Happy 4th

Hope everyone had a great 4th. Missed the fireworks in BC , but did manage to at least hear some going off around me as I camped by the river.
The day went by quietly for the most part. The difference was in the scenery. The grey, clay bluffs gave way to long sandy beaches interspersed with reddish banks lining the sides of the river. Later on, near the town of Eppes, the grey bluffs gave way to big, white cliffs, locally called the "White Cliffs if Eppes" for obvious reasons. Tugs and barges passed more often with all of them heading upstream. The weather for the day was pretty much the same with temps in the low to mid 90's and a light wind every once in awhile. Did manage to see 4 bald eagles and several hawks. Overall a nice day. Reached the 32 mile mark and found a small sandy beach to camp for the night. Dinner of one of my last Hawk Vittles and coffee had me settling into my tent for the evening as the light of day faded.
I had to be in my tent before dark. The mosquitos come out in hordes as soon as the the sun sets. Looking out the netting of the tent, 1000's of them are swirling outside. You can hear the combined buzz as these little vampires hungrily await any opening.
I awakened to the sound of a tug disappearing up river and light dawning down river. Looked at my watch and saw it was 5:10. A little later than usual, but I was dead tired last night and probably needed the sleep. I felt rested and ready so I put the water on for coffee and packed the tent. Once coffee was ready I looked at my watch to see what time I was launching. Oh my, I did it again. It wasn't 5:10 when I woke up....it was 2:25. That light dawning down river wasn't the sun, but the full moon through the trees as it was setting. It was now 3 am. I had a choice. Set the tent back up and get some more sleep, or head on down. I chose to head on down. Cooler weather and a full moon to light the way wasn't hard to resist. That means I would get to Demopolis early as well. So, off I went.
Yesterday, or yestermorning was a good paddle for the first 14 miles. At that point my arms felt heavy and my eye's were droopy. I took a short nap at around 8 am and managed to get about 20 minutes in before a big cruiser was heard coming up stream. This one must not have seen me because he didn't even slow down. He was pushing a huge bow wave and the wake off his stern was throwing 3 foot waves behind him. Uh oh. I turned so i could hit his wake at a 90 degree angle. My bow rose up the first wave and plunged down into the second. Slicing through the 2nd wave, water poured over my bow and splashed over me. It felt like I was on a big western river and paddling through a big wave train. I was soaked, but all was fine. Thought about radioing him, but just sponged the water out of the boat and kept going.
I arrived at Demopolis at around 11 am. The marina there has a small restaraunt and small motel. For $44 bucks I got a room. It was an easy decision. After a burger at the restaraunt I headed back to the room for a long nap.
The weather report called for lots of severe weather for that evening and all day on Monday. Hmmmmm. Lots of big thunderstorms with high winds was not what I was looking for. I don't mind paddling in the rain, but big thunderstorms are a bit scary. Looking at the forecast I have a couple options. Tuesday, the threat of thunderstorms lessens with only scattered, afternoon storms forecast. I could tough it out, paddle on, and see what Monday brings. I could also hang out and see what other landings/end points are available. I decided to sleep on it and see what the weather was like in the morning.
I awoke at my usual time...4:30. When I looked outside, it was pouring wiith lightning in the distance. Needless to say, I went back to sleep. I woke up at dawn and it was still raining hard. That set my decision to hang out and find out where I can take out above Mobile.
There is nothing above Mobile for a ways. Coffeeville is the closest place for Susan to pick me up and have a chance to actually find it. There are several small landings, but I wanted a place that Susan won't have to wonder if it's the place. Having no cell phone service, it wouldn't be easy for us to connect and find each other. So, Coffeeville will be the end. The Corp of Engineers has a boat ramp at the lake above Coffeeville Lock and Dam and there is a great little restaruant and cabins on the river called Bobby's Fish Camp. It's a place the kids might enjoy too.
So, I'm good with the plan. As I said before, I'm not setting any records, or am I the first one to do this. The purpose of this trip is to help promote the scholarship effort and tell the story of my dad. Personally, I'm feel very comfortable with the paddling effort and accomplishment. No regrets on any accounts.
I'll enjoy the last 100 miles and hope that the scattered thundershowers aren't too bad. I've been putting in big miles so slowing down and enjoying the day with out working quite as hard will be enjoyable. I look forward to that. Not sure what day I'll end and will talk with Susan this afternoon to work that out. Right now, Friday is looking like a possibility.
If I'm able to, I'll post again. If not, I'll wait until I finish. As usual, thanks to all for your support. I've enjoyed the writing much more than I thought I would.