Sabula, IA - Iowa's only Island City

I woke up on the sandy bank of an Island across the river near Bellevue, IA. I had stumbled upon the site the night before, after going through Lock and Dam 12 at dusk. As I pulled out of the lock, a barge was waiting on downriver side. With my headlamp showing a small red light, I exited the lock and paddled directly next to the waiting barge. On my Marine radio I heard the Lock Master call to the towboat.

"Captain, just wanted to give you a heads up we have a real tiny canoe leaving the lock"

The captain radioed back "yup- I can see his tiny little red light"

Relived that my head lamp actually provided a small safety net, I cruised by the massive barge and began looking for camp. I found the sandy bank by accident when I literally almost ran into it. It was a pleasant surprise being that it was dark and getting late.

The next morning I took it slow, sleeping in and finishing the book that Marty from Winnona had given me - Into Thin Air. I was excited for the day, as my Mom, sister and Aunt were all planning to drive out and spend the evening together in Sabula, IA. The original plan was to paddle to Sabula and meet them, but with several days of tough headwinds I was about a day behind schedule. With that in mind, my Mom, sister Christy and Aunt Sue met me in Bellevue. I paddled across the river to meet them.

After a quick reunion we loaded up the Ford F-350 that my mom had borrowed from the family pig farm. The girls had also brought 2 kayaks from DeKalb in hopes of joining me for an afternoon paddle.

With the gear and boats loaded the 4 of us walked over to Lock 12 and watched as a barge lined up to lock through. The barge, it seemed, was having some issues pulling into the lock straight. It was drifting closer to the lock, but coming in sideways. With other folks also watching form shore, it looked like a mishap was in progress.

We left Lock 12 and hopped back into the pickup unsure of how the barge situation was remedied. After a short drive we pulled up to a public boat ramp that sat about 5 miles from Sabula. My Mom and I planned to paddle the rest of the way to Sabula, while Christy and Sue drove back to town and got things set at the house.

The weather forecast had called for overcast skies and rain, but the river gods had different plans. As we put in on a back channel of the Miss, the sky cleared, the wind died and it turned into a perfect evening to paddle. It was great to show my Mom how I spent my days, and she enjoyed the paddle as well. In the two hours we spent on the river we passed a tow boat, several fishing boats and a passenger vessel. As we neared Sabula, two bald eagles sat perched on a tree top. The two of us sat below and watched as one eagle soared off of a dead limb over our heads.

We arrived at the Sabula boat ramp about a half hour before sunset. There Christy and Sue were joined a long time family friend, Lisa, who had driven out from DeKalb separately.

The 5 of us grabbed the boats and walked them a block down the road to our house for the night. The place we were staying at was a beautiful brick home, owned by a friend of my Moms. Patti, the homeowner, had graciously offered to let us use the place as a meeting point.

The rest of the night consisted of stories, Moms homemade lasagna, and a walk around the island under a full moon.

A great afternoon and evening with the folks who know me best. Tough to beat.