Early morning paddles are the name of the game. Photo by Leanne Davis
After 5 nights at Jared's (THANK YOU!), we finally got back on the river. Leanne and I woke up at 3 something and were on the water by 4:20am. Definitely my earliest start so far. I had decided when I started that I was going to avoid paddling at night if at all possible, but after getting to Aitkin at 11pm early on, talking to veteran paddlers about what makes for good night paddling (calm waters and a bright sky), and getting stuck at the lock as a barge went through last week, I feel less ominous about night paddling. Indeed, the dark-morning paddling is awesome. Everything is flat calm, the crickets and owls are still active, the moon and stars are bright enough to allow your eyes to adjust. I can use the red light on my headlamp to maintain night vision and still warn any other vessels that I'm out there (I haven't seen any other vessels at that time yet, though). As the sun rises, I'm treated to a brilliant vista of clouds and sky colors. Every morning is different, and it's really nice to be on the river at that time. I can get a couple hours of paddling in before the sky is even warm, which, on these hot, humid days is really important. By 9am we've often already paddled 10 miles or more. That means we can take a more leisurely pace as the day heats up, and get into camp after 25-30 miles somewhere between 3-5pm. Getting in to camp so early means we have time to take a river bath if we want, set up our tents, make food (aren't too tired to eat it), and get an early sleep (8:30 or so), so we're rested for the next early morning paddle.
For the past several days, Leanne and I paddled alongside one another. I'm not quite as strong as she is, but she and I have a very similar pace, and she enjoys relaxing just enough to stay at my pace, and having someone to talk to. The first day, we told one another our life stories, or, more accurately, our vet-related PTSD stories (she's a 2x Iraq war veteran, and my PTSD comes from veterinary school) and our reasoning for paddling the Mississippi River. We determined that she's two years younger than I am, so she's going to let me finish 5 minutes before her so I can hold the "Youngest Female Solo Kayaker Source to Sea of the Mississippi River" title for a few minutes before she claims it. She also told me I can tell my friends, 'true, she's younger than me, but she also cheated' because she's been driven past a few sections of the river. We really enjoy one another's company, joking with eachother and telling eachother the long version of every story that pops in our head because we have the time.
For the past several days, Leanne and I paddled alongside one another. I'm not quite as strong as she is, but she and I have a very similar pace, and she enjoys relaxing just enough to stay at my pace, and having someone to talk to. The first day, we told one another our life stories, or, more accurately, our vet-related PTSD stories (she's a 2x Iraq war veteran, and my PTSD comes from veterinary school) and our reasoning for paddling the Mississippi River. We determined that she's two years younger than I am, so she's going to let me finish 5 minutes before her so I can hold the "Youngest Female Solo Kayaker Source to Sea of the Mississippi River" title for a few minutes before she claims it. She also told me I can tell my friends, 'true, she's younger than me, but she also cheated' because she's been driven past a few sections of the river. We really enjoy one another's company, joking with eachother and telling eachother the long version of every story that pops in our head because we have the time.
Leanne against the Quad Cities morning riverfront
Leaving the Quad Cities.
 Rock Island |  Antique mussels harvested for pearl buttons in the upper left. The plastic on this beach was also impressive: gun, golf club, water bottles, wheels, and more. |
Holes drilled out of mussel shells that were to become pearl buttons.
Sunset at our landing campsite. Jake and Julie caught up.
We estimated we could average 25 miles a day (150 miles/week with 6 days on and one day off) if we always got early starts and rested well at night. On day 68 we put in 27 miles, including a really fun break at a beach where I found all sorts of crazy plastic trash (a plastic gun, a golf club, etc), and a whole bunch of antique mussel shells with button holes cut from them. Until the 1940s or 50s, mussel shells were harvested from the Mississippi River to make mother-of-pearl buttons. They’d drill holes through the shells and then make buttons from the circles. When plastic became more popular, they stopped harvesting the shells which was good for the mussels, but bad for the fact that now non-biodegradable plastic took its place. It was really cool to find so many pieces of history. I even found one un-cut button! As we paddled to camp, I saw a power structure with more than 40 turkey vultures on it. There are more dead fish now, and I assume this increase in carrion is what supports this much larger population of buzzards. A while later, Leanne and I set up camp at the Izaak Walton League landing where we enjoyed a flat, grassy campsite, and I took a nap. Our river family buddies joined us a while later, and we all realized that the spot was directly next to a railroad crossing. The railroad follows the river on both sides, so we’re never without trains during the night, but the horn is rather intense when you’re right next to it. Somehow, it didn’t seem to bother me when I slept, though.
When Leanne woke me at 3:30am, I was in the middle of sweating out a fever. I was delirious and felt terrible. I requested another hour’s sleep, and she let me sleep til I awoke at 5:30. I still felt sick, but I wasn’t feverish anymore, and I felt like my arms were still able to paddle, and since I wasn’t doing anything else, I may as well get on the water. We had a short day, mostly, I think, because I was feeling poorly. But also because we were easily distracted. As we passed Muscatine, we smelled something heavenly, like French toast or something baking. A brewery? Maybe a sweet-feed granary factory? Anyway, we opted to look for something to fill our bellies that tasted the way the smell smelt. We docked and locked our boats at the wharf, and walked uphill directly to a sweet little diner with AC, wifi, and delicious food. I have felt cold in AC most days since I’ve lived on the river, since I’m totally acclimated to the weather. However, since I’ve been sick, the AC feels amazing. It’s like it gives my body a break from trying to cool down, so that it can focus on getting me better. We hung out for a little bit, then headed back to the wharf, and met J & J on the way! They had stalked Leanne using an iPhone app that shows where Leanne is to find us. As we left, they headed in to repeat our awesome idea J. Between a couple islands next to Muscatine, Leanne and I found a collection of handmade rope swings and water slides into the river. Leanne got out to try them, but the water slide was too dry and ended in the mud instead of the river, and the rope swings were too tall for her to reach. And I was too sick to try them myself. So we found the next spot to camp (only 12 miles total), just downstream of the Monsanto factory.
When Leanne woke me at 3:30am, I was in the middle of sweating out a fever. I was delirious and felt terrible. I requested another hour’s sleep, and she let me sleep til I awoke at 5:30. I still felt sick, but I wasn’t feverish anymore, and I felt like my arms were still able to paddle, and since I wasn’t doing anything else, I may as well get on the water. We had a short day, mostly, I think, because I was feeling poorly. But also because we were easily distracted. As we passed Muscatine, we smelled something heavenly, like French toast or something baking. A brewery? Maybe a sweet-feed granary factory? Anyway, we opted to look for something to fill our bellies that tasted the way the smell smelt. We docked and locked our boats at the wharf, and walked uphill directly to a sweet little diner with AC, wifi, and delicious food. I have felt cold in AC most days since I’ve lived on the river, since I’m totally acclimated to the weather. However, since I’ve been sick, the AC feels amazing. It’s like it gives my body a break from trying to cool down, so that it can focus on getting me better. We hung out for a little bit, then headed back to the wharf, and met J & J on the way! They had stalked Leanne using an iPhone app that shows where Leanne is to find us. As we left, they headed in to repeat our awesome idea J. Between a couple islands next to Muscatine, Leanne and I found a collection of handmade rope swings and water slides into the river. Leanne got out to try them, but the water slide was too dry and ended in the mud instead of the river, and the rope swings were too tall for her to reach. And I was too sick to try them myself. So we found the next spot to camp (only 12 miles total), just downstream of the Monsanto factory.
Sunrise, day 69
Same moment. Photo by Leanne Davis
Mayflies attach themselves and die all over my boat.
Mayflies
 Mayflies, ewww. |  Mayflies, ewww. |
Escaping the heat, searching for deliciousness in Muscatine.
 Waterslide needs water, and less mud to land in. |  Leanne can't reach the rope swing. But she's still a badass. |
Muscatine's power and water logo looks like it's a button-hole logo.
I felt better on day 70, and we put in a solid 29 miles. At one point, Leanne and I decided to see how fast we could paddle for an hour—we did our best mile yet, covering 5 miles during that time! I like how Leanne pushes me and encourages me. We ducked behind an island to get to the landing where we were going to camp, and were telling stories. All of a sudden, I broke off—“Listen! What is that? Is there a waterfall?” We saw a large motor boat gunning its engine toward us and not moving, and then realized it was trying to move up a set of rapids. When we realized there were rapids, we didn’t have time to think much about it. We shot the rapids—Leanne had a fun boost to her speed, but I got stuck on a rock. It was only momentary and everything was fine, but I missed the fun boost in speed! As we turned the corner, we passed several houses on stilts. When we arrived, hot and sweaty, Leanne and I set up our tents, did some planks, and then jumped in for a swim! It was the first time I’ve submerged myself in the river, and it felt marvelous. The current was swift. I soaped up and enjoyed the cool, then hung my clothes to dry and made myself some dinner. A couple in a john boat pulled over and chatted with us for a while. The husband said he’s built most of the john boats in the area over the past several decades. They have one of the houses on stilts as a weekend/summer house and spend as much time there as possible. They offered us a beer, and headed home. Jake and Julie arrived, hung a laundry cord, and we all joked and carried on before sleeping.
Bird hunting blinds
Regularly seeing these clumps of gross foam on the water now.
Moments after finishing our fastest hour of paddling yet.
Bald Eagles
Summer houses on stilts all along the riverbanks.
Clotheslines can be pretty when there's a sunset involved!
On day 71, Jake and Julie got an even earlier start than Leanne and I! They tend (like me) toward the 10am start, so I think they just wanted to prove to themselves that they could get going earlier. Especially since they like arriving to camp early, and it gets dark at 7:30 instead of 9:30 like it did when we started, getting an early start really helps to maximize one’s enjoyment of camp in the evening. At every hour, Leanne has an alarm set to remind us to take a break. We stop paddling for a moment, drink some water, eat a snack if we want, and she smokes a cigarette. We stopped for a break and I ate some oatmeal since I hadn’t eaten in camp. When we were finished, we pulled away from the beach, we both got stuck in the sand and had to pull ourselves off the sandbar. As we were getting unstuck, we missed the fact that our friends Jake and Julie were catching up to us—they had stopped less than an hour after leaving camp to find coffee and breakfast, and had already fallen behind us! We had a good laugh, and a great paddle with all four of us bantering and suggesting funny video topics for us to make in the future. We passed lots of bird blinds, some under construction before we approached (and barely beat a barge to) lock #18. On the other side, we took another little beach break, resting out of the heat. J & J left, Leanne and I followed. We rested in the shade near some barges, where a big pontoon, self-proclaimed “Texas All Day,” pulled over to chat, and offered us peanut butter sandwiches and beer! Just a few moments after they pulled away, Leanne vomited, probably a combination of getting sick and heat exhaustion. So we stopped at Big Muddy’s in Burlington to finish some blogging, re-hydrate, and enjoy some AC. We planned on staying there through the rest of the heat, and then continuing at night for another 10 miles or so.
While we were at the restaurant, one of the followers of the Mississippi River paddlers facebook page noticed we were in Burlington and offered aid if we needed anything. I wracked my brain and realized we did need some crucial supplies for the fun our river family had just planned: we needed marshmallows and a white board. Kyle S. was super awesome and arrived not too much later with just those things! We laughed at how random our requests were, but were truly thankful to Kyle for helping us find these items without needing to leave the river. Just then, a woman named Cindy overheard our conversation, explained that her son is biking the entire west coast, and offered a place for Leanne and I to stay, as a sort of pay-it-forward karma thing for all the people helping out her son. My head said that staying in Burlington wasn’t our plan, but my heart said it was important to take advantage of this generosity and opportunity to actually finish the blogging we set out to do. So we accepted, and drove with Cindy and her husband Tom to their super cute bungalow. They had recently moved to a new house, so Leanne and I had the old house all to ourselves. Tom and Cindy showed us the leg massager, the hot tub, the laundry, and our beds, and left the place to us. Leanne and I quickly jumped into the hot tub to soothe our aching muscles, took a blessed shower after several yucky sweaty days, watched some bad TV in bathrobes (well satisfied), and slept very well in our cozy beds.
While we were at the restaurant, one of the followers of the Mississippi River paddlers facebook page noticed we were in Burlington and offered aid if we needed anything. I wracked my brain and realized we did need some crucial supplies for the fun our river family had just planned: we needed marshmallows and a white board. Kyle S. was super awesome and arrived not too much later with just those things! We laughed at how random our requests were, but were truly thankful to Kyle for helping us find these items without needing to leave the river. Just then, a woman named Cindy overheard our conversation, explained that her son is biking the entire west coast, and offered a place for Leanne and I to stay, as a sort of pay-it-forward karma thing for all the people helping out her son. My head said that staying in Burlington wasn’t our plan, but my heart said it was important to take advantage of this generosity and opportunity to actually finish the blogging we set out to do. So we accepted, and drove with Cindy and her husband Tom to their super cute bungalow. They had recently moved to a new house, so Leanne and I had the old house all to ourselves. Tom and Cindy showed us the leg massager, the hot tub, the laundry, and our beds, and left the place to us. Leanne and I quickly jumped into the hot tub to soothe our aching muscles, took a blessed shower after several yucky sweaty days, watched some bad TV in bathrobes (well satisfied), and slept very well in our cozy beds.
Sunrise
 Sweat bees loving our sweat. So. Hot. |  Leanne's silhouette |
No plastic is too large to be waste :(
A rare moment when all members of what we lovingly call "The River Family" paddled together!
Leanne and I paddle alongside Jake and Julie.
Taking a break from the heat after the lock.
Stu (Leanne's flamingo) likes paddling past the pelicans
Data collection: an integral part of every day.
 "Texas All Day" gave us some snacks! |  Refreshments from the "Texas All Day" buddies! |
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