If there's one main message that can sum up my last several days, it's that God always provides! He has definitely been looking out for us by sending us caring people to feed us, give us a place to stay and help us with our kayak dilemmas. We were also able to find shelter from a horrible storm last night, for which we are both incredibly grateful.
On Day 10 (June 9), we paddled 31 miles into Grand Rapids, where we met up with Jim Lewis, a fellow Mississippi paddler who has completed the trip himself and wrote a book about it. Once greeted by Jim, we loaded our kayaks into his trailer and headed back to his house to meet his wife, Sharron. Now when I say that you couldn't meet two nicer people, I mean it. Jim and Sharron made us feel incredibly welcome in their home and even prepared guest beds for us along with our own folded towels to shower up. Sharron made the best spaghetti dinner with homemade garlic bread. It was exactly the kind of home-cooked meal I had been looking forward to! We talked a lot with Jim and Sharron over a few beers. Jim shared his experience of kayaking the Mississippi, along with kayaking in other places such as Alaska. They've traveled around the world and had some awesome stories to share with us.
After a pancake breakfast that Jim made us on Day 11 (June 10), Jim drove us an hour away to Mt. Iron where his friend, Chuck Newberg, had a kayak store called Spring Creek Outfitters. Gabe and I had mentioned to Jim that his kayak had been taking on a lot of water the past few days and overall was just a bad fit for this type of trip. Jim suggested meeting with Chuck to maybe work out a trade of some sort. Chuck ended up giving Gabe an exceptional deal on a used kayak in great condition for $500, and it originally retails for $1,100. We were also in desperate need of a portage cart and Chuck handed us one for free, along with a dry bag and some new baseball caps. He asked me if I wanted to trade in mine as well for something longer and faster. I was very appreciative but passed on his offer because I've been pretty comfortable in my kayak so far. Chuck is seriously one of the nicest, most generous people I have ever met and I am so grateful for everything he donated to us! After leaving Spring Creek Outfitters, Jim drove us around for countless hours to do a resupply of food and some gear. Sharron made us burgers for dinner and Jim was never shy about bringing beers out to us while we reorganized gear into Gabe's new kayak. He also taught us how to tie several different knots that will come in handy!
We departed Jim and Sharron's house on Day 12 (June 11), but not before Jim made us some amazing french toast. He dropped us off by the river and we were off. We paddled 10 hours (about 39 miles total) and it poured consistently since noon. We made it to Jacobson Campground, a DNR spot with several small wood cabins for rent. They were all locked and nobody was at the campground to help us, but Jim told us we could use one if we could figure out the lock combination. On my third attempt to unlock it I got it right! Thank God for that lucky guess, because it kept us dry and out of a very bad thunderstorm for the evening. The mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen them at Jacobson Campground. You could walk outside and literally hear them everywhere. We ended up making dinner inside our small cabin (chicken flavored rice) and got a good night's sleep staying safe and dry.
Days 13 and 14 (June 12 and 13) were spent paddling to Palisade, a very tiny town. We ended up staying at Berglund County Park. After seeing how fast Gabe's new kayak has been, it really had me regretting not taking Chuck up on his offer about trading mine for a longer one. It became clear that Gabe was moving quite a bit faster than me now. My kayak was averaging about 4-5 mph, and his could easily do 6-7 mph. It must have been meant to be, because later on Jim called me to check up on how we were doing and he offered to go back to Spring Creek Outfitters, get the kayak that Chuck had offered to trade, drive it out to where we were and take my current kayak back to Chuck for an even swap. I cannot thank him enough for how much he has done for us, his generosity and kindness has helped both of us in so many ways. He even brought us Dr. Peppers and personal pizzas when he met up with us for the swap! The next day we paddled as fast as we could to see how quick we could travel....8 mph! I'm pretty excited about that.
Today (Day 15) we want to paddle 31 miles, but we'll see how the weather turns out. It's supposed to storm on and off today, so if it gets real bad we might need to pull off to the side and wait it out.
I just want to thank Jim, Sharron and Chuck again for their hospitality, generosity, and helpfulness. I appreciate everything you've all done for us!
On Day 10 (June 9), we paddled 31 miles into Grand Rapids, where we met up with Jim Lewis, a fellow Mississippi paddler who has completed the trip himself and wrote a book about it. Once greeted by Jim, we loaded our kayaks into his trailer and headed back to his house to meet his wife, Sharron. Now when I say that you couldn't meet two nicer people, I mean it. Jim and Sharron made us feel incredibly welcome in their home and even prepared guest beds for us along with our own folded towels to shower up. Sharron made the best spaghetti dinner with homemade garlic bread. It was exactly the kind of home-cooked meal I had been looking forward to! We talked a lot with Jim and Sharron over a few beers. Jim shared his experience of kayaking the Mississippi, along with kayaking in other places such as Alaska. They've traveled around the world and had some awesome stories to share with us.
After a pancake breakfast that Jim made us on Day 11 (June 10), Jim drove us an hour away to Mt. Iron where his friend, Chuck Newberg, had a kayak store called Spring Creek Outfitters. Gabe and I had mentioned to Jim that his kayak had been taking on a lot of water the past few days and overall was just a bad fit for this type of trip. Jim suggested meeting with Chuck to maybe work out a trade of some sort. Chuck ended up giving Gabe an exceptional deal on a used kayak in great condition for $500, and it originally retails for $1,100. We were also in desperate need of a portage cart and Chuck handed us one for free, along with a dry bag and some new baseball caps. He asked me if I wanted to trade in mine as well for something longer and faster. I was very appreciative but passed on his offer because I've been pretty comfortable in my kayak so far. Chuck is seriously one of the nicest, most generous people I have ever met and I am so grateful for everything he donated to us! After leaving Spring Creek Outfitters, Jim drove us around for countless hours to do a resupply of food and some gear. Sharron made us burgers for dinner and Jim was never shy about bringing beers out to us while we reorganized gear into Gabe's new kayak. He also taught us how to tie several different knots that will come in handy!
We departed Jim and Sharron's house on Day 12 (June 11), but not before Jim made us some amazing french toast. He dropped us off by the river and we were off. We paddled 10 hours (about 39 miles total) and it poured consistently since noon. We made it to Jacobson Campground, a DNR spot with several small wood cabins for rent. They were all locked and nobody was at the campground to help us, but Jim told us we could use one if we could figure out the lock combination. On my third attempt to unlock it I got it right! Thank God for that lucky guess, because it kept us dry and out of a very bad thunderstorm for the evening. The mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen them at Jacobson Campground. You could walk outside and literally hear them everywhere. We ended up making dinner inside our small cabin (chicken flavored rice) and got a good night's sleep staying safe and dry.
Days 13 and 14 (June 12 and 13) were spent paddling to Palisade, a very tiny town. We ended up staying at Berglund County Park. After seeing how fast Gabe's new kayak has been, it really had me regretting not taking Chuck up on his offer about trading mine for a longer one. It became clear that Gabe was moving quite a bit faster than me now. My kayak was averaging about 4-5 mph, and his could easily do 6-7 mph. It must have been meant to be, because later on Jim called me to check up on how we were doing and he offered to go back to Spring Creek Outfitters, get the kayak that Chuck had offered to trade, drive it out to where we were and take my current kayak back to Chuck for an even swap. I cannot thank him enough for how much he has done for us, his generosity and kindness has helped both of us in so many ways. He even brought us Dr. Peppers and personal pizzas when he met up with us for the swap! The next day we paddled as fast as we could to see how quick we could travel....8 mph! I'm pretty excited about that.
Today (Day 15) we want to paddle 31 miles, but we'll see how the weather turns out. It's supposed to storm on and off today, so if it gets real bad we might need to pull off to the side and wait it out.
I just want to thank Jim, Sharron and Chuck again for their hospitality, generosity, and helpfulness. I appreciate everything you've all done for us!