Thanks again to Kyle Sondregger who brought us the much-needed marshmallows in Burlington!
We woke up on Blackburn Island near Louisiana, Missouri, and shortly after we started waking up, we saw our buddies Jake and Julie paddling by. We waved them over and convinced them to stay the day with us and try night paddling later on. We all enjoyed some roasted marshmallows, and a lazy day in the shade. My friends were impressed with my ability to find a good spot to camp in the dark, (rather than finding a landing, which is what we normally do in the dark) despite the fact that I had to because I was getting swamped by the waves last night.
After an enjoyable day and a nap in the shade, we set off in our respective three boats, to get through lock # 24 ten miles away, and get in 20 miles or so before going to sleep. Jake and Julie had their first experience watching for shooting stars, their first experience paddling with barges at night (staying out of their way, and getting blinded by their floodlights), and tried (not very sneakily) to turn off their lights and scare us as we paddled by. But we could hear the water lapping against their boat and see their darker than dark shadow agains the water, so it didn't quite work. They mentioned how sleek our kayaks looked at night--the silhouettes accentuated against the black undulations. When we got to the lock, a large barge was going through, so we opted to sleep the night on the sandbar just above the lock (a rare treat--usually the pools above locks never have appropriate camping sites), and get on the water early in the morning. Leanne suggested cowboy camping (not setting up a tent) to make getting on the water quicker in the morning. With virtually no bugs, I was willing to try.
After an enjoyable day and a nap in the shade, we set off in our respective three boats, to get through lock # 24 ten miles away, and get in 20 miles or so before going to sleep. Jake and Julie had their first experience watching for shooting stars, their first experience paddling with barges at night (staying out of their way, and getting blinded by their floodlights), and tried (not very sneakily) to turn off their lights and scare us as we paddled by. But we could hear the water lapping against their boat and see their darker than dark shadow agains the water, so it didn't quite work. They mentioned how sleek our kayaks looked at night--the silhouettes accentuated against the black undulations. When we got to the lock, a large barge was going through, so we opted to sleep the night on the sandbar just above the lock (a rare treat--usually the pools above locks never have appropriate camping sites), and get on the water early in the morning. Leanne suggested cowboy camping (not setting up a tent) to make getting on the water quicker in the morning. With virtually no bugs, I was willing to try.
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