10:25 a.m.
We are relaxing in our hotel—the last time for a few days. John is watching people who live off the land in Port Protection, Alaska, on the National Geographic channel. I’d like to subsist like that for a few months. My mid-western normal is easy compared to their everyday life. When something becomes your normal, does it still seem difficult? Do hurdles lower with familiarity?
We are living on river time, so who knows when we will climb into the car and drive to St. Paul, Minnesota.
7:07 p.m.
We arrived in St. Paul this afternoon. After a riverside dinner at Red River Kitchen, we strolled on the waterfront boardwalk.
How do I describe my first view of the river? I exhaled with the calm created by the water. I inhaled with trepidation about the unknown. The river is smaller here than the lower Mississippi. This should reassure me, but we will share the limited space with towboats and barges. I know tomorrow I will exhale again as we push away from society and glide onto our river. Until then, I will think about the beaches, sunrises, sunsets, simple life, remote campsites, living in nature, conversations with John… my river life.
Keep us upright and safe.