Day 11 Mississippi River — Buffalo Roamer

Once again, another great day on the river. Once again, people are good.

I woke up this morning to some commotion at the small pubic boat ramp I was camped at. The sound of metal scraping against concrete alerted me that it was time to get moving. After packing up my sleeping bag, pad and clothes in the tent, I got up and out to meet two older gentlemen smoking and chewing on long cigars at 7am.

While talking with the fellas I learned that they were out this morning to harvest wild rice. The banks of the river had been filled with the wetland plant since I put in at Lake Itasca. I didn't realize until now that it was indeed wild rice I had been fighting for much of the trip so far. I asked the guys about the process of harvesting and curing the rice, and I'll be damned, it's quite the undertaking. These particular gentlemen had driven 60 miles south to scope out a nice patch for future harvest. Both guys were as interested in my journey as I was in the wild rice, so we exchanged stories and plans for about a half hour. Before the old timers pulled out in their beat up canoe with an old tiller motor on the back, one of them ran to the pickup and grabbed something. He came back and handed me a ziplock stuffed with wild rice. "That's $9 worth of Minnesota Wild Rice, right there." He then explained the best way to cook it: let it boil for 10 minutes to open up the grain, let it sit for a few, then add a little maple syrup or Parmesan cheese and enjoy. Both guys claimed that I would love the stuff.

I put in on the water and paddled about 2 miles before I spotted a canoe in the rice beds. I thought for sure it was the same fellas, but as I got closer I realized it was 2 different guys. One stood in the stern on the boat, with a long wooden pole, proababy 20 feet long, pushing off the river floor while the guy in the front used a paddle to whack all of the rice grain into the floor of the canoe. I rolled up and chatted with them a bit. They seemed to think this years harvest was going to be of exceptional quality.

A few miles later I reached the first of 2 dams for the day. I had heard rumors that the power company who runs the dams offers a free portage to paddlers with a pickup and boat trailer, and as I arrived sure enough a sign gave a phone number to call for the free service. I called and told the guy on the other end of the line that I could use a portage, and that Mike (the fella I met yesterday who told stories of the Hudson Bay Company and fur traders of old) said hi. Apparently Mike works at the plant, and he told me to pass along that I had met him ("just tell them you met Mike, the guy who lives in a van down by the river" lol).

A short 5 minutes later Garry pulled up to lend me a hand. He had mentioned that earlier in the day he gave Jeff a ride. Jeff is the yellow kayaker from Toronto who I had spent a few nights camping with earlier in the trip. As we drove toward the put in below the second dam, Garry asked if I needed any supplies from the store. He offered to drop me off and wait in the parking lot as I shopped. (He mentioned some Allman Brothers lyric about being to old to care. "I get paid the same wether I'm helping you or sitting in the chair at my desk"). Awesome!

After getting a needed resupply on food, Garry drove me past the second dam to a public landing. He even went the extra mile and took my water bottles to fill while I loaded the boat and reorganized gear. He reappeared about 10 minutes later with 3 jugs full of water. What a guy.

I took my time at the landing, having a lunch of fresh Watermelon and Strawberries from the supermarket. Barry Lyons, the guy who took me in and fed me near Bemidji, mentioned that I should stop in the community radio station right on the river in Grand Rapids, KAXE. I skated over to the studio and moseyed in. One volunteer DJ was in on this Saturday. We chatted for a bit, I looked around, picked up a sticker and some new artists to listen to and went on my way.

I put in on the water around 2:45pm and paddled 6 miles to camp. As I was getting ready to wash off in the river my camp was flooded with what seemed like 15 dogs. A grizzled looking fella with a gray beard and hair appeared. He owned the 100 acres surrounding the DNR site I was at, and was out walking his and his sons dogs. Turns out "in a previous life" he was an astrophysicist. I mentioned a course I took at CU all about Black Holes and he was excited as he knew the professor of the class well. We then talked space and time for a good while, with me comprehending about 1% of it. I asked him to give me one take away to remember as I look at the stars on my trip, and he explained how to find Venus and the Andromeda Galaxy, the only other galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye.

He walked away with the pups, I rinsed off with some Dr. Broners soap in the river, cooked dinner and called it a night.

Great day in Grand Rapids, MN. Onward toward Palisade, MN now, where a River Angle has offered to welcome me into her home and lend a hand.

Cheers to the Might Miss and the people you meet along the way.

A man harvests wild rice in a canoe along the banks of the Mississippi River. near Cohasset, Minnesota.