Hurricane Isaac

As I'm sure everyone was aware, tropical storm Isaac's winds hit 75 mph, making it a cat one hurricane as it hit the coast. We were hoping to make Vicksburg but the winds forced us to stop 30 miles before. We had to make camp and wait it out. As soon as we found a spot we saw two snakes, one of which we killed to eat, or so we thought. We've been wanting to cook a snake this trip and now was our chance, seeing as our food supplies were low and we'd be stopped a few days. We proceeded to stab him in the head, then go about our camp set up. After we set up our tents, tied them down, dug trenches for rain runoff, etc., we came back to find the snake gone! I still don't understand it. We looked around but it was nowhere to be found. Either something else snuck by us and got him or he slithered off with half of a head. Either way, hopefully someone got a meal out of it because I'm sure he didn't make it long. I'm pretty sure I saw a small gator jump in the water shortly after that, perhaps he was the culprit. One of the Swedish guys we've been traveling with also saw a gator the other day.

As far as the storm goes, we didn't get hit very hard. We were also tucked in some thick forested area. It pretty much rained for two days with 30 mph winds. Being in a tent for two days straight seemed like torture. Even if all of your stuff doesn't get wet directly, the moisture in the air eventually gets it. Having more food would have helped, for sure. Also, a propane camp stove would have been a good idea to bring. My food consisted of one can of beans, two packs of ramen, and around 3 cups of oatmeal. Shawn said he mostly ate peanut butter. Ah, and we had a couple cans of tuna. We obviously weren't starved, but without fire it was less than desirable.

We paddled a brutal day of winds, lightning, and rain storms to get to Vicksburg today. We're camped on the banks and will load up on groceries tomorrow. We are eager to wrap our trip up. It has taken longer than we had planned. Now, there's news of another tropical storm/hurricane in the mid Atlantic. Kirk is already cat 2 with 125 mph winds. We'll keep an eye on him and keep you guys updated. I guess we could be working!... Pictures!

Greenville

Greetings from Mississippi! Im writing/ typing from a sand island in the middle of the river, just big enough to dock our boats and set up four tents. We are just past Greenville, Mississippi. I'm typing this with one hand, slapping the mosquitos off my back with the other. The bugs are officially in full effect down here and have been feasting on us. The inside of my tent Is splattered with my blood from me killing them when they're too full to get away. Even if you get them all before you fall asleep, you have to watch to not leave a foot on, or roll a shoulder into the side of the tent or they will session your exposed skin until it wakes you. Before falling asleep, you can hear a subtle, yet persistent buzz from them blanketing our tents desperate to get in. We have spray with DEET in it. Originally developed by the U.S. Army, DEET is said to cause odd effects after prolonged use, such as insomnia and/or weird dreams. We have only noticed the insomnia effect.

After Memphis we hit a nearby river casino because we have come to find out that almost every casino has a cheap, all you can eat buffet. We gorged ourselves then miserably paddled on and found another camp spot. We heard a lot of coyotes that night and woke up around midnight to two cast away dogs that somehow found us out on the middle of a huge sand bar. Shawn was still awake when I heard him get spooked by one of the dogs sticking its nose against his tent. They were skinny and very wary of us. Shawn threw them some spare Debbie cakes and went to bed. We woke up in the morning to the dogs lying in our tent shadows, out of the morning sun. We briefly named them Ark and Sas, you could guess why, and fed them what little we could. The little one wouldn't come close but the other (Ark), he warmed up to us. We packed up our stuff as they curiously watched us, then, we hit the river. Sure enough, they began to walk along the bank and follow us for some miles until they lost interest and shot into the woods. They better learn to hunt if they're planning on staying alive out here.

We also ran into a couple of Swedish fellas who are paddling to New Orleans from Minneapolis. Both named Andreas, they are planning on reaching New Orleans around the same time as us. It is awesome to see other people who can relate to the long distance paddle, and it's entertaining to hear there perception of America and the interesting people they've ran into. They are paddling kayaks, and are much faster than us. Kayaks are the way to go. I would gladly sacrifice extra gear for miles at the end of the day, and will do so my next water trip.

We saw them again at the Warfield Park in Greenville. They had just gotten back from the store when we met a fella by the name of Randy who said he would gladly run us into town to catch a bite to eat. We accepted his offer and hopped in the truck with his son and his friend. While we were eating, Randy "set us up." We went to leave and the local news was outside. We laughed and figured we'd better give them something. We said what we could, which only came out as a mess of tangled words, and hid our nervous eyes behind our sunglasses. One could easily tell we're not public speakers. Randy gave us a ride back to the park and we thanked him and went on our way. We gave the Swedes a taste of the Wendy's dollar menu and ordered them, as they requested,"a dozen cheeseburgers." All four of us paddled some more miles and found this tiny island to make camp.

It was seven years ago this week when hurricane Katrina hit, and now it looks like tropical storm Isaac is taking the same path and gaining strength. We should only get winds and rain being this far up. We will keep an eye on the radar, though. Next stop, Vicksburg!

Mississippi Sunrise

"...one cannot see too many summer sunrises on the Mississippi. They are enchanting. First, there is the eloquence of silence; for a deep hush broods everywhere. Next, there is the haunting sense of loneliness, isolation, remoteness from the worry and bustle of the world. The dawn creeps in stealthily; the solid walls of black forest soften to gray, and vast stretches of the river open up and reveal themselves; the water is glass-smooth, gives off spectral little wreaths of white mist, there is not the faintest breath of wind, nor stir of leaf; the tranquility is profound and infinitely satisfying. Then a bird pipes up, another follows, and soon the pipings develop into a jubilant riot of music. You see none of the birds; you simply move through an atmosphere of song which seems to sing itself. When the light has become a little stronger, you have one of the fairest and softest figures imaginable. You have the intense green of the massed and crowded foliage near by; you see it paling shade by shade in front of you; upon the next projecting cape, a mile off or more, the tint has lightened to the tender young green of spring; the cape beyond that one has almost lost color, and the furthest one, miles away under the horizon, sleeps upon the water a mere dim vapor, and hardly separable from the sky above it and about it. And all this stretch of river is a mirror, and you have the shadowy reflections of the leafage and the curving shores and the receding capes pictured in it. Well, that is all beautiful; soft and rich and beautiful; and when the sun gets well up, and distributes a pink flush here and a powder of gold yonder and a purple haze where it will yield the best effect, you grant that you have seen something that is worth remembering."

Mark Twain
Life on the Mississippi

Memphis

We made it to Memphis, Tennessee this past Friday. It took us a little over a week to do 200+ miles. We're now averaging 30+ miles a day and moving right along. A lot of good photo opportunities on the stretch to Memphis- sunken tugs and whirlpools! The sunset pictures may get old but they just seem to keep getting better; the photos don't do them justice. The bridge pictured is the only structure spanning the Miss from Cairo to Memphis. It's just past Caruthersville, MO.

Lucky for us, we happened to make it for the tail end of Elvis week in Memphis! It's amazing how big Elvis Presley's fan base still is. People still come from all over the world to see him and his home. Being fans of the King, we had to follow the tourist trail and check out Graceland for ourselves. We also toured his cars and planes. Pictures below!

We got a cheap motel and happened to be two blocks from the famous Sun Studio. This is where artists such as B.B. King, Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison have recorded many songs. We also took to the streets to check out the famous nightlife on Beale Street.

It was nice to do laundry, shower, and rest in a bed, but check out time came and we hit the river again today. We're back on the banks where we belong tonight and the weather is great. As of camp tonight, we're 715 miles from the ocean.

Mississippi River

We made it to the Mississippi! It has lived up to its hype, as well. We are moving at nearly double our speed of the Ohio; faster and slower in some spots. I will backtrack to where I left off, though.

Wednesday we went through our last lock on the Ohio. It was only around 24 miles from the previous one. It was built in 1927 and showed its age. It only dropped around eight feet. We paddled slightly faster than normal through the open doors hoping to be swept away by the current of the unregulated waters. It was no different than above the dam. Shortly after, we passed the new lock and dam that is well beyond its expected completion date, and WELL over budget. The project started in 1993 and was expected to be done by 2000. It has already cost double the estimated amount and is only 40 percent complete! The latest price tag is said to be $3.1 billion.

We made it to Cairo, IL. but were too late to stop into town so we camped across the river. In the morning we paddled over, climbed the bank, and were instantly amazed at the sight of the town. It is a run-down ghost town. We were warned of this upstream, but I didn't think it would be quite that bad being at the confluence of the rivers. Nevertheless, we stopped in at the local BBQ spot to treat ourselves to a hearty meal. After breakfast we paddled down to the point where the Ohio and the Miss merge. There is a small park there and we took some time to explore and snap some pictures. This was an exciting moment we had been waiting for, and we were eager to paddle into the visibly faster waters. We were told that flipping a coin into the merging waters was good luck, so we supposed it couldn't hurt and did so.

The current was everything we expected and hoped for. We were making good time and morale was at an all time high. We stopped around three to take our first swim. We wanted to test the current and see what we were up against. It is a strong river and could easily get you in trouble quickly if you weren't ready or were not paying attention. There were two people killed just half a mile up from where we were camped at the beginning of the week. We saw the boat lights but didn't learn what had happened until the following day. Apparently, some folks were swimming on a sand bar and a younger kid was taken down by the undertow. His uncle, who had lived there all of his life, went in after him and was drowned, as well.

This reminds me of something an older river man we met upstream had told us regarding the Mississippi. Leathered and gray, he took a sip of lemonade moonshine, then passed the jar to us. "She can be a mighty wicked, you know. You gotta respect her," he said. Respect for the river is something everyone around here has in common. We've adopted it also and have learned to read the river quite well.

The waters are extremely low. The sand bars are above water all the way out past what would be the middle of the river at normal level. We have pretty much been camping where the center of the river would be. This can be dangerous if the waters were to rise, but we tie a rope from our canoes to our tents so if the water starts to rise the canoes will float first and tug on our tents to wake us.

Today we did 26 miles by 3:30 which was great. We stopped in to check out New Madrid, MO. It is supposed to get down to 60 tonight. Things are going well. We should hit Memphis by Friday.