Back on the Missouri - 2001


Pam's cousin, Gunnar Vik and his wife Feli, were visiting from Oslo, Norway so Reed and I invited Gunnar to join us on our annual water madness.  Last year, you may recall, we almost made it to the marina near Prairie Knights Casino, 15 miles north of Fort Yates.  That was our entry point this year.

It had been exceedingly hot and humid all week so I decided we needed hats we could soak in the cool water en route.  I found just the thing at a local discount store.  Luckily for our spouses, we did not wear these hats much in public or else we surely would have had to fend off the advances of hundreds of admirers.


A Mottley crew if there ever was one
Meredith's car provided transportation to the marina


And they're off


It was dead calm when we put into the river at 8:30 a.m., but within a few minutes the wind came up.  Luckily, it was out of the north, as we were heading the opposite direction.  Nevertheless, it had the effect of pushing the tail of the canoe sideways unless we were headed directly downwind.  Still, it was much better than heading into the waves.

Along the Missouri, we saw pelicans, terns, and one fox.  Unfortunately, the disposable camera I brought with us did not have a zoom lens and those critters looked like specs in the distance when the photos were developed.


We took turns riding int he middle of the canoe while the other two paddled.  Things went fairly smoothly while the wind was up.  But as we got nearer to Fort Yates, the wind died down again and the sand fleas started "bugging" us.  They were incredibly thick at the point where this photo was taken.  Reed couldn't wait to get close to shore so he could take a dip.  The insects waited patiently for him and were back worse than ever on our last 30-minute leg into Fort Yates.


 Gunnar dries off after taking a swim.  The peninsula in the background is Fort Yates. The water was surprisingly warm except for a cold current that went around this point of land.  I'd guess the water temperature was around 75 degrees.  On land it was around 90 degrees at 1:00 p.m.


Pulling into the dock area in Fort Yates


This was the last time we saw the canoe.  We left it for a few hours to attend the Sundance and Pow-wow.  When we returned it had vanished, along with the paddles, life jackets, and water coolers.  I'm still optimistic it will show up soon.  The tribal police have been alerted.

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