5APRIL2010 - Mr. Myer had my canoe outside the shop at the Fox Ridge Golf Course when I arrived at 10AM. Resolving to return in a few hours for lunch - and thank him then - I pushed off without any delay and soon was back on Lake Helena Drive heading north. The weather was calm and sunny ... so ideal that I had to wonder what the days and weeks ahead may be like. After a mile or so the road turned to dirt and remained dirt for the next two miles. Having had no rain for several days, the dirt was well packed yet not dusty ... perfect. Other than short discussions with an occasional passerby the distance to the causeway over the narrow east end of Lake Helena was uneventful. At the fishing access point I locked the canoe to a picnic table and Felomina and I drove back to Fox Ridge Golf Course for lunch ... but they were not open for lunch. After sharing dismayed looks we drove to Lakeside ... and the Lakeside Bar was closed. We repaired across the street to the convenient mart and lunched on a frozen ham and cheese sandwich, potato chips and a pomegranite/green tea drink. It tasted wonderful!

Back at the causeway the canoe was launched at about 1:30PM. No band, no fanfare ... just a relieved sigh that the launch, while not artistic, was completed without a disaster. Paddling away I constantly checked for leaks as well as frequently looked back toward Mt Helena. Our house sits close to the base of Mt Helena and I am aware that when it passes from view I will not be within eyesight of home for several months. Helena is one of those strange, hard to describe, communities that is lovely ... and that I love. Being away is part of life and returning is part of life. One cannot experience the joy of returning without first leaving ... so having Mt. Helena slip from view is not entirely a painful event, but it is memorable ... and so now you are told.

Proceeding northeast in the inundated Prickley Pear Creek valley I passed waterfront homes neatly placed and fitted with neatly arranged lawns. That exactly none of God's barking creations entered into a discussion with me added to the exquisite silence and the dip, dip and swing of the paddle as I made my way into a world that was less and less peopled, more and more permeated with solitude. Almost before I could be ready, I rounded a bend and saw the White Sandy Recreation area. The Black Sandy Campground followed immediately and the day's travel was completed. Felomina helped me affix the canoe to a picnic table and we drove back to Helena for one final night before the big push off tomorrow. I have now travelled about 20 miles ... only about 1% of the distance to St. Louis. As I resolve to make more mileage every day from now on, I find my self happy to be engaged with this trip and happy to be able to watch yet one more NCAA basketball final ... (my prediction is Duke).