James writes:
Yesterday we wrote about failed quest for groceries in Helena Arkansas. That evening we reviewed all the possibilities for buying food down river over the next few days and identified no good options. So we decided to recross the river in the morning and I would try to get to the distant store one way or the other.
I walked into town and found a lot more activity: kids were arriving for school by car and bus and there were folks on the sidewalks. I saw a couple of young women across the street getting into, of all things, a Prius. They were followed by an older gentleman. I thought that this looked like a good prospect for assistance to a grubby river rat. I went over and told the man who I was and what we were doing and asked if he could help me get to a store. He said he had to drop his daughters off at school but would return shortly.
He did, introduced himself as Kevin, and offered me a ride to the store. Then, to my utter amazement calmly told me that he had canoed the entire river himself when he was a young man and so understood exactly our problem and was happy to help us out. The chances of me crossing paths with him seem infinitely tiny, but there you are. He took me to the market, waited while I shopped, and returned me to the boat ramp, Amy, and little Miss Tuffy with my newly acquired pack full of food. Kevin is an insurance agent and had been a state senator for ten years. He wrote a section of the RiverGator.org Lower Mississippi notes we have been using and have found so helpful. We talked about his and our river experiences and a bit about his kids. I believe he said he is the only resident of this city who has paddled the whole river.
River angels appear when least expected and when they are really needed. We have been so fortunate to have met so many and are deeply grateful to them all. They have made our trip so much better and helped remind us of how many kind and generous people are out there. Kevin, our deepest appreciation for your time and consideration.
(Note to other paddlers: Kevin told us that the park at the boat ramp on the east side of the harbor is a fine safe place to camp. The road to that area is closed at night, so the drunken louts can't bother you out there. Use the boat ramp on the west side to access town, and then paddle over to the east side to spend the night.)
Amy writes:
Another calm sunny day on a placid river.
Five star campsite on sand flat with nine miles of river spread before us. River mile 623. No noises - no grain elevators, no power plants, no trains, no roads. Each passing northbound tow makes noise for nearly an hour as it chugs and churns its way up-current. Southbound tows are faster and quieter as the engines don't need to do so much work.
Kevin told us that the section of river south from Helena is the nicest section on the Lower Mississippi, and it would be hard to disagree.
After lunch we were slowly passed by a slow moving southbound tow pushing 12 barges full of rocks. We followed him for perhaps an hour, then passed him when we took a tight inside bend. (The channel and the faster flow is on the outside of the bend, but sometimes the inside shortcut saves enough distance that it's faster even though there is little current.) Then he passed us again. We had had him in our sights for 2 hours at this point, and he was the only tow all afternoon. Our radio was on and we heard him making arrangements to pass a northbound tow. Then he announced to the other tow that there was a canoe following him, and received comment back that the northbounder would be on the lookout for us. I got on the radio and announced our intentions, which they appreciated. We then had an hour of continuous tow traffic, 4 or 5 going in each direction. Sometimes it seems they form little logjams; we'll go two hours with no tows, and then have 4 or 5 in 45 minutes.
We chatted with a retired tow guy at the Memphis Yacht Club about protocols for recreational canoes for talking on the commercial channel 13. He said no problem, especially if I (Amy) did the talking, as they don't have many conversations with females during their 30-day shifts.
1 comment:
Great double post A + J...love how you keep finding river angels! Lots of folks following your blog from IDEO. take care: Dennis + Peggy
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