Celtic cross

I rowed to Rocky Point marina.  There I ran into a man with a guest house and winery.  I stayed over night and the next day he showed me his pride and joy.  The largest Celtic cross in the world.  Who would of thought I would find the largest Celtic cross in the world on my trip. I figured it would be in Ireland. Guess not. Someday I am going to make a trip out of seeing "the largest of everything" I can think of. Top of the list: largest ball of yarn.

Down time

I had a planned stop in Golconda, IL.  What I didn't know was that I would be there for the next four days.  When I arrived, I picked up my last pre-scheduled package drop off.  I got the navigational maps and a replacement sleeping pad because mine had popped about a month ago.  I had some maintenance that I wanted to do to my canoe and the paddles.  When I got to the paddles, they were much worse than I thought.  The large scratches had started to take on water, and the paddles were swelling a bit.  It took me a day to dry the paddles even after putting huge gouges in the wood.  I then had to epoxy and polyurethane them.  The only problem I was in the town of Golconda population 700.  The hardware store was woefully understocked.  I had to use an inferior epoxy and ended up paying for it.  The epoxy had a bad reaction to poly and kept it from drying.  It took 3 days for most of it not to be tacky.  I hope it holds; I still have a long way to go.  Luckily, I found a good person to hang out with.

The stalker

I had a shadow and didn't even know it.  For the last forty months, since he retired, Harry Swanson has been working the hardest job he has ever done.  He is working on his life dreams.  Harry has biked across the country twice.  Biked through South America, South Africa and after kayaking the Ohio and Mississippi he plans to bike through Thailand and Laos.  Harry says, "Working on your dreams is the hardest thing you will ever do; many people say they are going to do things but never do; I wanted to do them."  While talking with Harry, I completely understand what he is saying.  During my trip, there have been numerous people that have said that I was living their dream.  Doing what they were to scared too, or too busy to do.  Harry continues, "People can always find so many reasons why they can't follow their dreams, all it takes is planning and the will to do it.  Well Harry is living his dream, a true adventurer.  My hat is off to you Harry.  I'll see you in the Keys someday; I'll be the one with the beat up canoe flying the conch republic flag.

Two hillbillies and one roughneck

Wolf Creek was suppose to be just another stop; one of those small streams that I frequently sleep on. Though when I pulled into the creek, I was immediately followed by a john boat cruising up the stream.  The crew of two older hillbillies and one young roughneck came up to me and asked how and what I was doing.  After explaining, Niki, the Tarzan of Kentucky, offered me a shot of tequila. Since I am not in the habit of refusing a pretty girl in a bikini, I said yes and the night started from there. Exactly what a roughneck is I am not sure but I am sure she would be the prototypical roughneck.  Before I arrived, she had spotted me from her perch thirty feet up in a tree and alerted the two hillbillies, Stiff and Eddie, to my arrival.  Stiff was a man of sixty five with the energy of a fifteen year old.  He would use weird, colorful sayings that, to tell you the truth, I did not even understand.  Him and Niki made this couple of sorts; Stiff if you're out there I hope you didn't eat those lifesavers after you were done.  Eddie was a good guy; he was about the same age as Stiff and recently divorced.  He was the new owner of a local tavern.  It was a nice place; we went and played a couple games of pool and drank some beers.  Afterwards he gave me a place to stay in his trailer.  The night was filled with so many funny moments. From Niki wearing garbage bags as shoes to stiff and his St. Bernard jokes. I enjoyed myself a lot in rural eastern Kentucky. Who would have thought, two hillbillies, one roughneck and a paddler from PA. Only on the river.

Attack of the fish

I was rowing the other day minding my own business when a two and a half foot fish comes flying out of the water and smacks me in the back.  The fish bounces off my back, hits my outriggers and falls back into the water.  Ever since I have started this trip I have been hearing about the hated invasive species, the Asian Carp.  They jump out of the water when scared.  Usually it is outboard motors that frighten them, but for some reason the fish got scared and decided to jump.  They have been reported to have broken peoples arms, knocked them out and in general just be a nuisance.  Being hit in the back by what I gather is a medium size one, I can believe it.  Flying fish on the Ohio, who would of thought. 

Upside to mile 686 , mile 692

Soaked and tired from the thunderstorm.  I rolled into the little town of Darby Indiana. It was still raining when I left my boat on the side of the river.  Taking some dry cloths and my phone with me, I started towards town.  The tavern that I thought was in town was closed only on Tuesdays, and it was Tuesday. I wondered back toward my boat when I saw this older couple sitting on their porch. I approached them and started talking.  In the beginning, they were kind of weary but eventually I won them over.  I ended up getting a meal, bed, shower, and they washed my clothes.  Cecil owned a vineyard, and Verona was a seamstress.  We passed the night sampling his wine and in the morning, I left with a cover for my seat.  Very nice people exactly when I needed it.

Mile 686

So later in the day (from 666) as I can't take the heat anymore.  A slight wind rolls in.  I am thanking God at this point because I am so hot and can barely row anymore.  Then the wind stops, and I am bummed but the clear blue sky is now more gray giving me some nice cover.  Eventually I hear rain in the distance which is great because it generally cools down after a little rain.  It was great; when the rain came, there was still no wind and the clouds were small.  It was the weirdest rain I have ever seen.  The clouds were almost mirrored by the rain drops and since they were moving so slow I could weave in and out so as to not get hit by the rain.  I got hit twice and even then all I had to do was paddle hard to get out of it.  Then as sudden as it had started, it was over.  A beautiful moment that lowered the temp at least ten degrees. 

     All was good for another half an hour- calm, sunless weather. Then I started to hear rumbling off in the distance but no lighting.  This was also OK as storms frequently come and go in the area but I don't always get hit by them.  I looked up and all I saw where these two huge storm fronts colliding right above my head.  The clouds where swirling in circles and now I was starting to get a bit scared.  I kept rowing because I was stuck in the only stretch of river in the last fifty miles that had no hills and no trees.  Basically I was just a big lighting rod in my metal boat.  I finally got to shore in a place I felt comfortable and it started pouring.  Lighting is coming down all around me and I can barely hear anything over the ringing in my ears (lighting is much louder when it is right next to you and you are just sitting in the rain).  Luckily for me, the worst part of the storm hit the opposite bank.  I sat there and watched for the next hour and a half as most of the bolts struck the other bank.  Lighting is so much better than fireworks.  When watching fireworks, your heart doesn't race and you are not scared of them striking you dead.  Definitely the worst storm I have been through and scariest part of the trip so far.    

The belle of Louisville

I had planned to visit and take a ride on the belle but the times were not convenient.  Here are some pics from when I passed the steamer.  It was funny; they were taking pictures of me when I was taking pictures of them.  I was probably the weirdest looking thing they saw on their five mile site seeing adventure.

Sawing logs

So I stopped before Louisville and had a bite to eat.  One thing led to another and I ended up at someone's house.  I got there and they were sawing logs at dusk and in the dark.  The people were a little crazy but very nice.

Mile 666 , it's hot as hell

For the last couple of days, I have been waking up wet and going to sleep wet.  It hasn't rained a drop but I have been sweating so much in this 95+ degree heat I am wet all the time.  Even when relaxing in the shade I sweat.  There is no escaping the heat.  I drink three gallons of water a day and still my urine is yellow.  Rowing today, I thought of the galley slaves back in ancient days.  That experience must have been similar to mine.  Only I am my own task master and I am very easy on myself.  During the day when I am looking down at the water in my boat, I wonder how much is my sweat and how much is coming from the pinhole leek that mysteriously appeared in my boat around Louisville.  No joke; I sweat so much that bugs are drowning on my body.  I killed a hoard of gnats that way.  I wonder how much sweat it would take to start killing mosquitoes?  That would be good day.  Who knows, maybe I will find out once I get down South. 

Louisville at night

Met some folks on the river a little after Louisville, Lance and Roxanna. They took me to their place.  I got a shower, and we went out.  Louisville is a fun place, lots of bars and young people to fill them.  Something I haven't seen in a long time!  We went to a bar and met tons of people.  Definitely a no picture night.  I lasted till about two when the sun and river caught up with me.  I was just about sleeping in my chair like an old man.  Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lance.   I got up and said "too bad we have to go I was having such a fun time".   I thought like most places Louisville bars close at two, no, in Louisville bars close at four.  Lucky for me, we didn't stay that long.  Louisville, what a great place!  Have to go back sometime.  

The cinnci, chilli king of Lousiville

The other night I had put in a thirty mile day and was beat.  I was heading for a cove with a bunch of marinas.  A guy and his wife stopped to talk to me; he offered me a tow up the stream to his place and a meal.  Tom and Paula cooked me dinner and during the course of the dinner, I found out that he owned four skyline chili joints.  I don't know if anyone out there knows what I am talking about but since I got with in a hundred miles of Cinnci, I was told about this thing called Cincinnati chili.  It is a sweet chili with something like cinnamon or nutmeg or something like that.  When I heard that for the fist time, I was like "what?, sweet chili sounds disgusting."  I tried it in Laweranceburg, and it was great.  They sell hot dogs, pasta and cheese in all sorts of combinations but that is basically it.  I would try it if you ever have a chance.

Beached

Rowing till after dark again and trying to find a stream to throw out my anchor, I ended up staying in a stream called dry creek.  I went to bed parked in a cove in at least two feet of water.   I woke up and to my amazement found myself beached twenty feet from the waters edge.  The water level must have dropped over night.  It took me an hour to drag my boat back to the river.  The boat weighs much more than I thought. I almost broke a toe getting it out, but eventually, I was on my way rowing down the river.

Boone's Landing, Big Bone Lick State Park

So the first thing to really go wrong happened the other day.  I was stopped at Boone's Landing, a campground, when I stepped on my outriggers like I have done a thousand times and "snap" went the back left arm.  Luckily for me I was at a place with a welder!  Chris, the owner, (the man standing next to Steady Eddie) and Bob the welder/ex-jet engine tester helped me out; I was on my way back on the river in a couple of hours. 

This problem could of been a huge disaster if I was on the river in bad weather. Luckily I was where I was, safe up a smaller stream.  It makes me think how many things could stop this trip dead in its tracks.  One or both of the pontoons could rupture.  I could get a hole in my boat too big to patch.  God forbid, I could get hurt.  So on and so on, the list is pretty long.  Oh ya and a point of clarification, I know everyone out there wants me to reach New Orleans, me more than anyone.  Though if I get to the Mississippi and it is not safe then my trip will stop at the end of the Ohio.  I am an adventurous person but I am not crazy no mater what you think of my trip.  I also have a time limit to this trip.  I had originally said that I was going to spend no more than 60 days.  That has increased to 90 but this is a hard deadline and can not be moved.  So there it is.  The weather, health, and other problems that I write little about have slowed me down.  I can only hope that with strength and perseverance I will reach my goal safely in time. 

  
  

Riverwatch and the lost days

For most, a holiday like the Forth of July comes and goes with family and friends.  Barbecuing in the yard and relaxing with a beer.  Being on the river, I have no one to call or chill by the pool with.  When I walked into Riverwatch on Thursday afternoon, I did not think I would be staying in a town like that for the next couple days but life had different plans.  There I found out that were hydroplane races the next day and a regatta over the weekend.  The next fifty miles of water would be very unpleasant for the next couple of days.  I thought about it and decided to stay.  When I did, I found that a surrogate family and friends had been prepared for me.  All the members to my new family were unique from the crazy alcoholic friend that is somehow functional, to the mother you love but never want to talk to, to the uncle that says totally inappropriate things to women less than half his age.  I got the full Forth of July experience in Laweranceburg.  Hot dog and chili included.  Thanks L. May for sharing your Forth with a stranger.

"a bitch you can count on"

The other interesting thing about Rabbit Hash was the fact that every year they elect a four legged animal as the mayor.  The most recent mayor, Lucy Lou, ran on the slogan "a bitch you can count on".  I had hoped to run into the mayor and have a discussion about job creation and fiscal responsibility in a small town.  Alas, she was out of the office when I arrived.

Rabbit Hash

I visited this cool little town of Rabbit Hash recently.  Most of the buildings are from the 1830s and still in use.  There was a general store, winery/store, bar, and barbecue place.  I sat and talked with Bob (the older man in the picture) about the history of the town and about life in general.  He spent most of his life in this small town.  He can still remember how when he was growing up his family, like most, had a horse and buggy.  He use to travel across the river to the near by town of Rising Sun by ferry.  The ferry would carry his horse and buggy across for a modest fee.  He said the town had change very little since that time.  In the picture he is wearing his prized possession, a wooden hat.  A man in a nearby town carves these wooden hats that are beautiful and surprisingly light weight.  The general store was nice and sold an assortment of local products and antiques that have been collected over the years.  The owner was even nice enough to donated a t-shirt to me.  I have never seen a town of this age still preserved.  It was like stepping back in time.  If you are ever in the area, I suggest you travel to Rabbit Hash for a glimpse through time.