October 27, 2021
Wednesday
Stacey and Randy Wachter’s boathouse
RM 404
938 miles completed
I paddled about 24 miles today.
I got started at 9:00. The morning was hard wind from SSE. I stayed close to the East shore to minimize the waves. Later in the day the wind let up some and then the river turned West a little and I made good time.
I had about an hour wait at dam 18. I got through around 3:00 pm. The rest of the way to Gulfport was smooth and fast.
Stacey met me at the boathouse. I unloaded gear and changed into dry shoes.
Stacey did a load of laundry for me. They went out with friends: Lynn and Brian. I put on some clean clothes, hot from the dryer, and went out with Joe DeYoung.
Joe is a friend from Yellowstone. We met when I worked at Canyon in 2019. We both went back in 2020, and Joe went back in 2021. Joe is a cyclist. He rides a road bike long distances.
Joe drove four hours from Chicago to see me on the river. We went to a nice restaurant. We sat at the bar and had dinner. I had beer. Joe had pop.
Then he took me back to the boathouse and drove back to Chicago. He said he hoped to get home by 1:00 am. I am very moved that he would make such an effort to support me in my attempt to paddle the river.
Stacey and Randy are great hosts. We had a great time visiting and drinking beer in the boathouse with Joe and Lynn and Brian before we all went out for dinner.
The boat house is warm and dry. It’s decorated warmly and is well stocked with drinks and snacks. It has a bathroom with shower. For sleeping I had a choice of my sleeping bag and blowup on the floor, or a recliner. I chose the recliner and slept very well.
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