Friday, June 12, 2015
Weather conditions:
High – 91
Low – 72
Skies – Sun and clouds mixed
Wind – S 5-10 mph
I glance out the tent door and am awestruck by the beauty of a pink, purple, and blue sky reflected on the water. The horizontal lines of clouds are a deeper blue than the sky, creating depth. The black silhouette of trees and John packing the kayaks on the beach remind me of silhouettes created by cutting figures from black construction paper. Many images from this expedition are etched in a special place in my mind – this morning’s beauty is definitely one of them. (See Instagram @ separateboats)
Right now we are sitting outside our tent on the tarp waiting for the rain to arrive. (It’s too hot to wait in the tent.) The sights and sounds of approaching rain are present: blowing of leaves, swaying of trees, booming of thunder, rustling of leaves. As I look out on the river to my left I see blue skies with fluffy white clouds floating carelessly in the sky. To my right I see dark heavy rain clouds looming slowly across the sky, a blue wall of rain approaches down the river. As the wall approaches, the river turns from blue to brown – a line could be drawn to separate the two. (See Instagram @ separateboats)
Sights and sounds. Both are appreciated. Both provide signs of what is to come. Both aid in our safety. Sights of tows, rough waters, and floating debris (sometimes entire trees) warn us of danger to avoid. Likewise sound provides a warning, as well. However, we had to learn the sounds of the Mississippi River from experience. The sound of a helicopter we soon learned was a tow. The sound of rushing water equates to a dike (wall of stones) in the water. Today, as we were coming up to a bend we could not see around, we heard a “helicopter”, which translates to a tow on the Mississippi. This alerted us to slow down and get over until we could see where the tow was headed.
Today we hit 1,000 miles! Wow – that’s a lot of strokes! Shouldn’t we be on our way home? It’s hard to believe that although we have paddled a thousand miles, we still have several hundred to go to our final destination. Still so many sights and sounds to experience.
Now to the tent to philosophy during the rain! Love this part of our time together.
Thanks for following our adventure. For photos and videos of the events mentioned in this daily journal, check us out on Instagram @ separateboats.
Also, please continue to pray for and support our charity, The Fortress. Check out our “Charity Page” – you can donate using the Pay Pal button. Thank you.
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