a peaceful evening on the lake took us past the red sandstone cordova cliffs, festooned with serviceberry blossoms and one person's attempt to change the world. everything we do has a ripple effect, just like the waves pushed by the wind...
"she took off to find the footlights, i took off to find the sky." -- harry chapin
with so much media lately about lost soil from farming too close to waterways i found myself in indiana surveying a contributing tile system that drained a cattle feed lot. the pasture ran right up to the creek which is a major feeder of prairie creek reservoir, a water source for the city of muncie. while paddling from red rock dam to keokuk on the des moines river we saw many fields that abutted the shores and the erosion was disturbing, not to mention the pollution. with corn prices so high farmers are planting wall to wall....... is ethanol production worth it? 
on a recent trip to indiana for a comprehensive program i chanced to paddle each morning and with high water found a passage under the road "up a creek". it reminded me of one of my first pictures taken in klagenfurt, austria along a canal. i wish all my slides were on disc but i also wish all my memories were cataloged and cross referenced too. my "computer" of a mind is an early apple iie.
even shadows have reflections... 
hickory ridge is now accessible by water with campsites in place and trail constructed. two trips over from whitebreast ramp allowed me to imagine what it will be when open for campers this summer. stripbuilder and i paddled for four hours yesterday and checked out the construction at the cordova access. this 15 miles was the most i've paddled this year...
