The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of foggy memories and monotonous river miles.
This section of the river has been all about the weather and less about the river or its charm. The tall trees cover both sides of the river almost like interstate 10 in Mississippi or 95 in North Carolina. From the highway you can’t see past the trees to see the countryside along the way so you just focus on driving etc. there have been very few memorable towns the last couple of days, but the people along the way have been memorable for sure.
I struck up a random conversation with Jeff Jennison on the sidewalk in Muscatine, Ia. It was a nothing important, just about paddling the river. That simple exchange turned into a place to sleep for a night that was much needed, much appreciated and incredibly generous! His family has a great restaurant located in Burlington about 50 river miles down stream or a solid days paddle. Jeff had to travel out of town but he is in the commercial paint industry and when I walked into his offices to ask about storing my boat, his employees looked at me the homeless river rat with a smile and simply stated “Jeff never met a stranger, go into the alley and up the stairs and get some rest!” Hearing that was amazing. The winds had been so strong and the storms so bad it turned a 1 day paddle into a two day grind.
The lovely retired schoolteacher I met in Jeffs family restaurant (the Drake) had arrived an hour early by mistake so as she waited we gabbed about life in general and how it is a shame kids don’t learn cursive. Her son teaches at Hillsdale college here in Burlington and she loves this city. She was an adorable 80ish gray haired, thin woman who just had the glow of a 20 something go getter. She was a hard worker in life, her hands gave it away. She was remodeling her attic and waiting for her son to help with the heavy lifting parts of the project.
The lock operator at #18 who brings his dog to work every day because “shop dogs are a dime a dozen, nobody has a lock dog but me” was great to talk to as I waited for a tugboat to pass the lock.
The weather has been hot during the day and the thunderstorms have been intense at night. So far I have been lucky to find big trees, a little cover etc to stay out of most of it. The daytime winds have been horrendous and cut my daily mileage in half. I hope the pattern changes soon or I will need to order Xmas lights for my boat!
This morning I am headed south again, to another little town, to more interesting people and the belief that the USA is stronger than it has ever been if you just turn off the TV and talk to strangers!
