4MAY2010 @ Wolf Point - I awaken to bright, clear, windly skies and a huge storm on the western horizon. I'm in a trailer out of the wind, out of the rain ... I go nowhere for a couple of hours as rain batters the windows and wind rocks the trailer. At about 8AM the rain lessens and I choose to go into Wolf Point and check out the weather and plan the next few days. Walking west into the wind to Highway 13 is difficult and once on the highway a little rain begins. Nevertheless I hitchhike and - totally amazing - do not get a ride. Here I stand, leaning diagionally into the wind, holding a canoe paddle, covered knee to neck in Carolina blue raingear and folks have the temerity to drive by. BUT - Joann Heser stops and gets me over to the Sherman Inn restaurant. Weather.com indicates that tomorrow will be rainy, peaking at 60%, with slightly less wind ... so it looks like I will push off early and see what transpires. The 60% experienced from Fort Peck downstream was not too bad ... I will keep my fingers crossed. Also, my observation of the river this morning showed no whitecaps. If the wind is even minimally diminished tomorrow, there should be no whitecaps. All-in-all it sounds doable ... not ideal, but doable.
While in Wolf Point, Craig Grimsrud offered that I stay at their house. I was happy to do that and got to be included in the evening meal with his wife Gerri, son Cole and sister in law Barbara. A sumptuous meal of roast beef, salad, corn, potatoes, carrots and apple pie was enjoyed by all. Craig is a grain farmer and my assumption is that while the heavy rain is falling he is not going out in his fields. When the rain returns to a normal pattern I doubt he will have much time for folks floating on the river. I hope I was adequately entertaining.