TOM
We have finally finished the lakes. We knew this day was coming or at least we prayed for it to come and it has finally arrived. We watch the river flow and the feeling is indescribable. I could not do it justice if I tried, and so I won’t. After Chamberlain we paddled Francis Case Lake without much event. We enjoyed the peaceful solitude and clear water while we could. The last day of the lake does bear mentioning. The days had been extremely hot but the final day started as fog. As we got onto the lake both sides disappeared in the thick fog. With GPS and a compass this wasn’t so much of a problem as a joy since the sun was blocked. When we finally go to the Ft. Randall dam after 27 miles of lake, we were met by two brothers (Mike and Tom) from the Lower Brule Reservation. They helped us up and over the dam and got us to the tail waters campground. Later that evening they took us to their beautiful home and we enjoyed barbeque chicken, brats, hot dogs and hamburgers. We played some cards and got a ride back to the tents.
Within 2 days we were over the last dam in Yankton. Along the first current we had seen in ages we met Skip and his family on a tiny island, who hooked us up with some food and beer. It was a great stop to get us out of the sun. The second day we vaguely hoped to get over the dam but things just worked out (as often seem to do on this trip). When we reached the down shore state campground we were actually asked by a family (Kevin and Deb Kleinschmidt) if we would like a ride over the dam. This good luck was further compounded by the fact that we didn’t meet a single car while crossing the bridge. This requires a little explanation, when we load both of our kayaks onto a truck they stick out a substantial distance and on the very narrow dam we would have been unable to squeeze by another vehicle. To celebrate the last night we decided to order some pizza but were stopped because pizza hut didn’t deliver to our campsite. Kevin and Deb had been going into town and so volunteered to pick up our pizza and go out of their way to bring it back to us. Pizza never tasted so good.
We are currently staying in Vermillion SD, and waiting for my parents to arrive tomorrow. They have kindly taken time to drive down and visit for a day and so we look forward to the time to resupply and stay a day in AC. Well that is all from me.
CHARLES
Finally done with the damn dams….I’ve been waiting 77 days and 1,800 miles to say that joke. Although I am extremely excited for the 1,900 miles of free flowing river ahead me, I did slowly fall in love with the lakes. You really start to get into them after awhile. But…paddling 10 hours and making 60 miles sounds a lot better than the 30 I am use to.
Yesterday Tom and I were on the river just after 7am and paddled until noon when the wind kicked up. There were several houses along the shore and we pulled over by “The Huberts” home (or so it said on a rock facing the water). No one was home so we laid in their lawn and ate/read/slept for hours with the sound massive cottonwoods swaying in the wind. Around 430pm it started to calm down but we could see rain approaching so we decided to take our chances and meet the owner when they returned home from work.
We took several things into consideration about how to approach them when they arrived and make it as little weird as possible. We sat in front of their driveway on a small cliff of rocks (I was farther down so when I would stand up they would not see my height), tom would do the talking (since my physical appearance has not been useful when finding rides along this trip so far…honestly, Tom gets us all the rides/camp spots/food, people seem to always say no to me even though we ask in the same manner and tone, we blame on my hair that protrudes vertical from my sun visor (people think it is fake until I take the hat off))…we had Bill in his life jacket so he looked even cuter than normal…and we had it planned where we would go if they said no to us camping there.
What we did not plan is that when they would get home they would go directly into the house after obviously seeing us sitting there…this is what happened. So Tom knocked on the door and eventually a young man named Kyle answered…he immediately recognized me from 2 lakes ago (St. Francis Lake) after seeing me on the river because of my hair! The rest of the night consisted of sitting by a campfire with him and his friends and sleeping in a nice, warm bed.
Many people have emailed asking about my “charity” portion of this trip. The organization I am trying to raise money for is a shelter for women who have been trafficked into the sex/slave industry. It’s located in SWFL and opened last March. Completely run by volunteers and funded by donations. I went to lunch with the director of the shelter before this trip and was thoroughly convinced that the distribution of the funds received would be put solely towards the victim’s aftercare. www.safe-refuge.org
When people ask what is the hardest thing about this trip is, I tell them it hasn’t happened yet, and that will be admitting…it’s over. It feels great to be living life.
What an amazing adventure you guys are on! My parents talked about meeting you in Yankton a week ago, so I found your website. I’m so glad that at least someone gets to make the trip that I’ve always wanted to. Good luck, godspeed, and I am excited to hear about the rest of your journey! Maybe I’ll get a chance someday too.
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!