The people in Memphis have been great to us, and we both really enjoyed our stay there. With the exception of a tornado warning one night, we've had pretty clear weather even if it has been incredibly hot and humid the whole week. We're in Mississippi now! Here's a recap of the past several days...
Dale woke Gabe and I up a little after 7:30 on Day 52 (July 21) so we could enjoy his famous homemade waffles. Richard Day came over early to enjoy them as well. They were definitely some of the best I've ever had. Gabe and I each ate six of them covered in powdered sugar, blueberries, whipped cream, and maple syrup. After breakfast Dale took us over to his computer and gave us some guidance on google earth as we approach the last 20 miles of the river into the Gulf. We relaxed in the basement for a few hours until Charles Beech (President of the Navy League) came to pick us up to take us out to lunch and drive us around town. He took us to a place known for their BBQ Ribs called Corky's. I've only had ribs a few times in my life and these were certainly some of the best. A fellow student from UWW, Sarah Powers, who worked in the veterans office, was moving down to Arkansas this summer and wanted to wave at us as we went by. When she arrived back home we were already in Memphis so she decided to make the drive over anyway just to say hi. Charles had some work to do and was willing to stay in his car and work while we did resupply. Instead we let him get back to work and Sarah kindly drove us to the grocery store, post office, and kayak outfitter store to try and find a cover for our kayaks. In the mean time Dale was gathering as many paddling friends that he could to come to his house for a pizza party to celebrate our arrival. After running around we made it back to Dale's house just in time for everyone to start showing up. Everyone brought a dish to pass and it made us feel pretty good, seeing that it was a Monday night. Fourteen people made it to Dale's house that evening and we had an incredible time talking with all of them. Towards the end of the evening Dale had us sign his "Wall of Fame". Every source to sea paddler that he has taken care of has signed his wall. I've enjoyed our stay in Memphis the most so far. I've never met such a tight-knit group of people who share an interest in either canoeing or kayaking. It's so nice that they all adjusted their schedules to greet the paddlers passing through their area. Thank you to everyone who came out to Dale's that evening! We've never felt so welcome in a house full of strangers! We went to bed at a reasonable time to get our rest for the next morning. Back on the water!
We woke up at Dale's house on Day 53 (July 22) and were fed another great breakfast - English muffins with cream cheese and honey! Richard Day met us there and helped us pack our gear in his truck. We both gave Dale a hug and thanked him for his exceptional hospitality. All of the river angels in Memphis made it one of my favorite parts of the whole trip so far. Richard dropped us off at the marina and we said our goodbyes to him. We realized that we were busy having too good of a time in Memphis that we forgot to charge our power source. We very quickly plugged it in and reorganized our gear while we waited. We ate and then hopped in our boats. There was a big increase in barge traffic passing through Memphis. There was a boat setup dredging in the middle of the river so there was only one lane open for river traffic. We squeezed in along the right bank as the rest of the river traffic waited to go under the bridge. We were forced over a few submerged wing dams because the main channel was so busy. After Memphis we noticed that a lot of the following wing dams were now exposed. After about 20 miles of paddling we worked our way into Mississippi! We camped shortly after on a small sand bar, completing 36 miles for the day. It was miserably hot this evening. No need for a sleeping bag all night as it stayed in the 80's overnight.
We slept in a little on Day 54 (July 23) and got in a little past 9 am. We had clear skies all day until about 5:30 pm. I noticed some dark clouds behind us and called my wife for a weather update. She said some bad storms were coming but not until later. Maybe 10 minutes after I talked to her a huge gust of wind hit us on the water. Paddling conditions were no longer safe so we headed straight to shore where there was a small sand beach near some trees for protection. The dark clouds were approaching from two directions so we quickly set up a tarp rather than a tent. After about 30 minutes of really strong winds, the storm passed. We decided that it was too late to get back on the water and setup our tents near some trees. The wind was cool which made for some comfortable sleeping conditions. We paddled 50 miles total.
Lucky for us, the rain storm that was expected never actually hit us. Gabe checked his phone on Day 55 (July 24) and found tornado warnings that were issued the night before. I checked the stick that I put at the waterline before bed. The river went back about two feet. The last week or two it seems to be dropping at least a foot each night. We packed up camp very quickly and got on the water before 8. We needed to refill our water at the nearest town 20 miles away. It was cloudy all morning and almost looked as if it was going to rain on us. Perfect paddling conditions though and the current was moving well. We stopped in Helena, AR and contacted the local police department to patrol our gear down at the boat launch while we ran to town. We decided to grab a burger for lunch and refilled our water at a liquor store on our way back. Helena is clearly a very old river town, only about 20% of the buildings were occupied. The others were all rundown. We got back on the river and paddled 30 more miles in the very hot sun. I must have reapplied sunblock four times today and still got a little color. My farmers tan is coming in real well. We stopped at a huge sand bar and setup camp at the highest point. We cooked dinner and crawled into our mosquito nets just as the bugs came out! We completed 51 miles for the day.
Dale woke Gabe and I up a little after 7:30 on Day 52 (July 21) so we could enjoy his famous homemade waffles. Richard Day came over early to enjoy them as well. They were definitely some of the best I've ever had. Gabe and I each ate six of them covered in powdered sugar, blueberries, whipped cream, and maple syrup. After breakfast Dale took us over to his computer and gave us some guidance on google earth as we approach the last 20 miles of the river into the Gulf. We relaxed in the basement for a few hours until Charles Beech (President of the Navy League) came to pick us up to take us out to lunch and drive us around town. He took us to a place known for their BBQ Ribs called Corky's. I've only had ribs a few times in my life and these were certainly some of the best. A fellow student from UWW, Sarah Powers, who worked in the veterans office, was moving down to Arkansas this summer and wanted to wave at us as we went by. When she arrived back home we were already in Memphis so she decided to make the drive over anyway just to say hi. Charles had some work to do and was willing to stay in his car and work while we did resupply. Instead we let him get back to work and Sarah kindly drove us to the grocery store, post office, and kayak outfitter store to try and find a cover for our kayaks. In the mean time Dale was gathering as many paddling friends that he could to come to his house for a pizza party to celebrate our arrival. After running around we made it back to Dale's house just in time for everyone to start showing up. Everyone brought a dish to pass and it made us feel pretty good, seeing that it was a Monday night. Fourteen people made it to Dale's house that evening and we had an incredible time talking with all of them. Towards the end of the evening Dale had us sign his "Wall of Fame". Every source to sea paddler that he has taken care of has signed his wall. I've enjoyed our stay in Memphis the most so far. I've never met such a tight-knit group of people who share an interest in either canoeing or kayaking. It's so nice that they all adjusted their schedules to greet the paddlers passing through their area. Thank you to everyone who came out to Dale's that evening! We've never felt so welcome in a house full of strangers! We went to bed at a reasonable time to get our rest for the next morning. Back on the water!
We woke up at Dale's house on Day 53 (July 22) and were fed another great breakfast - English muffins with cream cheese and honey! Richard Day met us there and helped us pack our gear in his truck. We both gave Dale a hug and thanked him for his exceptional hospitality. All of the river angels in Memphis made it one of my favorite parts of the whole trip so far. Richard dropped us off at the marina and we said our goodbyes to him. We realized that we were busy having too good of a time in Memphis that we forgot to charge our power source. We very quickly plugged it in and reorganized our gear while we waited. We ate and then hopped in our boats. There was a big increase in barge traffic passing through Memphis. There was a boat setup dredging in the middle of the river so there was only one lane open for river traffic. We squeezed in along the right bank as the rest of the river traffic waited to go under the bridge. We were forced over a few submerged wing dams because the main channel was so busy. After Memphis we noticed that a lot of the following wing dams were now exposed. After about 20 miles of paddling we worked our way into Mississippi! We camped shortly after on a small sand bar, completing 36 miles for the day. It was miserably hot this evening. No need for a sleeping bag all night as it stayed in the 80's overnight.
We slept in a little on Day 54 (July 23) and got in a little past 9 am. We had clear skies all day until about 5:30 pm. I noticed some dark clouds behind us and called my wife for a weather update. She said some bad storms were coming but not until later. Maybe 10 minutes after I talked to her a huge gust of wind hit us on the water. Paddling conditions were no longer safe so we headed straight to shore where there was a small sand beach near some trees for protection. The dark clouds were approaching from two directions so we quickly set up a tarp rather than a tent. After about 30 minutes of really strong winds, the storm passed. We decided that it was too late to get back on the water and setup our tents near some trees. The wind was cool which made for some comfortable sleeping conditions. We paddled 50 miles total.
Lucky for us, the rain storm that was expected never actually hit us. Gabe checked his phone on Day 55 (July 24) and found tornado warnings that were issued the night before. I checked the stick that I put at the waterline before bed. The river went back about two feet. The last week or two it seems to be dropping at least a foot each night. We packed up camp very quickly and got on the water before 8. We needed to refill our water at the nearest town 20 miles away. It was cloudy all morning and almost looked as if it was going to rain on us. Perfect paddling conditions though and the current was moving well. We stopped in Helena, AR and contacted the local police department to patrol our gear down at the boat launch while we ran to town. We decided to grab a burger for lunch and refilled our water at a liquor store on our way back. Helena is clearly a very old river town, only about 20% of the buildings were occupied. The others were all rundown. We got back on the river and paddled 30 more miles in the very hot sun. I must have reapplied sunblock four times today and still got a little color. My farmers tan is coming in real well. We stopped at a huge sand bar and setup camp at the highest point. We cooked dinner and crawled into our mosquito nets just as the bugs came out! We completed 51 miles for the day.