04-18-2015

Saturday, April 18, 2015

We had a fairly relaxing morning – we didn’t rush because we knew we didn’t have a long paddle today – only 12 miles. (After 20 and 23 paddle-days, 12 miles is a breeze – it’s all relative.) We had dinner for breakfast again today – black bean stew this time. The serving sizes in The Backpack Gourmet are very generous – sometimes it’s hard to eat the entire serving. (At the end of the day it was a 15-mile day. Yahoo – 200 miles!)

We were on the water by 10:45, just paddling leisurely along when a canoe carrying two boys and a man paddling upstream started coming towards us. We had slowed down to let them pass, when the gentleman said, “John.” What a surprise! It was Kit Minnich, the son of a Dan Minnich, with whom John worked several years ago, and his sons Kayden and Kolton. He had contacted us through our Website, stating if we need anything while we were in Lafyette, he would love to help us out. Unfortunately, through correspondence we learned he was going to be out-of-town while we were passing through, so we were even more surprised to see him on the river. They paddled with us until they came to where they had put in, and we went separate ways.

As we continued on our way, John saw a fish swim to the surface, look at him, blow bubbles, and then swim back down. John claims the fish went back to his school and bragged that he had just bubbled John. My life for four months!

After John’s “fishy encounter”, we soon came to the first option for camping – a boat ramp with little grass close to the road. Let’s keep going…… Second option was a beach/boat ramp – too much downtown for camping. (We are not very impressed with Lafeyette – they are not exploiting their river at all – no riverwalk or other similar attractions. Smaller towns have been much more river-friendly.) Let’s keep going…….. Third option was a beautiful, sandy island. (We are beginning to see more sand. Unfortunate though, boats do not drag easily in sand) Home for two days! The only downer is now no one can pick us up and take us to church.

Unfortunately, as we were setting up camp we noticed the island isn’t as quiet as you would think – airport traffic, train (feels like home – we have been close to trains since Bluffton, Indiana) a factory, and now some others who thought this would be a great place to camp.

After a dinner of black bean stroganoff and mud pie, we prepared ourselves for the rain in the forecast tomorrow and are now relaxing. I am looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow – no packing up and setting up! (Kayaking is the easy part.)

Today, I noticed many signs if spring – daffodils, tulips, and other wild flowers. Also,the trees are beginning to bud. As we travel this journey, I am excited to see the transformation in nature. We began in winter, will pass through spring, and complete the trip in summer. I am going to sit back and relax as I watch not only the transformation in nature, but also in me.