We did in fact leave early today, the 12th. I piloted, plying the barge routes and vying with them for space to navigate. We don't particularly like traveling with a tow in our immediate vicinity. Their wake is enormous (up to six foot waves come roiling from the really big ones); they could splinter us like a match stick should we be unfortunate enough to get in their path; and I think we make them nervous. They probably think any of us will just leisurely hop onto one of the barges to take a peak around, maybe undo some mooring cables, light a smoke on a fuel barge�perhaps they'd be more comfortable if they knew of our travails back on the Sanitary and Ship Canal�.or maybe that'd make things worse�
Twice during my stint at the tiller we felt something large bounce off the keel. Now, we were in the channel both times so it wasn't the bottom trying to stall us again. Rather, it's a reminder that the Mighty Miss is at behemoth flood proportions this time of year. There are very great and terrible things indeed that ride the Stygian currents along the River's dungeonous depths. Today for the third time I've watched as a marker buoy was dragged beneath the surface by the clutches of some unfathomable leviathan, its final buoyant protest stilled in a swirl of rapidly disappearing ripples. I shudder to imagine the submerged monstrosity capable of such gruesome display against unassuming surface dwellers such as ourselves.
Oh, and we're in Water Moccasin country.
These perils notwithstanding, I managed to set the record of 102 miles in a single turn at the helm, followed by Brian's 33 mile stretch into dusk to give yet another record: our longest run yet, 135 miles. Note that the increases from here on out are likely to be incremental � why set the bar too high too early??
This night we made birth at a sandy bank where a driftwood fire was soon blazing. Eric cooked a delicious garlic and sesame pasta with chicken. It only rained on us for ten minutes or so and we were able to dry everything by the fire just afterwards. Brian constructed a "Monolog" (a piece of drift wood stood on end in the sand, sort of like a monolith, but make of wood) for clothes drying purposes. I made one also, and now we had a "Dialog:"
Sean: "This place is awesome! I bet this is one of the places Huck and Jim stopped when they were doing this!!"
Brian: "Hmmm, sure, but you're ignoring one crucial thing."
Sean: "What's that?"
Brian: "Huck and Jim are fictional characters."
Sean: "What, like we're not?!"
Brian: "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way�."
Things can get sort of weird on foreign shores�.
Thank you, and good night ?