The Last Day

It's Memorial Day. a day to honor those we have lost who have served our country.  Below is the Florida State Flower, the Coreopsis, shown here in memory of those who have gone on before us.

Coreopsis, The Florida State Wildflower

Some people asked about the location of the Peace River, so here is a map. It starts in Polk County and flows south to Charlotte Harbor.  We paddled the middle two counties (Hardee and Desoto). It is 106 miles long and drains near 1,400 square miles.  It also supplies 6 million gallons a day of drinking water to its residents.  It was amazing to find snook so far up the river!

The Peace River

Dawn came along the river in bird calls and distant traffic noise in the still air.  Our crew leader, Ryan, sounded reville with a grass whistle!  It made us all laugh.  I responded that I was awake by blowing my nose.  We laughed all the more.  Time to get up, get packed, and get back in the boats for day 3 and final of this trip.  Kelly and I have been ill the entire trip with head colds and we are looking forward to getting more decongestant in town.  Here's the view of the river from my tent this morning;

Peace River at dawn from my tent at campsite "Hickory Hammock at Oak Hill

At breakfast, we joked and laughed about all we had seen on the river; people yelling at each other, crashing into each other, swamping their canoes, kids crying for their TV sets and "real" parks.  From our perch along the bluffs in camp, no one could see us, so we had a very interesting evening of people watching.  It was kind of like NASCAR; just waiting for the crashes!  Some relationships are made on the river, like our group, and some are utterly destroyed by their own doing, as we watched real life unfold before us and below this high bank of sand;

Sunset on the Peace River looking downstream with Oak Hill campsites on the right

We had several failed attempts at drying out our boots (we have to wear these at Northern Tier, so we practiced having soggy feet all day);

3 days of wet and sandy boots

We got a late start as we knew we only had about an hour and a half of paddling to do. It was still morning, but all the party animals were gone and the river was once more peaceful. 

The gang's all here! L-R Jonathan, Ryan, Jack (seated), Mike, Bryan, and Kelly (photo by Mary)

The water felt "thicker" this morning as some of us sensed the affects of 3 days of using these not-so-often exercised paddling muscles.  At the train trestle, we knew the end of our 22.5 mile journey was going to be over at the next bend, home of Canoe Outpost Peace River in Arcadia. 

The train trestle plus Mary's view of the back of Kelly for 3 days.

We snugged up to the dock before noon and after loading our gear in the car, guzzled cold Poweraide from the vending machine.  It was a great accomplishment and although the weather did not test us, we did test ourselves and got stronger as a group.  

Giddy-up Gator and eat my sister!

We only wished Lauren Ebert could have been with us. (She will join us on the Northern Tier Trip.). This trip is may be over, but the next big canoe adventure will start July 31st with our flight to Duluth, MN. Stay tuned!

We did it!
Back Row L-R; Bryan Edwards, Jack Edwards, Jonathan Ebert, and Ryan Spence
Front Row L-R; Kelly Spence, Mary Spence, and Mike Ebert