On the River and SDC, our staycation ends.

Perfect day for the river, well maybe a little windy for my little raft! I spent a lot of time rowing against the wind when I should have been floating down the river-it was an excellent workout. It was sunny and 80 degrees though and the water was BRRR Cold if you got hot enough to brave it.

http://www.jamesriverbasin.com/

 The James River in SWMO is lovely and very easy to float. I hit bottom on the gravel only two times in my trusty old raft! I have canoed, kayaked and now rafted on this river. We try to go on new sections each time. It took us almost 6 hours to go about 7 miles which is pretty slow but we stopped, fished and fought the wind a few times.

 

In some places the river was so quiet and serene with only the sounds of our paddles and wildlife splashes. We chased a crane down the river slowly much to his or her frustration-quite a noisy bird!  There was a big paddling of ducks that we kept relocating until another boat coming up river made them take flight.

The Sycamore trees are huge and the roots run along the banks in twisting gnarls.

 We saw only a few others on the river since it was a Wednesday and in April. By far the most interesting for me was the odd pair grabbing Spoonbill (paddlefish). It is legal until April 30 but I found it to be a little violent for my taste. I had no idea we were floating above these monster fish and apparently they are a little rare in this area. The fellow in the photo was very intent on the hunt and had little to say but the lady was chatty. Sorry for the fuzzy photo but I was a little excited :)

Next we saw more serene river watchers, happy cows!

Sadly and maybe happily we landed at our access point. I was tired but it had been a great float!

The next day we visited Silver Dollar City during World Fest, my favorite festival. I took just a couple of photos of the performers. My favorite was the Peruvian Scissor Dancers and the Italian flag throwers, yes they were men in tights!

http://festivals.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/

Our Staycation is ending and Superdude was called in to work so I am winging it solo today. I think I will make something! We had a great week together and last night was a little sad for me as time has flown so fast. We have a weekend still with plans to see good friends and enjoy my role as the evil stepmom too. Have a good weekend!