Day 89

Up and one the water at 4:45 again this morning. First thing I noticed was that yesterdays strong current had dropped off sharply. I looked at the tide chart and saw that it would start to go back out about 10. I paddled the slack water and enjoyed a sky full of waterfowl while waiting and the tide and  current to work in my favor. I passed very few docks and only a handful of freighters, barge traffic has almost completely died off. By lunch I had reached the area where the left hand side of the river is only swamp, home only to wild creatures . The right bank is a thin ribbon of land with a two lane highway and a few homes, to the west of that it is more miles of swamp only. I stopped north of Port Sulfur for lunch at a small cafe. A half dozen women sat in the corner talking and laughing, they were speaking Creole a mix of French, Spanish, English and some African, I couldn't even start to understand what they were saying. A few hours after lunch I reached the point were I could not keep my eyes open. I spotted a gravel bar, something completely out of place down here and paddled over. I found a nice spot in the shade and took a nap for about an hour. Waking up refreshed I paddled on towards the sounds of an air boat playing down river. I rounded a bend and the air boat came flying out of the marsh and came to stop beside me. The man and his girlfriend offered me a beer and we spent about an hour visiting. Being from this end of the world he was able to give me what I hope is good advice on the final part of this trip. The river miles are numbered, they have been counting down to mile 0 since Cairo Illinois, river mile 950. I am attempting a Source thru to Sea of the Mississippi River. I need to paddle to mile 0 of the river to finish the thru portion, then paddle another 13 miles taking South Pass out into the Gulf. Easy enough right? Just keep paddling as usual, getting back to a boat landing is were things get interesting. The road ends at river mile 10, so when I finish I am 23 plus miles downstream from "land". The gentleman told me that at Port Eds they have rebuilt a marina with rooms and bar/restaurant.Being a Friday he assures me there will be steady stream of boats going back to land at Venice. South Pass is only two miles further downstream from Port Eds. I am currently at or about river mile 25. Tomorrow I plan to get up early, paddle to mile zero and take a picture at the marker. Next I will paddle to Port Eds and see who is around, maybe talk someone in to following me out of South Pass, taking some pics and hauling me in. If not, I will paddled out and back, working on finding a ride after I return to Port Eds.  I doubt I will sleep much tonight I am full of excitement to see the Gulf. A long trip like this quickly becomes about waking up and paddling day after day, week after week, the scale of total trip is lost when you live it at 5 miles per hour. When I was asked how far I had traveled this evening and I said twenty two hundred plus miles, it really hit me how far I have traveled. All I lack now, is finishing up.