A wise man once told me, if you need one, you need two. And by wise man I mean a prison guard from Portsmouth, Ohio.
Prison is where I learned to play chess.
Just kidding, I never went to prison. This is just a little humor for the people who read past the headline.
I actually met the prison guard while trying to sell him a Mercedes Sprinter van, but that’s a story for another day.
What I needed was a night off. So why not two?
I’m sure somewhere out there an old man is groaning, “How can this guy already need a night off? He’s been on the River for like a day.”
Well depending on how closely you follow my TikTok you might know that I’ve been remodeling a house by myself in Seattle for the last basically 7 months. That’s how I continue to pay the bills for my unconventional lifestyle, and this Mississippi River adventure.
Although I was a civil engineer for 4 years, I’ve been working for myself almost as long.
I finished the remodel, spent a full long day packing for the Mississippi, and headed straight east on I-90.
This is my vacation as much as it an expedition to the Gulf Coast, so I’m going to enjoy it. In both of my previous cross country adventures I’ve found a motel every 5-7 nights refreshes me to the point it’s easy to forget the miles I’m logging in between.
Now I know I said if you need one, you need two. But two nights in a Best Western turned in to three because it didn’t make much sense to return to a day of thunderstorms. Money well spent.
While away from the river I rented a car to head out to the Grand Forks area. Around 100 miles away, Grand Forks was the closest city to Bemidji where I could find a marine radio.
The radio would give me the opportunity to call for help in case of an emergency without cell service, but also communicate with the dam operators ahead down river to let me into the lock system when possible. That wild rice experience on Day 3 really sold me on the importance of a lifeline on the water.
I also bought some bear spray because the howling wolves around Lake Itasca freaked me out a bit, seems like it would also be money well spent ($40 for a can that empties in 4 seconds).
This time away from the river means I won’t be setting any speed records, but I’d say it was a success.
