19APRIL2012 @ Pickstown, SD - I awakened to the pitter pitter tap tap on my tent and just enjoyed that for several minutes. I also enjoyed hearing no wind as I have about a mile to paddle over to the beach at St Francis Bay. So I gathered up my hotel necessities , left the rest in the tent and headed to the canoe. The scene is total gray, so gray that it is not possible to discern where the lake horizon and sky horizon end/begin. Drizzle is not quite the right word for the precipitation either ... it is less than that, but more than fog. And it is calm. Pushing off into that magical scene, only the need to bail - lots of rain over the night - brought one back to the present. As I am paddling around the North Point I am thinking of Julius Erving. To those who know basketball and who know Mr. Erving, that thoughts of him come to me at this time simply adds to the surreal nature of this morning. Maybe it is because this morning is so pefect as was the play of Julius. Maybe it is because I have accomplished the final stroke of the last big lake on this trip ... and indeed Julius was accpomplished. But why was I also thinking of his wife's name - Turquoise? I see nothing turquoise out here ... I see nothing tall and black and beautiful out here. Uh-h-h-h wa-i-i-it ... coffee ... black and beautiful and as tall as one would want it ... that must be it ... yes. OK now, focus, Will. I am now at the Dakota Inn, blogging this episode and drinking .. coffee! Awright!
Later I assessed my gear. Me and my clothes are at the Dakota Inn. The tent and sleeping gear is three miles away at the North Point Campground while the canoe and other gear is one mile away at the St Francis Bay Swimming beach. Hopefully soon these three will merge into one location.
While walking up from St Francis Bay I considered how nice it is to have paved roads, such as on which I was walking. My memory of long ago in Geoorgia is that every lake trip involved dirt/gravel roads and lots of mud or dust. Now pavement seems to be everywhere - I like pavement.
At 1600 Jon Corey arrived with all my gear from St. Francis Bay. What a guy. We went forthwith to the North Point Campground and retrieved the rest. By 1700 all my gear, canoe and I were at the Dakota Inn. Much of the gear is outside staying wet. Dryables are spread out all over this room. The sleeping bag spread on the bed is close to being called wet. The other bag is hanging on a door and is in much dryer condition. I conclude from this that I will count on the tent for only one night at a time for the rest of the trip. If consecutive nights of rain are expected I will invert the canoe or get into/under a manmade shelter. On TV the propaganda "News" folks continue to find something to be outraged at ... amazing.
Today it rained essentially all day; I travelled one mile, from river mile 881 to river mile 880 ... and that was plenty.