Day 11 (and day 10 fill in)

Daily stats
Start: 7:00 AM- 4 miles above Grand Tower IL
Finish: 11:30 AM - Cape Girardeau MO
Time: 4:30
Daily dist: 34 miles - 24 miles gained over yesterday (long story)
Total dist: aprox. 210 miles
Companions: Brent in the morning the solo on the water
Weather: Clear with slight SE breeze - cold
Notes: I don't have time right now to explain the ten mile loss in mileage.  Just know that it was one hell of a night.  I'll try to write it up tonight when I have more time.

Hi everyone.  I'm currently in Cape Girardeau MO doing some laundry, eating two foot long subs, and charging up my batteries.  I hadn't intended to stop but when I saw the super easy access from river to down town I couldn't pass it up.  I started the day in Brent's house boat and was very happy to have totally warm and dry clothes to put on, still I could smell them from across the room.  I also took advantage of the house boat heater and warmed up my boots (luxury for sure).

I got a nice early start out of the house boat and pushed hard to make up the ten miles I lost last night.  I made great time and like I said when I saw the easy take out I couldn't pass it up.

It's fun watching the ice form

My plan now is to push hard to try to get to Helena AR by Christmas.  I'll have to stop one more time for water but with today's break I should be ready to make a good go of it. 

Day 10 fill in

That was my good friend Neil that posted the last blog for me.  Like he said I didn't have much of a net connection from the houseboat yesterday.  What I'm going to do is post what I had written yesterday while I was waiting for Brent to arrive at his house boat.  The story of what happended after he arrived would be a stand alone chapter in a book.  Or a book all in its own which is the only way to explain how I ended up loosing ten of the 30 miles I gained yesterday.  The problem is that I have to get back on the river soon, so it will have to wait.   

-- My arrival at the house boat --

Somehow I got the numbers wrong when I looked at the maps last night. I thought it would be 40 miles from where I camped to Brent’s house boat but instead it was only 30. With a brisk north wind pushing me along with the current I made it here faster than I might have imagined. I guess I should fill you in on who exactly Brent is. He is the other son of Gary and Keeke Pregracke. Remember the Pregrackes are the folks that took us in and thawed us out up in Moline IL last week. I learned from his dad that Brent is a commercial fisherman who prys a living out of the Mississippi. Gary thought I might like a place to warm up when I passed through so he called Brent to see if he wouldn’t mind some company for a night. I’m not one to pass up a night up off the cold ground, so here I am.

With Gary’s aid I had sketched directions to the boat house on my charts it is about three miles below Grand Tower IL just up the Big Muddy River on the Illinois side. Aside from almost blowing right by, I didn’t have any problem finding the place. It’s the only boat around for miles. Brent and I had been playing phone tag since yesterday so we’d never really talked. When I arrived nobody was home so I tied up and cautiously heaved myself up four feet onto the deck of the boat. If ever someone asks me if there is any real need to be able to stand up in a kayak (other than to show off) I’m going to say absolutely.

Brent's houseboat on the Big Muddy river

Once on the boat I tried to let myself in as Gary had described but had no luck with the door. I tried Brent one more time on his cell and finally got through. He told me the door had been fussy lately so if I couldn’t get in through there to try a window. I checked every window all the way around the boat until I found one small window that entered the main “kitchen” area that wasn’t locked. So I stripped out of my paddling clothes and squeezed through the narrow window, over the sink, and into the boat house. The entire time I only hoped that I did have the right place and that nobody else would see some crazy man wearing only long johns breaking into some body’s boat house.

Once inside I was able to get the door open then set about the task of getting my gear out of my kayak. I discovered a motor mount platform at the rear of the boat where I cautiously balanced above the swiftly flowing and icy cold Big Muddy river while I dug out the essentials I’d need for the night.

The boathouse itself is not exactly a flag ship. Some would say it’s rustic, others that it’s in need of a woman’s touch (a woman other than the inflatable in the corner that is). What it is, is warm, dry, and out of the wind which is all right with me. It feels good to sit in a soft chair in the warm sun and rest a bit.

Warm and happy in the house boat

My paddling clothes are spread out and drying on the back deck and my next step is to make something to eat. Brent is due back in a couple hours so I’ll finally get to meet him then. With my boat mostly all packed I should be able to get on the water very early tomorrow morning refreshed and ready to go.

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