We continued our correspondence even when he was out at sea on cargo ships. He is now retired.
Since my folks encouraged me to take lots of vitamins and row a lot, it just seemed logical to share with them my river adventures.
Here's my kayak cocktail:
Vitamins C, A, B complex, and E
Folic acid
Echinea
Flax seed oil
Pumpkin seed oil
Evening primrose
Zinc
Selenium
Chondroitin and glucosamine
Ginko biloba (to remember where I put the tow car)
Hawthorn berries
Grapeseed extract
Occuguard
St. John's Wort
Kelp
About an hour after I take the kayak cocktail, I get an uncontrollable urge to paddle for about 8 hours, no matter what the weather.
My Mom is an apitherapist. She controls her rheumatoid arthritis with bee stings and good vitamins, and is wonderfully healthy. My Dad takes the same mix but walks for hours and sails a boat on Lake Champlain.
My parents are, and always will be, my heroes.
River stories, 1997-1998
These are some of the most memorable of the more than 100 kayak trips I've taken in Iowa over the past three years. Letters to the editors of various newspapers, published and not, are also included.
I started in again on January 19, 1999. I have made trip reports that are updated weekly.
December 20, 1998
A cold hard paddle on Horseshoe Bend, 400 down and done the Des Moines
December 13, 1998
Cliffland to Selma, eagles clown around, 390 miles down
November 29, 1998
Portages in Humboldt County, deer swimming south of Emmetsburg
November 9, 1998
Early snow in NW Iowa, wildlife in the greenbelt
October 25, 1998
River Runner near West Bend
October 18, 1998
Swift water under the toll bridge and on to (almost) the Mississippi
October 9, 1998
Selma to Keosauqua on a pretty fall day
October 4, 1998
A rough paddle to Ottumwa, friends downstream
September 14, 1998
The Yellow banks, Runnells, Bennington express
August 17, 1998
Red Rock to Evelyn, to an appreciative audience
July 5, 1998
An anniversary paddle in a storm on Storm Lake
June 15, 1998
Beware the REC dam North of Ft. Dodge, friendly relatives meet the cat-in-the-hat
June 8, 1998
Ft. Dodge and south, a letter to the Messenger
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