Sunshine at last

The past week we endured crazy lightning storms and flash flooding. The river is way above flood level and we've paddled by so many houses and riverside parks that are underwater (including two halfway submerged outhouses-ufda). Because the river is flooding many of the dams are closed so we've had to  portage around them. On the positive side we've essentially had the river to ourselves because all the barges aren't running which has been nice and peaceful.

The past couple days the sun has finally come out. Yesterday we tied our canoes together and set up a sail with a tarp and paddles. We cruised, it was epic. Then we all jumped in the water and later that night enjoyed some stellar Mac and cheese.

Two days ago we met two guys from southern Minnesota who are also paddling to the gulf. We camped with them on a beach and shared stories around the campfire which was a lot of fun. They have done a fair amount of canoeing in the Boundary Waters which was pretty neat to hear about.

Tonight we're camping in a riverside park in Keokuk, Iowa. Molly had to stop at the doctor and get a steroid shot for her chiggers, which have unfortunately taken a turn for the worse. Leif's pink eye seems to be improving and Hurrikane's cuts are pretty much healed though so things are looking up. Tomorrow we'll be paddling into Missouri woot woot, our fifth state so far. Hopefully the people there will be just as friendly as the people we met in Iowa!