Day 68 on the Mississippi River

October 28, 2021

Thursday

Stacey and Randy Wachter’s boathouse

RM 404

938 miles completed

I took a zero day.

I’m bummed out because Terry had to quit. He has an injury to his arm. He thinks he hurt it during the two-day storm by breaking firewood. His hand is swollen and he can’t make a fist. It’s painful for him to paddle. He is afraid if he keeps pushing he might make it worse.

Tonight he is in Rock Island with a room…dry and warm. He is on his way to Minnesota to get his van.

I was glad to have a place to sit out the cold, rainy day. But, when I miss a day I get discouraged because winter has just gained a day on me, chasing me down the river.

The timing was lucky. Stacey and Randy let me stay two nights in their boathouse. They took me shopping. I replenished my food and got a couple of items I needed. I got a haircut!!! I got all my gear dry and washed all my clothes. I repacked everything and got a little better organized.

Stacey invited me for dinner. We had a delicious, hardy stew and crescent rolls. Perfect for a cold, rainy night. We sampled a couple of specialty beers too.

Stacey lined me up with another angel for tomorrow night - Terry Mertens. He is 31 river miles from here. He is at Mile 373. But he is on the same pool so I don’t have to go through a lock between here and there. I think I can make it. It’s going to be another rainy day, but with a north wind. Sounds like a five Tylenol day.