Posts in Arkansas
Day 84 Mississippi River
Day 84 Mississippi River

The alarm rang at 6 AM. Still dark outside, I gathered my things, tidied up the place and walked over to the main house. Park, dressed in a light blue button-down shirt, opened the door.

"Help yourself to whatever you need for breakfast. We got cereal, Pop tarts, toast."

After a cup of coffee and a small bowl of cereal park and I hopped in his pick up and we worked our way over toward the river. On the way we stopped at a convenience store to grab a bit more to eat. In a small heating container by the register a buffet style breakfast was on show. Park grabbed a sausage biscuit. I went with the works: biscuit and gravy, links and bacon.

Once at the water where Park had originally picked me up, we snapped a photo and said our goodbyes. Park was off to an early morning dentist appointment in Greenville, MS and I was heading south via the Might Miss.

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Mississippi, Good People, Arkansas, LouisianaWill CollinsGreenville, Lake ProvidenceComment
Day 82 Mississippi River
Day 82 Mississippi River

Rain tapped the tarp overhead that covered my tent. A small part of me was content because it gave me a good excuse to stay in bed. When I came to about an hour later the rain had stopped, giving me the all clear to get the day started.

I made oatmeal and coffee as I did my best to let the tent dry before packing it away. Clouds hid the sun despite a warm day in the low 60s.

Once packed up and ready to push off a drizzle began to fall. Not enough of a rain to get you soaked, but enough to mist over the sunglasses on my face. Shortly after it started, the sprinkles stopped. This would be a pattern throughout the day.

With no wind to effect my progress I made steady time southbound. The river seemed to be busy today with barge traffic.

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Arkansas, bargesWill CollinsComment
Day 80 Mississippi River
Day 80 Mississippi River

I rose to a brisk but sunny morning. Condensation caked the inside of my tents rainfly following a night that hovered in the mid 30s. Bundled in several layers and topped with cathart overalls I packed up the miscellaneous gear thrown about the inside of the tent and set the rainfly out to dry as I made breakfast.

A relatively calm day on the water followed. Near Helena, AR I received a text from my boss in South Dakota checking in and curious as to my expected end date. After crunching the milage I called her back, leaving a message. By my math I should be wrapped up sometime near the end of the month.

For the first time on the journey I see the end of the line and start thinking about the short amount of time I have left on the river. From there my mind begins to sort out the tasks I need to get done once I get home. Get a basketball schedule together, think of a new segment for my radio show, line up this, work on that.

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ArkansasWill CollinsHelenaComment
Day 77 Mississippi River
Day 77 Mississippi River

Another gloomy morning met me on Kelly's couch. The folks I would run into in Memphis all lamented the fact that I was visiting during a stint of bad weather, but for me, it couldn't have been better. I would much rather be off the river and have a roof over my head during the poor weather than be paddling through rain and cold and clouds.

The plan today was to explore more of the city, make a run into Bass Pro Shops to get a few supplies, and hit a grocery store at some point. Armed with my skateboard and a backpack I cruised through downtown and rode Beale Street, weaving in and out of people and light posts, enjoying the ride.

I skated toward Bass Pro Shops along the river front, a nice walking path that stretched the rivers edge. Along the way I passed a few parks, some historical markers and a sign depicting the vital role the city of Memphis played in the Civil War.

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Good People, Arkansas, Memphis, TennesseeWill CollinsComment
Day 75 Mississippi River
Day 75 Mississippi River

I woke up with plans of reaching Memphis, Tennessee by mid afternoon. Just 24 miles down river, I figured I would make decent speed and stroll into the city with daylight to spare. Boy was I wrong.

A viscous headwind made progress difficult. With large whitecaps layering the main channel and waves crashing into shore I thought about stopping and chalking up a low mileage day to the wind. However, tomorrow's forecast is looking grim and with the thought of Memphis BBQ on my mind I reluctantly pushed on.

A few miles north of the city limits I decided to make a crossing to the opposite shore (toward Tennessee) in hopes of mitigating some of the wind. As I worked across the river rolling waves, several feet high, crashed into my boat. The bow took on water as it dipped under white capped breakers in the midst of the main channel. My mind began kicking into overdrive. A small portion of it reminded me of the stakes at hand (cold day, fast moving water about a half mile wide, and no one to help if things went bad), while I forced most of my head to focus on the task at hand; safely traversing the river.

Once across I was able to loosen the white knuckled grip on my paddle and be thankful to be near shore.

Just before the sun ducked behind the trees of Arkansas, the skyline of Memphis, Tennessee appeared to the east. As I approached I reached out to an old friend, Kelly, who lives in Memphis and offered to put me up of the night.

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Memphis, Tennessee, Good People, Storms, ArkansasWill CollinsComment