Day 17

Since the park is a National Scenic Riverways and the Ozarks are known for their lakes and rivers, I wanted to get G3 on the water for a day. There is no white water rafting this time of year so we opted for a kayaking trip instead. I didn’t know which company was best so I randomly chose one online. The person I spoke to on the phone was friendly and suggested the eight mile float/paddle down the Jacks Fork River. We went with it because it was the shortest excursion and G3 didn’t want anything too long.

I had an extremely pleasant time on the river. We were the only ones who had signed up for the 9:00 o’clock time slot. I was surprised considering it’s still summer, but the guy who drove us to the starting point said we’re at the very end of the season. Out here school starts soon. On the water, we passed only one group of people. Otherwise, we were all alone—us and the turtles. And wow, were there a lot of turtles. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many many before. They were all hanging out on logs jutting out of the river. If we got too close we spooked them and the slipped into the water to escape our curiosity.

The current moves at a slow gentle pace. I thought we’d paddle most of the way and we did do some paddling, but there were also stretches where we drifted, floating along on the current. Of course we reminisced about Dad and how he always enjoyed the drifting part—and gazing at the scenery—most. The scenery today was pretty, though G3 thought it was redundant—trees, trees, and more trees. Most of what we drifted through was National Park so there was absolutely no development. It was also quiet—oh so quiet. Only the birds and cicadas provided a sound track for our excursion. I thoroughly enjoyed the peacefulness of it. I need more of that in my life. Being on the water, away from people, and noise. Pure happiness! G3 had fun for about the first half, then he was bored and couldn’t wait for the journey to end. He was happy to return. I was not.

The water was chilly. I had expected G3 to want to stop periodically to go swimming, but he didn’t. Today, of all days on this trip, was the coolest. While we were on the water it didn’t get out of the 70s. Plus the sky was covered the entire time with clouds. G3 was disappointed. He commented that today was the one day he wanted it to be hot. There were a few places where the water looked somewhat deep, but mostly it was shallow. The kayaks scraped bottom a few times. The river had an aquamarine tint—I assume from the springs that feed into it—and it was incredibly clear. Even in the deeper places we could see the bottom and the fish swimming below us. G3’s favorite part of the trip was when we hit the Class I whitewater ripples. He enjoyed the jolt of speed and navigating around fallen trees and hanging branches.

My memory on Facebook was a comment about kayaking with Dad and G3 ten years ago. How fitting. Those are sweet memories. Dad used to bring the boats to our favorite beach in Peconic. He and I would then take them into the inlet and G3 would sit on my lap—he was only a toddler, way too little to paddle on his own. The first year we took him in the kayak he wasn’t yet potty trained, and when he wore his bathing suit, he didn’t wear a diaper. On those early trips he always peed on me. He laughed about it then. Today, when I reminisced about it he was not happy with me. I miss days at the beach with Dad. I think G3 does as well.

We finished kayaking around 1:30 and went to lunch. After we ate, I asked G3 if he wanting go back to Rocky Falls to go swimming. He said no, so I headed back toward the campground. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said he was really tired and needed a nap. So he’s in the tent. It took him about thirty seconds, from the time he laid down, to fall asleep. I always thought children were supposed to exhaust their parents, not the other way around. While he sleeps, I’ll have a little time to read. The campground isn’t deserted, but the sites around me are empty. It’s quiet—the loud people are probably sleeping off their hangovers. There is a cool breeze. I will enjoy this time outside reading since the next two days will involve far too much driving.

I am not good about sitting still for long periods of time. I never have been. There is a trail behind the campground that runs along the river. I decided to take a walk. G3 was still tired and not up for it so he stayed behind. I was only gone an hour. I felt guilty leaving him behind, but I didn’t want to force him to walk, especially if he’s not quite feeling up to physical activity.

We went to Subway for dinner. The woman behind the counter was friendly. She called me ma’am and then apologized and asked me what my pronouns were. She said she didn’t want to offend me. I was taken aback because we’re in rural Missouri and I didn’t expect to find such sensitivity here. She then asked her co worker to change the music—they were listening to rap music—because it wasn’t child friendly. I told her she didn’t need to change it for us because G3 listens to Eminem in the car. That got her excited. Apparently, she is a huge Eminem fan. She even showed us the E tattooed on her hand because she loves his music so much. Why just the E, I don’t know. I wanted to ask what happened to the other letters, but I was afraid it would sound too obnoxious or sarcastic.

Pumpkin is the campground’s pet. She is a turkey. G3 and I have seen her walking around the last few nights. Tonight, as the campground hosts were making their rounds they stopped to chat. They told me she has lived here the last three years. When the last campers left last summer, she chased after them not wanting them to go. During the winter months, the rangers come to check on her and spend some time with her so she doesn’t get lonely. Her first year here, there were two turkeys. But only she came back.

G3 recovered enough to play frisbee with me for awhile. When it got dark he wanted a fire so we made one. He sat with me for awhile telling me how much he does not want to go back to school. He’s afraid the new school won’t be much better than the previous school. He’s afraid it will be boring, especially history. I’m afraid he’s right. Learning from a textbook is quit dull compared to learning it at the places where it actually unfolded. It would be nice to think that maybe this year his teachers will actually be able to meet him where he is instead of bringing him down. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe luck will penetrate the dark clouds rumbling overhead.

He is now back in the tent sleeping while I am still sitting at the fire. Once I finish here I’ll get back to the Shinning. I’m about half way through.