Locked and loaded

Captain's Log - Day 31

Another day on the river!

The humidity today was absurd. You could breathe through your mouth and not ever get thirsty. Yes, it was that humid. Fortunately, after we passed through a thunderstorm, the humidity got back to bearable levels. Much longer in that soup and we would've began to resemble the Mon Calamari.

We were buzzed by a float plane today! Before it started diving at us, it took me about 30 seconds to realize it was a remote controlled plane! The guy flying it was really good! He put on quite a show for us. Stuck the landing too!

It's a good thing our trip is nearing its end, because Simon has begun to throw our cookware into the river. We're down one pot!

Today we saw a whole bunch of fish jumping way out of the water! They were all in a very tight-knit group. Clayton warned me about these - evidently they're dangerous! Simon and I didn't take this video, but it shows what we saw:



But at least there aren't any whales!! Jumping fish aren't the only danger on the river, which leads me to our third tidbit.

Tidbit #3 - There are many dangers on the river, so keep your head on a swivel.

There are barges that take a half mile to stop. If you get caught in front of one, your boat is done. Simon and I debated whether it would be best to swim for the shore or stay on the top of the boat till the last second and try to jump onto the barge. Fortunately, we never got a chance to test these theories.

There are thunderstorms that will sneak up on you, cut your visibility to 10 feet in a matter of seconds, and blow you towards the shore with 40 plus mile an hour winds (which makes running into barges easier).

There are locks, dams, wingdams, buoys and trees to hit. Also, watch out for those trees, because sometimes  you'll be minding your own business and they will hit you (and take your anchor)!

There are also poisonous snakes, but fortunately we didn't find any. Although ... I'm still very curious to know if I'm immune to copperhead venom now!

Despite these dangers and more, the most dangerous thing on the river, is Simon.

Tonight, we're on the hook about 30 miles from our destination in Knoxville.