First off, everyone is well - healing fingers and toes, taped feet and toes - but everyone is well. Tired but loving every day. I can say without a doubt that this group of Brevard College students is truly a great group. On the river we fill from bank to bank with songs, laughter or good conversation or all of the above. This morning I woke up around six or so and I felt like I woke up from a great dream. I realized a bit later that it was real and not a dream. I carried this with me all day down the twenty-five miles of river. Before we got in the river, Jenny chased a frog to a safer place where we were moving around. On the river we saw a huge catfish - Austin touched it. On the way to the lunch spot we went through a cool channel. Before we got out we did a group photo that Chelsea came up with, spelling "VOR" with our boats. With our lunch we had pineapple and I tried my first mango. We then rode in the van for our last portage. Tomorrow we begin our week-long unsupported section of paddling!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Scott Laney
Scott works with Cheraw Parks and Recreation - which how/why we made contact. He graciously prepared dinner for us after a long day.
Day 10 camp at Scott Laney's family farm
This is our first night in SC; and Scott was kind enough to host us on his dad's property which borders the PeeDee river.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Day 9 Blog post: Marshal Hartley
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.
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.
