On Friday morning I first checked the NOAA river gage for Bluffton and then called Hruska's again. Duane confirmed my readings of the gage, all systems were on "go."
We left St. Paul at 11:00 AM, heading south on Hwy 52. We seemed to be surrounded by thunderstorm systems but never saw as much as a drop of rain on the windshield. We had a quick stop at Chipotle's in Rochester after we couldn't find Jimmy John's) and were in Kendallville at 2:45 pm. Kendallville is just a couple of houses and a park with the canoe landing. I called Hruska's and Duane said he'd be there in about 15 minutes. I joined the gang readying the canoes for departure and brought the van back to Hruska's. It took about 10 minutes to deal with formalities and have Duane explain to me the map on the back of the contract: little graphics described all bridges as modern concrete, low profile, span bridges, etc. There were 14 in total on the 30-mile stretch to Decorah.
I felt a few raindrops on my walk back to the park. If anything, the sky was getting darker. The canoes were all ready, we pushed off into the swift current, Tom, Mellie and I in my Gallyans/Bell Woodsman III and Mac and Colin in Tom's Old Town Discovery. Our first nature observation were the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) nests sticking to the Kendallville bridge (and pretty much every concrete bridge thereafter) like gum under a diner table.
The current carried us along the meandering stream, making it often difficult to tell what direction of the compass rose we were following. It seemed like we were heading straight into a thunderstorm, but the end of the front seemed always always just within reach. The high limestone bluffs were immediately in evidence, some at least 20 m (60 ft.) tall.
At one point we all took our rain gear out because it appeared to start raining in earnest. Cloud-to-cloud lightening lit up the sky and we started to be a little worried to be caught by a big storm in the open. But there was really nowhere to escape to and the rear end of the system, a sharp yellow line between dark gray and light blue kept getting closer and closer. Even the rain never amounted to anything that would have warranted the wearing of a raincoat.
We arrived at C. Baker County Park well before dusk and were able to set up camp without any trouble. Only one other party was present, a father-son team, the boy quite a bit younger than Colin and Mac. Mosquitoes were a nuisance but only until we put on repellent. Our only concern was that at least 50 cars drove by, all in the same direction. We were worried that they would come back in the middle of the night. It appears that (the private) Chimney Rock Camp Ground was at the end of the road. Away from the road, and towards the river, the park was surrounded by a a chest-high sea of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) an invasive species. Despite being a nuisance, I found this plant entertaining because its ripe seedpods explode and fling the seeds up to 7 m.
I fixed the steak that had been marinating in a concoction of pureed onions (thank you, Claudia Borden!), lemon juice and steak seasoning for the last 24 hrs and served them one by one on a kaiser bun, with tomato slices. Since there was no grill on top of the fire pit I had to use the Coleman stove and a frying pan. The bonus of this was the onion/meat broth which was great to coat the buns. On the downside, there were dishes to wash ... No complaints from the eaters, the adults washing down the food with a few Stellas.
Meanwhile, in the dusk the most amazing display of fireflies was underway. I do not recall that I have ever seen as many. Colin and Mac went on an exploratory trip to see if they could crash a party with live music underway in the vicinity. They returned not too much later saying that they got pretty close, but unable to cross some pretty thick forest. Exercise, fresh air, food and drink are strangely soporific and we soon turned in.
We arrived at C. Baker County Park well before dusk and were able to set up camp without any trouble. Only one other party was present, a father-son team, the boy quite a bit younger than Colin and Mac. Mosquitoes were a nuisance but only until we put on repellent. Our only concern was that at least 50 cars drove by, all in the same direction. We were worried that they would come back in the middle of the night. It appears that (the private) Chimney Rock Camp Ground was at the end of the road. Away from the road, and towards the river, the park was surrounded by a a chest-high sea of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) an invasive species. Despite being a nuisance, I found this plant entertaining because its ripe seedpods explode and fling the seeds up to 7 m.
I fixed the steak that had been marinating in a concoction of pureed onions (thank you, Claudia Borden!), lemon juice and steak seasoning for the last 24 hrs and served them one by one on a kaiser bun, with tomato slices. Since there was no grill on top of the fire pit I had to use the Coleman stove and a frying pan. The bonus of this was the onion/meat broth which was great to coat the buns. On the downside, there were dishes to wash ... No complaints from the eaters, the adults washing down the food with a few Stellas.
Meanwhile, in the dusk the most amazing display of fireflies was underway. I do not recall that I have ever seen as many. Colin and Mac went on an exploratory trip to see if they could crash a party with live music underway in the vicinity. They returned not too much later saying that they got pretty close, but unable to cross some pretty thick forest. Exercise, fresh air, food and drink are strangely soporific and we soon turned in.
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