October 19th. Day 17 - Cape Girardaeu, MO to Hickman, KY

Much to Jenny's disappointment, we did not wake up at 6 am to go get coffee before we took off but at least we were on way by 8 am. It was a very good day to travel - the sun was shining and it was a little windy, but after experiencing the biting cold of the north winds the south winds we having coming at us now are a welcome relief! Jenny started us off and when its nice out we usually have our wet clothing on a makeshift clothesline strung up from the mast. It was so windy that some of our laundry was being whipped around quite ferociously. We tried to crawl out there to grab it but the waves were so big (4 - 5 feet!!) that we were bobbing too much to get out there safely. Add the constant spray being shot at us as we smashed back down into the waves after cresting a considerably big wave and all we could was mourn the loss of Wade's socks and a couple of dishrags as they fell to their watery graves.

Despite the commotion on the water, Wade managed to make eggs and bacon for breakfast and even attempted cookies. They kept burning, though, so the batter was set aside for calmer waters. I took over for Jenny after a couple hours as she was soaking from the spray and she was freezing. Since the oven was still warm, Jenny (this is the member of our crew that works at a pizza place, mind you) decided to make pizza for lunch! Well . . . you can see how that turned out. =D In her defense, they were sitting in ice water and had thawed considerably. I don't think it could be helped. My shift was much calmer than Jenny's. I took off my jackets and lounged on the bench as a drove to bask in the sun a little. The temperature climbed into the 70's and the wind died down, just because Jenny wasn't driving, I'm sure. Making progress is harder now as the Mississippi is becoming very curvy and snakelike. What we could cover in an hour if it was straight, takes up to 2 or 3 hours going around the loop! When we passed Cario and across the border of Kentucky, Wade took over for me and drove the rest of the day. Wade was also sprayed with a steady stream of splashes, but at least he learned from Jenny's mistake and put rain gear on. At this point, we were used to the monster waves and actually find them to be fun! It's just like Valley Fair! We still aren't willing to venture out onto the front of the boat during these wild rides, as we are now in Aligator Gar territory! Not that I honestly think we would be attacked, should we fall in but it's the concept of them being there that makes us tend to avoid putting our hands in the water at all. We might go fishing for them at some point if we can figure out what we might possibly use as bait!

As Wade drove I worked on cleaning the mud off the boat a bit. The Mississippi mud is like North Dakota clay. Once it gets on something - it cakes and never ever comes off. When we spot on the side of the river at night, we slip on the rubber boots and wade to shore to tie to a tree and just going those few feet puts up to two inches of mud on the bottom of the boots!

Our spotlight stopped working and we vowed to avoid another nighttime hunt for someplace to spend the night, so at 5 o'clock Wade and I started searching for promising anchoring spots. The first spot, behind an island near Hickman, KY, was swarming with barges and tugboats. The GPS showed a small stream across from that particular island, but the GPS lies! There was no stream and it was 5:30 so we were running out of options. We tried nosing in near a parked barge, but Wade didn't like that. Finally, we chose to nose into the shoreline wherever the tree canopy opened enough that our mast wouldn't get caught should the wind or current push us in either direction. It worked! I actually think it was one of our best camping spots thus far. We tied to a tree and moved the front anchor to the back so there were two anchors stablizing from the back in both directions and we wouldn't be pushed sideways into the shoreline. No more sideways washup on the shore with crunching noises and screaming girls, Wade decided.

It was Wade's turn to make supper so we had Mac & cheese with some canned chicken mixed in and two cans of corn. I was stuffed! As we commonly do now, we set the dishes aside for the morning and Wade went outside and was looking at the motor. Evidently when we close the compartment of gas (right in front of the motor) it sometimes disconnects the wires that allows the batteries we have to charge off the motor when its running. That had happened again and Wade was fixing it but accidentally crossed polarity when he put it back together. Seconds later, he opened the doors to come back inside exclaiming, "What the?!" I was doing Jenny's hair at the time and we looked to the door and the compartment beneath it (where the batteries are stored) was billowing smoke! I immediately removed the lid, and the wires on the battery started into flames when the oxygen reached it. Luckily, all I had to was blow on it and the flames went out. Wade ran to disconnect the wires from the motor, Jenny had the fire extinguisher in hand before I had even turned around to grab it in case it flared up again. It didn't, but the wiring all the way from the motor to the battery it was connected to was completely fried. Danger averted! Gosh we have a lot of excitement on this trip. =D We were exhausted! Jenny (of course) fell asleep immediately. Wade and I watched part of Troy to unwind but was too tired to finish the whole thing.