Posts in Hard times
Day 51 Mississippi River
Day 51 Mississippi River

I woke up after a cold and damp night hopeful for sun. I unzipped the tent door and peaked outside to find heavy cloud cover and mist once again. Dang it.

After the discouraging start it took me an hour or so to get moving and pack up my belongings inside the tent. With the rainfly still soaked from the the past 3 days of moisture I decided to keep it separate from the rest of my sleeping essentials in an effort to mitigate any seeping that could/would occur had they been packed together.

I moseyed around the morning mist in my rain gear, feeling a bit down about my circumstances. I was cold and wet, and had spent the past 3 days in the same condition, and to top it all off I had missed rendezvous with helpful folks offering warm beds the past two nights.

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Iowa, Illinois, Hard times, StormsWill CollinsBurlingtonComment
Day 50 Mississippi River
Day 50 Mississippi River

I wasn't able to get much shut eye through the night due to a litany of events caused by rising water levels. By the time morning rolled around I had a few hours of on and off again dozing under my belt.

By morning I laid in the tent and tried my best to catch up on some writing. Halfway through finishing a journal entry I heard the sound of small rolling waves uncomfortably close to tent. I opened up the vestibule to see that once again, the water had nearly surrounded my shelter. At a moments notice I sprung into action, packing up the tent and all my gear, racing against the clock before the water completely engulfed the sand bar I was camping on. Less than 12 hours prior the sand bar occupied the space of about half a football field.

I got the boat loaded and pushed off, paddling over the area that only last night I had pitched my tent on. As the water forced my hand, I left camp earlier than normal, and without time to make breakfast.

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Hard times, Mississippi Stories, StormsWill CollinsComment
Day 49 Mississippi River
Day 49 Mississippi River

The morning sky was painted with a blanket of dark grey clouds. The forecast called for rain and wind today, and based off the cool air and uninviting cloud cover it looked as though the prediction was spot on.

After a quick breakfast I broke camp and hit the water at a decent hour. Much of the morning consisted of on and off again rain showers. By noon the rain fell consistently, with a fair headwind chipping in as well. In my rain jacket, pants and boots I continued to paddle, and by mid afternoon arrived at lock 16, just above Muscatine, IA. As I entered the chamber I asked the Lock master if there was a good place in town to stop and dry off at. He recommend the Mississippi Brewing Company, and with that I heeded his advice.

As the wind picked up and the rain rolled on I ferried across the river to the local marina. Pulling up to a public dock, I unloaded the boat and lifted the empty canoe up onto the floating walkway. A short jaunt across a railroad track and down a few blocks of downtown Muscatine put me outside the neon lights of the Mississippi Brewing Co.

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Good People, Iowa, Storms, Hard times, Mississippi StoriesWill CollinsMuscatineComment