Day 88 on the Mississippi River

September 2, 2022

Friday

URM 777

1518 miles completed

I paddled 32 miles today.

I woke up at six. I stayed in the bed long enough to work Wordle. I got up about 6:30. I was packed up and paddling by 8 o’clock.

The current was pretty good. The weather was comfortable, mostly cloudy with a very mild breeze.

I had two things happen today that you might find interesting.

I had an up bound tug stop for me. I was between him and the bank. He was going upstream. We were on the outside of the bend, where the current is strongest. In a situation like this the prop wash is real strong, and 4 foot waves can last for 20 minutes. The captain came out on the deck and waved, and took my picture. He waited until I was clear, and then he started up again. I don’t know how he stayed in place without his engines running.  I took a picture of the boat and I will try to contact him. At the very least I will mention him on Facebook.

The other interesting event was a free-floating river buoy. I passed a green buoy and thought I was having an optical illusion: the Buoy did not seem to be going by me as quickly as the rocks on the shore. Also, the buoy was not making a wake. Later I stopped to take a break and the buoy passed me. After I began paddling again I  passed the buoy again.

I stopped to camp across the river from Sunrise Towhead, Arkansas.