Pics from chilo lock and dam showing summer river levels

Suasana's guest house.

So I walked out of Suasana's guest house.  The wonderful place I stayed while I was in New Richmond.  Which I am missing very much right now.  I saw the unofficial mascot of the town, Jacob, the resident peacock. 

Cardboard Boat Museum

OK, so this had to be one of the funniest, coolest little things about New Richmond.  They have a Cardboard Boat Museum.  You may ask, why would someone build a cardboard boat.  To race of course.  Every year on Aug 20th in New Richmond there is a cardboard boat race.  There are strict rules to the construction of a cardboard boat.  They must only be made out of cardboard, tape and paint.  The addition of anything else will get you disqualified.  There is also another class, the paddle wheel class which encompasses metal components.  The race is a distance race to see how far a cardboard boat can be paddled before it eventually sinks.  Yes, they all sink eventually.  The record holder to date is 8.5 miles held by the yellow boat below.  It was paddled by four men, and I met one of them.  He was easily 220 and built.  Looking at that cardboard boat, I still can't imagine four grown men floating, let alone paddling for over 8 miles.  If I am done by Aug 20th, I will have to come back and see this race.

Abolitionist doctor

Dr. John Rogers helped support and protect the first abolitionist paper west of the Allegheny.  He practiced for 60 years in New Richmond during which time he delivered U.S. Grant. On this trip, I have been constantly reminded of the depth of the history along the Ohio.  The history runs deep from the times before records when the Indians, the mound builders, inhabited this land.  To the frontiersman that came through charting and exploring, to the settlers and all the weird and interesting beliefs that they brought.  The abolitionist history and the underground railroad (Clermont County has more nationally recognized historical sites than any other in the US).  Also the civil war history that I feel will continue to play an important part of my trip.  The Ohio river's importance to or national history is only now starting to become clear.  I  am finally starting to appreciate American history as I never did before.  

Ulysses S. Grants birthplace

Interesting facts.  Ulysses S. Grants birthplace, a one room house, was cut up and shipped all across the country for viewing.  He was so popular 1.5 million people went to his funeral in NYC.

The man in the picture is Greg Roberts, a wonderful man and amateur historian that showed me around the area and filled me in on some of the local history.  Actually, he gave me a lot of the local history.   He is so interested in local history, he purchased a part of it.  Greg lives in the Clermont Academy (not in picture) which was a private school started in the mid 1830s.  It was on a short list of schools at the time that taught, in the same class room, all children no matter of sex or race.  I found it interesting that many of the slave owners from Kentucky would bring their bi-racial children across the river to study in the Clermont Academy, as slavery was legal in Kentucky and illegal in Ohio.  Traveling down the river, I can see how the river would have been a great divider of the land and culture.  Though I was reminded by Greg of how that was always not the case.  Traveling down the river seeing how large it is, I sometimes forget that it's size and stability is mostly a man made creation.  During the height of summer back before the dams you could walk across the river, as it would mostly only be a couple of feet deep.  Looking across the water I find it hard to imagine this river being untamed, wild. 

Greg is standing in front of the house that I stayed in during my stay in New Richmond.  The house is one of the two homes that David VornHolt runs as a bed and breakfast.  My stay here in New Richmond has to be the most relaxing to date.  The kindness that both David and the manager (Rick) of the B&B has shown me make it extremely difficult to drag myself back into my boat, especially because of the plushness of my accommodations.  The room was huge, the bed was comfortable, the water was hot and I was dry and clean.  Something that doesn't happen to much these days.  Though time to move on, I have Louisville in my sights.

Riverside diners

On this stretch of river, I have been finding a riverside bar and restaurant every 20-30 miles.  It has been very nice.  I generally stop and get a burger and coke and move on my way.  I finally decided to take a picture at the last one, Fatboy's Dream.  What a wonderful name for a diner. 

Ferry boat

One of the two ferry boats that I have seen so far.  This ferry site has been in operation since 1797.  Pay five dollars and you get a trip for your car across the river.  Saves about an hour of driving.

Old school lawn mower that I found still in service.

Waves

Got about an hour into rowing today and then the wind started.  I know it is always a good idea to stop and see what is on land when white capped waves are coming at you as far as the eye can see; so that's what I did.  Also, I want to take this random blog post to thank all of you that send me emails and post comments.  I know I don't always respond by I do enjoy getting them, THANK YOU.

Pit stop

I stopped to get out of a storm that came on suddenly and turned out that I stopped at a winery.  Lucky me!  The day before that I stopped to get out of a thunderstorm and ended up with a home cooked meal.  Thanks Janice.  Yesterday was a different story though.  Got stuck in a rainstorm and had two miles to go before I hit the marina that I was planning on stopping at.  I was soaked and the boat had six inches of water in it by the time I got there.  Then when I finally arrived it was closed.  Well, I guess my luck was bound to run out sometime.

So I decided to try and find a store.  Turns out, I had ended up in this shady small town with nothing but motels.  Watched a women walking down the street with no shoes on.  Walking through the puddles of mud without a care in the world or a tooth in her mouth.  I preceded back to my boat and didn't venture out anymore.   I decided it would be better to stop in the next town. 

Holiday Point Marina

What to say? Yet again, I have run into some very nice people.  The last couple of days have been great.  I stopped at Holiday Point Marina the other day to pick up my mail and still haven't left.  I had arranged to ship packages of food to different locations on the Ohio river.  The package had not arrived at the marina by the time I arrived. So I hung out with the owner, Phil.  Phil has to be one of the most interesting characters that I have met on my trip to date.  His stories are plentiful and his bullshit is good.  That is something that I have learned is common among river folk (I am still trying to perfect my bullshit).   "By and by" he would say as we talked about the history of the river and steam boats.  He had never worked on them himself but was a collector of other peoples river experiences.  Not to say that he had no river stories of his own but his life had led him away from the river.  Only later on in life did he realize the joy and balance that the river brought.  Before becoming a marina owner, he had many jobs.   He was a disk jockey, newspaper man, soldier, GM rep, and finally for the last ten years has been a marina owner and operator.  

I learned many interesting facts about the river and river travel that I never knew.   Until the nineties, there was still steam boats running up and down the river.  Great wooden ships that still took passengers on long voyages.  From what I remember of the conversation, they were bought and then sold by the Coca-Cola Corporation.  Some to never again see the water.  Now, there is only a few left and none that make overnight trips.  I was sad to hear that this way of life, steam boatin', was dead.  Though steamboatin' maybe dead, everywhere I look I can still find the remnants of this bygone era.  In the stories of the river people I meet, I get a little window into the past.    I am beginning to understand what it use to be like living on the river.  I am planning to visit one of the last steam boats, the belle of Louisville over the Forth of July.  Hopefully getting a glimpse of the way people use too travel and have a chance to meet a real river boat captain.

Small streams

Last night, I was rowing again by the light of the moon (a picture that I couldn't get to work on the phone).  When I got tired around midnight, I started to look for a place to sleep.  When looking for a space to sleep, there are usually one of three choices: going ashore, anchoring in a chute or anchoring in a stream. All of these choices have their time and place. I like to be on shore if there is a storm.  Otherwise, I like to stay in the boat because of the easy breakdown of the gear in the morning.  Well last night was clear and cool, so I decided to stay in a stream as there was no islands near by.  When camping in a stream, there always seems to be some sort of wild life encounter.  Last night, it was fish.  There where five huge fish swimming around my boat.  They must have been two feet each.  If I was like some fishermen I know, I would have reached down and grabbed them all while saying "man alive" but I am not, so I went to bed.  A couple of days before that there was a whole flock of geese. The day before that there was a bull frog.  One day there was even a beaver that was very mad at me for making camp in his stream.  He kept pounding the water beside my boat trying to get me to leave.  Needless to say, he lost.  By far the most scary wild animal I have had to deal with though has been the hillbilly.  One day I woke up to screaming.  Stuck there in the cocoon that is my boat, I could not see what was going on.  When I finally did, I had a front stage pass to a Jerry Springer Show, in real life.  I always thought the TV show live would be sweet, to be there in Chicago, but real life is so much better than TV. There are things missing from the TV show that are part of the hillbilly's native environment.  These pieces and props are essential for the full understanding of the story.  For instance, the trailer and the garbage in the yard, even the collection of brown stained mattresses that just haven't been burnt yet, all play a part.  These are all important details when painting the portrait of the man in the middle of the argument.   He was in his late forties, long beard, missing teeth, and a mullet.  To pull this look off he was wearing a ten year old AC/DC shirt with cut off sleeves.  The conversation had many parts and even an intermission when the neighbor came by on his lawnmower to calm down the situation.  The main arguing point was "Amy had been two time'in him for too long and he ain't takin' it no more."  I never got a clear view of Amy but from what I gather, she was a peach.   The only thing I noticed of her was the bowing of her car frame as she drove away.  The thing I guess you can take out of this post is that when setting up camp in a stream, at night: you never know who your neighbors will be.

Athens boat club

So I stopped the other day for water at a boat club.  Long story short, I met a lot of wonderful people. They gave me shelter during a storm.  Let me use their golf carts to get supplies.  One person, Kathy, even washed all my dirty clothes and made me Reese peanut butter cup cookies.  It was a great stop.  Thank you Athens boat club. 

Nap time

Two days ago, it was like 90 plus degrees in the middle of the day.  I had to take a little afternoon break.  Found a wonderful place with a little waterfall.

Wonderful stretch of river

All along the river there have been flowers in bloom.  This stretch of river for five miles before and after Ravenswood, WV was so fragrant and peaceful.  It smelled like you just walked in to a flower store.

Night time rowing

Rowing at night was the most peaceful time I have spent on the river yet.  Everything is quiet except for the power plants and trains in the distance.  The water was smooth as glass and I was gliding through it effortlessly.  The temperature hadn't dropped enough that I wasn't sweating, but it was very comfortable compared to how it is usually.  I may have to change my rowing schedule.  Thanks for the suggestion Ben.

Marietta

Nice little town with easy waterfront access.  I had a burger and a look around.  Then headed on my way.  

First lock in the Huntington District

I have moved out of the Pittsburgh district after today's thunderstorms.  Some people have express interest in the locking procedures.  So I thought I would take a couple pics and describe how it goes.  You approach the lock and on the far wall; there is a rope there to pull.  That rope sounds a bell and the lock master knows you are there.  Though most of the time, I just call ahead because it is hard for me to move the canoe in tight quarters.  They then signal you with a green light and one loud whistle blow.  You then proceed into the lock and to a mooring station.  Most of the locks on the Ohio have floating moorings as are in the photo.  So all you need to have is a couple feet of rope.  The locks on the Allegheny and the first couple on the Ohio just had hooks at to top so you had to have like 75 feet of rope.  Well anyways, after you are tied up the lock master begins to drop the water and ten minutes later you are on your way.  Ten to twenty feet lower.  The lock masters are always happy to see me and lock me through.  I definitely break the routine of just locking through barges.  Sometimes I get the best info from the lock master on where to stay, which streams are good and where not to go.  They are wonderful resources and also break the routine of my day.  Thanks goes out to the lock master that gave me the info on the storm three days ago.  I would never have got off the river in time with out you!

Electric

One of the thousands of barges taking coal to one of the hundreds of power plants in West Virginia.  The West Virginia side has easily three to four times as many power plants compared to the Ohio with half the development.  Where does this power go?

First rain storm in the boat

Well rain fly not as water tight as I had hoped.  The storm just came up on me, no real warning.  Nothing was put away, I barely got to shore.  Everything would of been semi dry if it wasn't for the barges; I dislike them.  Got everything up and secure and a barge flies by and water pours over the side of the canoe.  There is about thirty gallons of water in the boat right now!  I am just sitting above it looking at it in contempt.  Thank god for the pontoons, keeping me stable and afloat.  I had often said before I left for the trip that I wish they were smaller.  I take it all back they are perfect. Thank you Randy Grape.

First rain storm

Two days ago, my parents came to visit me on the river bringing things that I realized I needed and taking away those things that were just weighing me down.  Lucky for me in the exchange I got a tent because it was storming last night for the first time since I have been on this trip.  I got off the water around eight at Duffy campground struck up a conversation with a married couple, got a place to park my tent, food and a shower.  People in general have been very nice on the river.  Wes is a sheet metal worker and his wife Kim is a home maker.  They come to the river on the weekends to stay in their RV and relax.  I think I will be getting a late start today as all my stuff is wet from the down pour last night.  Also I woke up this morning and some of my fingers were numb.  I have been rowing pretty hard and my fingers have been really sore and stiff but never numb.  That was a sign to take it easy today.  So I woke up late, ate some bacon and eggs with Wes and Kim.  Washed some of my clothes and in general, charged my batteries.  Thank god for the kindness of strangers.  I don't need it to survive but it makes the trip that much nicer.

June 1st

Yesterday was a rough day.  I went through three states in a matter of hours: PA, WV, and OH.   After passing the point of origin (a surrey point used by the fore fathers),  the winds picked up a bit!  So much so that it created a three to four foot swell going up river.  I fought for every foot I could get, and after four hours of paddling, I traveled a mile.  So I stopped for a break in a, under a maple tree.  I was hoping that the wind would change on this otherwise beautiful day.  They didn't so I continued in the same fashion for another couple of hours till I went past a marina and decided to stop.  There I asked for a coke and got a beer instead.  After Chad (the guy I met) and I  had talked for awhile, he introduced me to the president of the boat club, who was a wonderful person with a lot of knowledge about the local river history.  He offered me a place to sleep, a shower, and a spare boat he was trying to sell "old hippies and Greeny too." Thank you Rick and Carla Hamilton, and Chad McCoy for making my stay at Wellsville boat club enjoyable.  I woke up the next day and the river was like a sheet of glass.  I was so glad I stopped.    

The picture is of Rick