River dynamism here in the flatlands

Today's forecast called for a high temperature near 100 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index up near 110.  But once again I got out this morning before conditions were that bad.  I paddled for 80 minutes, and my energy held up well and I felt about as good in the boat as I have in quite a while.

I paddled over to the channel where Dacus Lake drains into the Mississippi.  A couple of weeks ago I was able to paddle up this channel and onto the lake, but today, with the river some 18 feet lower on the Memphis gauge, there was a waterfall where the channel meets the main river.  No joke--there's a pile of boulders there, probably put there by the Corps of Engineers long ago, and the water that had filled Dacus Lake during the recent high water period was rushing down the channel and over these rocks.  I paddled right up to the base of it, and for a brief moment I felt like I was on a Blue Ridge Mountain creek as I felt the spray and took in the smell of the aerated water.  I also beheld with curiosity the sight of the clear green water from the lake flowing into the muddy brown water of the mighty Mississippi.

This afternoon I submitted my registration for the Big River Regional race on the Mississippi River down at Baton Rouge on August 29.  I'm now signed up for two races on consecutive weekends: on the 22nd I'll be doing the Firecracker Race on the Mississippi up at West Alton, Missouri.