the peace river

the peace.

the basement full of gear. scattered gatorade bottles & dry sacs. so many excited heart beat.

my eyes close to this last night in civilization.

the clock strikes midnight.

the morning brings:

best breakfast sandwiches ever.

pack these kayaks. heart eyes.

quesadillas on the road.

these blue eyes are excited.

mr. greg pushed us into the peace & we are gone. the sun follows. the flat wide water glowed silver and these three kyayks float silently. laughter and smiles. deep talks & arguments. echoes off the banks & too much gatorade.

we named her fransis. this island that kept us safe for this first night on the river. the beach stretching far along the tree line. everything beautiful in his time. best supper ever.

fajitas with reaaalll guacamole. we camp in style yes sir. the sleep was so good. my biggest fear was staying warm. & guess what i WAS HOT. thank you jesus. we wake up to a very grey sky. but that's ok. hash browns & bacon. toast with jam. no like i was serious when i said we camp in style.

we hit the river @ 10:45.

53 kilometres to go.

it was a bit of a push. more then we expected.

but we arrived at our beloved mozzarella island. @ 7:55.

53 kms in 9 hours.

wich is 5.7 kilometres an hour.

but it was fun. lots of snacks. it rained and was really windy. i had to remind myself a couple times that i was having the time of my life. by the end of the day i was cold. & tired. supper was hobo dinners & chilli. yum. the rain keeps coming in this land. but i'm warm in my tent. & being in a tent in the rain is what makes me happy. the big peace winding past. keeping us safe. thank you jesus for that day. helping us to get to our destination. help tomorrow to be drier if it's your will.

these girls are gold. mary & wine. love them.

these daisy chain headbands & laughs over drama. puffs of smoke across the trees. signs of recant forest fires. the silver water smooth as glass & then u round the corner and it turns to big waves. almost scary. we laugh. hard. & tell silly stories. i accidentally shoulder check when i paddle north. more laughs. don't fall out of your kayak when your laughing. jesus help me to sleep good. keep my family safe. & my friends.

i love u.

left the mozzarella @ about 9:15.

paddled hard.

white caps. big waves. splashing into our kyayks.

this morning for about 5 minutes i had a tiny bit of nervousness. rain hitting our faces. but smiles. many smiles. holding up our p2000 and using it as a sail. creating a large wake. thank you wind for that small joy. many snacks. many gaterades. & our singing echoes off the high cliffs. we sang lots like all the songs we cud think of. & seagulls wrecking the tune. the waves crash against the shore & we pray that it gets hot and calm. we paddle. continually paddle. we know we have to make it to the bridge by dark. so we keep going. i talk to jesus to distract my muscles. & then it's there. the big peace river bridge. looming huge against the horizon. four big pillars standing against the sky. each pillar in a big upside down Y. & each section a big lot longer then our 14 foot kyayks. the water surging through them. fear could almost catch me if i think about it. overwhelming dents in the metal from chunks of ice during breakup. the hugeness. of this river. this water churning through the valley. under this big orange bridge. but we see our landing. civilization. thank you jesus.

130 kilometres. 21.5 hours on the water.

3 days out of civilization.

many moments on islands. so good.