Against The Current (Day 58)

Like hitting the brakes.

That’s what it feels like to go against the current after going with it for 20 days.

That’s what happened when we left the Mississippi River and turned left to head up the Ohio. We instantly lost more than half our momentum. We knew it would happen. It still felt weird.

I don’t mind the slower pace. Sometimes The Great Loop seems all about making it to the next destination. It’s too easy to forget that it’s all about the journey. Thanks, Ohio River, for reminding us.

We’re anchored out just eight miles up the Ohio, right on the shoreline but well out of the river traffic. I feel relaxed here. Our anchor line is stretched out with the current rather than fighting against it. I want to be more like that, I think…but I’ve always gone against the current in some ways, in spite of my military past. I seem to challenge the accepted norms — not loudly, but persistently. It’s not a decision. It’s just the way I’m built. It’s exhausting at times. But some norms should be challenged, no? It’s called progress.

Branches and dead carp and occasional garbage float by on the current, reminding us of the upheaval that rivers, and mankind, can cause.

And yet it’s peaceful and beautiful here too.

Today’s journey captured in photos and captions, below.