05-16-2015

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Weather conditions:
High – 72
Low – 70

Rain, rain, go away!

(12:27 pm) We are sitting in the tent, with all our sleeping gear rolled up, waiting on the rain to pass through. It rained most of the night and this morning. At 11:00, we were able to go out between rain bursts (the sky was still dripping) and make dinner for breakfast – taco mac and cheese – under the tarp. I also made lunch for later, since we are hoping to put in a few miles today.

This morning while I was laying here, I contemplated the changes we are seeing. The trains we listened to as we slept have been replaced by tow boat noises. The bare trees have changed to trees covered in leaves. The steep banks have been replaced by sandy beaches. The mud in many places has changed to sand, stones, and shells. The downed trees have been replaced by dams with locks. I realized that every change requires a replacement. If there isn’t a replacement involved, it isn’t a change, it’s a disappearance. Hmmmm…….

(7:39 pm) We are still here! It rained until 4:00, which is too late to load the kayaks, paddle, then set up camp again down the river. The afternoon was uneventful – napping , reading, playing euchre, and pretending to be Robinson Crusoe. John had the idea of gathering rain water off the tarp by funneling it into our water bottles. However, there was a lot of debris on the tarp. We decided the next time we are at a store, we would buy coffee filters through which we can filter the water! (As John would say, “Mind power.”)

We ate a late lunch at 4:00 – we were starved after being stuck in the tent without access to our food. After we satisfied our hunger, we hung some things out to dry, charged our Sherpa with the solar panel (The sun was out!), used the bilge pump to extract the water from our cockpits and John herded dead fish (don’t ask). Then dinner – beef and bean burritos with Spanish rice and salsa – no dessert because we had lunch not too long before.

After dinner, we cleaned up and talked for a while with our son Trent as he commuted from work to home. Now to bed. I know that seems early, but the alarm is set for 3:30, in hopes to paddle tomorrow. Although the weather forecast is a little sketchy. Another day of rest……