blowing like crazy and radar showed more storms headed my way as I packed up the canoe. I was glad I only had 4 miles to paddle to reach Memphis. The paddle to town was mostly uneventful other than a large crane loading a barge using his microphone to wish me a good morning and a safe trip down the river. I reached what Google maps showed was the boat ramp on Mud Island and was shocked to see a steep mud, clay and rock bank leading up to the parking lot. I wasn't sure I was in the right place so I spent the next 45 minutes picking up a full bags worth of trash. The first person to arrive was my childhood friend Chris who had driven over from Arkansas to meet me. We visited for a few minutes before more friends and family arrived to greet me. The boat ramp I was looking for was another 100 yards down the bank so I paddled on down while we waited on the Wolf Rive Conservancy group to show up. The next few minutes were a rush to unload the canoe and take a few pictures before the coming storm drenched us all. I was honored to have Dale Sanders show up to greet me. Dale holds the record for the oldest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail and has paddled the entire river a couple of years ago as well. We did not have much time to talk before the rain began to pour but the WRC invited Dad, Jane and myself to a WRC river guide event tomorrow in Memphis. The rest of the day was spent enjoying a nice lunch, dropping the canoe at Memphis Yacht Club and heading to Dad's for a much needed nap without the worry of storms.