There is no better place to experience the first snow of the year than in a canoe. The serene stillness and spiritual warmth of small flakes floating to the water around you is breathtaking. It snowed through most of the morning yesterday, and switched to rain around 2. With Tischers blankets, Lucas jacket, and my socks wet, we stopped in Bellevue to find a laundromat. After grabbing some warm food, we bumped into an old river rat, Roger Vaughn, who shared the town and nearby rivers history with us. His grandfather had rowed up the river from Davenport and settled in Bellevue as a young man. Rogers parents were locals, and he was born and raised in the town. He had worked the river as a boy, clamming, turtle hunting, and netting fish. He worked on the barges for 18 years before settling back into Bellevue. With some memories and wartime clamshell button souvenirs, we headed to the laundromat, and then back to the river. We decided to have an early morning today, setting our alarms for 6 (its early for us!). After turning off my alarm and realizing how cold it was, I called over to Lucas to make sure he wasnt moving much faster than I. He wasnt. Tischer wasnt either. We laid around until the sunshine began to warm things up. After packing up and shoving off, I paddled over to a sign that was a bit too far to read last night as we paddled in. Danger: Exposed Ordnance. Do Not Trespass On Land. Well, its a good thing T wasnt in a running mood! We planned 28 miles today, and with bursts of sunshine through the clouds, I was feeling motivated and excited. I even doubled up my socks, preparing for a long haul. Its a good thing I did! The sun left us and some hail hurling clouds rolled in. As we approached Sabula, IA, a small town on an island, some type of waterfowl buzzed right past my head at full speed. Stunned, I tried to make a mental image - it was shaped like a cormorant, but smaller, I think. Right behind it followed massive white, grey, and brown featherbullet. A golden eagle had its eyes on eating the first bird! It kept up the chase until its fleeing prey hit the water with a splash, and disappeared. Circling for a bit and losing hope, the eagle continued downstream. We followed it. As we approached Lock & Dam 13, we began hearing some chatter between the lock and some nearby ships. The Twilight was approaching, running a bit late, and asking to slip through before a northbound tow. Hoping to not get stuck in the choppy, 3 mile wide pool above the lock for two hours, we radioed in to ask if we could squeeze in somewhere. Score! We were offered a ride down with Twilight, a small steamship. I was a bit intimidated locking through 30 feet from the ships rear, but it was better than bobbing around for a while above the lock! With our 28 miles completed by 5:30, we set up our tents to dry. Theyll be wet again tomorrow morning, but it was a morale booster for me to see the water evaporating in the evening glow.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 01:14:17 +0000
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