Today was a big day for us as it was our first day on the Pee Dee River! We started on Lake Tillery, on which we did about 10 miles. There was a strong tail wind but it still didn't make up for the lack of current. After the lake we bypassed the dam and put in for the first time on the Pee Dee River. we only did about 4 miles on the Pee Dee but that was more than enough after the brutal time on the lake for the past day and a half. The change in the rivers is very evident in many ways; the Pee Dee is much clearer, faster,warmer, and cleaner than the Yadkin River.
We were all very tired yesterday but today we all seemed to be back to normal. The weather today was absolutely perfect! It was overcast all day but didn't rain except for a little this evening. My favorite part of the day,by far, was the end. As we approached the bridge we were to take out under we saw a banner hanging from it which said "Dr.C loves VOR!" As soon as I saw it I knew that this could be none other than the famous Dr. Chandler who has been my professor for many of my Exercise Science classes at Brevard. Then, as we turned the corner to the take out there she was sitting in a chair with her feet in the water. It was very nice to see another familiar face! Thank you for coming out and showing your support Dr. Chandler! Also Katherine's boyfriend and parents brought us some very good food! Thank you! These sort of things have become rather frequent for us and it is very hard to believe the incredible acts of kindness which we have received from people we have never met but through their support of our goals and journey they have made their land, time, energy, and stories available to us so that now they will always be remembered in our stories of this incredible adventure in our lives. I am totally taken back by everyone's support and hospitality and for you all I, as well as the rest of the group are very thankfull!
I am very proud of all of us for all that we have accomplished so far! We all work together better than any other group of people I have ever been involved with. The bigest thing that I have noticed is that we all genuinely care for each other, it is an awesome feeling to know that you a part of a group like this!
Only 10 days left! I say this with a bitter-sweet tone because of course I want to get back to do my other plans for the summer but I really don't want to leave this. It is simple, and humbling to be involved with such an amazing group of people for such an awesome journey; and I will miss them all dearly! But until then, I will thoroughly enjoy their company for the remainder of the trip.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Day 9 Blog post: Marshal Hartley
This just in...
Katherine's parents, Russ and Lynn, just drove up with brownies and bags of mini candy bars. Awesome! This is roughing it?!
Day 9 dinner from the Eleazers
We were met at the river take-out this afternoon by Michael Eleazer (Katherine's boyfriend) which was a wonderful surprise. We were also pleasantly treated to a wonderful dinner of burgers with ALL the fixings and extensive sides. We were especially grateful to the Eleazer family for their thoughtful consideration of and preparation for our varied diets.
Day 8 Blog post continued
Lunch was fast as well; it seemed like there was a sense of urgency because we all knew what lay ahead in just a few hours - a hot shower! Before we headed off, and after we ate some delicious gluten free brownies, Jenny gave us an ultimatum; we could either paddle Tuckertown lake or take our time site seeing and go to our campsite early at Morrow Mountain State Park. I'm sure you know what option we chose. So we all piled into the van and headed to our first destination High rock dam. On the way I absolutely got what I asked for, we went from seeing water and trees to small towns and stop lights. It was a new perspective of the river basin that I didn't expect to see. We listened to some awesome classic rock and before we knew it we were pulled into parking lot in the town of Badin across the street from the ALCOA factory. We took pictures and made mean faces in front of the factory then Cameron informed us that ice cream was on him! We were stoked. I had delicious vanilla Orange cream on a waffle cone. We sat outside in the hot sun and ate that ice cream fast as we could. I don't remember how it happened but someone brought up the showering later and I freaked because we had no shampoo nor conditioner. By the grace of god I remembered my credit card and we were by a gas station and bought the last set of shampoo and conditioner left. It was an exciting moment for everyone, we would finally smell good! We arrived at camp around five and luckily, since I bought the showering supplies I was the first to use them. That was honestly the best shower I have ever had; and of course after the fact I found out that shaving my legs was a possibility because Aislinn had a razor! After the life changing shower the rest of the day and night were pretty relaxed. Dinner was so so good, we ate potato soup with all the fixings made by Tucker, I think it's everyone's new favorite camping dish. Before class Austin and I made a trip down to the lake, it didn't last long though because for the second time today he was attacked by some vicious ants. It was pretty funny watching him dance around like a crazy man. My favorite part of the night and the last event to occur before I begin this blog was our group discussion on the communication of recreation, conservation and education to the people who inhabit the Yadkin river basin. Everyone expressed some great ideas and opinions on the subject, seriously we are a bunch of smart and creative individuals! Before bed we also reflected on what each of us has learned so far on the river. In all I really enjoy our group dynamics and our ability to communicate effectively, it makes for bunches of interesting conversations. I am looking forward to our upcoming adventures but for now I am hitting the sheets!