Porter's Chapel to Red River Canoe
2:53 moving time, 4.0 avg speed, 8.5 max speed
Me, Scotty and a guy named Bob
Beautiful blue skies, temps - low 80s, water level 5.8
Once again, we asked on 'Clarksville Kayaking Friends' if anybody wanted to kayak and no takers! So off we went with 2 cars. On the way we passed the 'Bob Festival' - WHAT? Anyway, we pull into the put-in parking lot and there's a guy pulling out. He was having a hard time getting a shuttle service due to the 'Tie Dye Festival', which is another story. We tell him he can kayak with us and guess what his name was? Bob! We put in and the river, including Bob, and the river has a great flow as it had rained recently, although the water is dirty, hence the name of the Red River. We had a quick snack break at our usual gravel bar and continue on to Red River Canoe, when it hits me that I have forgotten the keys to my car. This is a HUGE RULE for shuttling - NEVER forget your keys. Well, I tell the two that I'll find somebody at the festival to drive us back to the put-in. I'm thinking I'll look for some young, teenaged boy and offer him some money. We get to the take-out where the 'Tie Dye Festival' is happening. My plans on looking for a teenaged boy quickly change as the air has a rather sweet smell and everybody looks rather relaxed. I find 3 women cleaning up their shirt booth and explain the situation and ask if they'll drive my husband up to the put-in. They say, 'yes', as long as he's not psycho or anything. I say, he's anything but that, and then he comes over and introduces himself as 'psycho'! In any case, she takes off with him and Bob in the car. I stay and talk and they are 3 really nice ladies and it happens that they're selling KAYAK shirts and hats! What are the chances? I would have bought a shirt, but tell them I'd only want a dry-wick shirt. They don't know what I'm talking about and I explain and suggest if they're going to sell kayak shirts, they'd have better luck. They refused to take any money for shuttling us, so instead I buy a hat. As everything was packed up, they tell me they'll mail it to me and it says 'River Hippy' - I love it! They're also new to kayaking and one lives in Clarksville and two live near Carbondale, where Richie goes to school. They take my contact information and we agree to get together and kayak someday. They also suggest putting my blog on their website. So, maybe my viewership will double, maybe I'll get up to 4. Truth be told - I'm still waiting for Wilderness Systems to discover me and offer me a deal. I'd be a great advertisement - an old lady that loves kayaking in her Pungo sharing stories and photos. Such a fun and serendipitous day!
