Finishing Big Creek

As I waited to set out on the trip which would carry me around the island at Campbell County Park and back toward home port I was entertained by a wake boarder cruising "quietly' along, enjoying themselves, eroding the banks and rocking any boat or dock that happened to be in their neighborhood.  Did I mention that I hate wake boarders?

The lake was close to full and the rising waters had floated all sorts of trees and debris.  These floaters were a constant threat, sometimes hard to detect as many logs were saturated, and like icebergs of a different temperature, hid most of their bulk underwater.  Facing the rising sun, the little drifting fog, and all the trash demanded a constant vigil.  My trip that day proved to be less than fun.  

Gilligan adjusted to boat life and was beginning to warm up to me.  He had stopped cowering in a corner when I spoke as he had done when we first met.

I was too busy navigating and avoiding threats to snap many pictures. I regret that I have no visible record of how cramped the channel was -- the docks that lined the lake banks and the multitude of floating trees.

I did manage a long shot of the island:

My fake minnow suspended atop my fishing pole brings to mind a hovering helicopter against the cloudy sky.

Gilligan and I moored at the Murrayville Camping Area for what would prove to be the next to last time we were to share a boat prepared meal and an overnight.

We returned to home base and Gilligan stayed with the boat while I left for resupply, fuel and food.  AND a sixty dollar flea collar for Gil.  He was doing a lot of scratching despite me finding none of the critters crawling.  I thought he looked right spiffy.  We lodged on the boat for another night with plans to head in another direction next afternoon.  

I went for more stock in the morning.  When I returned Gilligan was gone.  I searched and called for the rest of the day and waited another day looking.  I have never seen him again.  I suspect that the person who abandoned him recaptured him.  I just hope poor Gilligan gets better treatment this time around.

Solitude lights a fire in my soul, a fire that burns to remind me how very precious and limited our time here is.  Life can seem painfully short.  For the lucky there are family and friends with us, but finally our happiness  resides within ourselves.  Learning to love ourselves and to appreciate the adventures we may find if we but look is our reward.  This simple truth eludes so many of us.

When you mourn the brevity of life, just try having a toothache on a weekend.  A couple of days can seem like months.  I try to train my brain to slow the pleasures the same way it perceives the hard times, only just to enjoy each minute as if it were an hour.

All part of the adventure.