Today was a river day; 4.3 kilometers to kiss the buoy line at the Stewartville Dam and 4.3 back to the landing. I tried to do a steady stroke and only take a break at the buoy line. The sun was quite warm, hitting 30 degrees, little wind, and a lot of humidity. Small wonder that a thunderstorm warning has been in effect all day. The forecast was for foul weather in the afternoon only, so I was not as crazy as to head out into potential lightning.

The generators at the dam were not producing power and there was nothing coming out of the spillway so there was no current at the buoy line so the paddling was easy. I was glad that there were only a few power boats, mainly folks out fishing. The boats for the most part are mindful of paddlers and give you a bit of wave action to play with.

So where is the Camino reflection? I guess I still think of Jimmy, or as some like to call him, St. James. (I know that is not really Camino but his remains are supposedly squirreled away in that Cathedral so there is a connection) Anyway, Jimmy would have spent a lot of hours on the water. His paddling and rowing would not have been fun or recreation but work; hard, back aching, muscle stretching work, just to earn enough to survive. The tiny callous on my left hand, the slight ache in my back, are really nothing, but they are a window into Jimmy's World.