Day 74 and a week at home

Excitement to make Vicksburg and get home for a holiday weekend had me up and paddling early. I had about 25 miles left to reach the landing in town. I was making very good time when the barge traffic started to build up, The first line of traffic that I encountered was headed south like me and I simply pulled out of the channel and rode the current while they passed. The next line of traffic approaching Brown's Point was all headed up stream and contained four of the triple screw tug boats pushing 50 plus barges.  These are the largest tugs on the river and they push a massive amount of water as they work forward against the current.  Five minutes after they pass I paddled over and into the wake they left behind. The wake is a very fast current rushing down river for 2 to 3 miles. I paddled into a series of 6 to 8 foot high parallel rolling waves marching downstream. It is an adrenaline fueled rush as I race down the river, working to keep the canoe pointed straight ahead as I ride the rolling waves up and over, up and over like a huge water roller coaster. With the spacing of the the large tugs I am able to cover the 25 miles to Vicksburg by 2 in the afternoon.
I had a wonderful time in Jackson, my hometown, friends and family were all off work for Labor Day weekend. I was showered with well wishes, wonderful food, drink and questions about how my trip was going. I was interviewed by the local outdoor writer who wrote an amazing article about me and my trip. He went into much more detail than I ever imagined and his work was excellent. At the end of the holiday I was interviewed by a local TV station and was forced to think about what I was going to do with a hurricane moving towards the Mississippi coast. I bought groceries, retreated the tent with waterproofing and prepared to leave out on Tuesday morning. Friends and family were pushing me to delay my leaving and wait for the storm to pass but I was stuck in get prepared to paddle mindset. When I woke at six on Tuesday morning I could hear the first bands of rain pounding on the sky light outside my room. I took one look at the radar and decided to spent a couple of days waiting for the hurricane to pass.