I woke up around 4 o'clock Friday morning and it hadn't started raining yet, and I thought maybe it would hold off long enough for me to break camp and take off. Then, as if on cue, I started hearing some drops on the tent: first about one every five seconds, then every three seconds, then every second, and finally a steady drizzle. I fell back asleep and woke up again at 5:30, and the drizzle continued. I got up and took down the tent and got everything in the truck as quickly as I could. With the rain gradually intensifying, I definitely did not feel like making my own breakfast like I usually do. Fortunately Grand Marais is one of those touristy towns, and the upside of that is there's sure to be a place that serves breakfast. I went into town and enjoyed some pretty good food before hitting the road.
The rain came down with a vengeance as I drove around the west end of Lake Superior and started working my way south. Eventually, some 100 miles south of Duluth, the rain stopped at last. Meanwhile, I heard on the radio that this has been one of the wettest Junes ever in Minnesota, and parts of the state were dealing with flooding.
I'd been thinking I'd just spend the day driving, but once the rain stopped I considered getting in a paddle. I stopped in the town of Hastings, Minnesota, a town on the Mississippi River downstream of Saint Paul. As I drove through the downtown area looking for access to the river, I noticed a lot of streets and footpaths blocked off with barricades because of flooding on the river. I got out of the truck and walked to a riverside park, and found a lady standing in front of TV news cameras conducting a press conference. I gathered she was the mayor, and behind her stood an array of officials including a couple of law enforcement officers--the sheriff and the chief of police, probably. I could hear the mayor saying something about federal and state emergency funds, and something told me this would not be a good place to put my boat in the water. Not only would it be sort of insensitive--going out and "having fun" as a community coped with some weather damage--but also, if I were to paddle across the background of the TV screen while the mayor delivered her solemn remarks, the mayor might order her law enforcement henchmen to arrest me, or worse.
So, I moved on. I checked for river access in a couple of other towns, but the situations there didn't look much better. And then it started to rain again. And it was starting to get late, and I was tired. I finally checked into a motel in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and as I did so the heaviest rain I've seen on this trip moved in. Getting my things from the car into the motel room without them getting drenched was a challenge.
I got up yesterday morning and was pleased to see the sun shining outside. I wouldn't be done out of paddling this time: I'd studied a map of LaCrosse and found a good access to the Mississippi River, and after breakfast I went straight there. I paddled a pretty leisurely 60 minutes, and I made sure to paddle well over onto the Minnesota side of the river, so now I can say I've paddled in that state more than just that one time on Thursday. The river was high, and I saw several places I could tell were normally dry land, such as an RV park whose electric and water hookups were sticking up above the water surface. But paddling some floodwater didn't seem a big deal to a guy who's done it plenty on the lower Mississippi.
I was feeling sluggish in the boat, and the truth is that I was just plain tired at the end of this two-week trip. All the paddling and the driving and the camping in the rain had taken it out of me. The journey had been interesting, but by yesterday morning I just wanted to be back home.
And that was the sole objective once I'd finished paddling yesterday. I made it as far as Springfield, Illinois, before stopping for the night. I was definitely seeing a transition into a warmer climate from the cool, wet conditions up north, but in Illinois it was quite pleasant. It was just plain delightful when I got up this morning, with sunny skies and a nice cool, dry breeze. I got in the car and headed south, and about six hours later I was back in Memphis, where it was hotter and more humid but not as bad as it can be. With all of July and August yet to come, I expect we'll get our allotment of sweltering heat.
If I could change one thing about my travels in the last two weeks, it would be to lessen the amount of rain. Now, I'm not anti-rain; the world does need rain. But it sure did put a damper on certain things. One example: there had been talk of a get-together at a nearby brewery after the race last weekend, and that might have been a chance for me to get to know a few of the racers in that part of the country better; but it was called off because it was pouring down rain and the brewery's seating was mostly outside.
All that rain also reduced the amount of exploring I was inclined to do, and so I probably didn't get to experience the Great Lakes region as fully as I might have. It didn't help that I was so frequently on the move: I covered a lot of distance in fifteen days and didn't stay more than a couple of nights in any one place.
Oh well... I'm glad I went up there just the same. I did see enough to know that the environs of Lakes Michigan and Superior are exceptionally beautiful. If the region were in a warmer climate, I expect it would be the hottest tourist destination in the world.
As glad as I am to have taken the trip, I'm every bit as glad to be home. There's just no place like it. What kind of paddling is up for me next? I have no idea. In the immediate future I have a lot of non-athletic stuff I have to take care of, so I'll be easing into whatever I do.
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