I got my earliest start yet by being on the river at 5:30am. With no wind and a smooth river surface, I was making great time. In fact, I held the same speed as a tow boat behind me for over an hour.
About two miles from Sturgeon Island, I started hearing the unmistakable roar of hundreds of motorcycles. From my guidebook I'd read of a private camping site near here called Hog Rock Camp, which is the site of numerous biker rallys. I also started noticing lots of rocky outcrops and formations along the river.
I pulled up along the right bank and took a photo of three guys who were eating breakfast after camping overnight along these rocks. Their sleeping cots were actually in the cave area.
This is Roger, his wife and son. They asked if they could take a photo of me, so I in turn took one of them. I also gave them my card.
I saw several sites with homes built at the top of rocky cliffs.
In yesterday's blog I indicated the Mirage Drive that propels my kayak didn't feel right. After adjusting it, it felt normal. But this morning it started feeling weird again. I pulled over and saw the problem. In the photo you can see a plastic covered cable at both ends of what looks like a bicycle chain. The cable on the right looks normal. You can see the cable on the left has been stretched beyond the plastic at both ends. later on I discovered the cable wasn't stretched, but it had broken inside the plastic covering.
In this photo you can see the cable is in the process of breaking. I initially planned to try to get to Elizabethtown, Illinois which was eight more miles. But soon after discovering the cable problem, the drive stopped working. I tried removing the flipper this cable controlled, but with each stroke of the peddle the whole kayak rocked back and forth. With the town of Cave-in-Rock about two miles away, I decided to pull out there. I called Denny and he said he would come to pick me up.
As I paddled, I passed this landmark for which the town of Cave-in-Rock is named. This site was noted on Lewis and Clark's diaries and maps, as well as being noted by early trappers. The area around this site is a state park.
Arriving in the small town, I discovered it had quite a few more inhabitants today than normal. The motorcycles I heard earlier were taking part in a poker run and crossed the river on a ferry here. The two little restaurants were packed.
These are bikers on the ferry, as well as waiting to get on it. The ferry on this state route is free.
The people in town had a bike wash going.
Here are a couple of signs about the Cave-in-Rock site. A local told me when the town was officially named, they were at first going to call it "Cave in the Rock", but decided that was too long. So they dropped the "the" and just called it "Cave in Rock".
The local bank here is called Area Bank.
Downtown Cave in Rock.
Cave in Rock fire engine.
Their Methodist church
I shot this photo through a window. The Cave in Rock site has been the location for three movies: How the West Was Won, Disney's Davy Crocket and The History Channel's River Pirates.
While waiting for Denny I visited the "hole".
This is the inside. The light comes from a hole in the roof opening to the surface.
This is a photo of the river taken from inside the cave.
This is the hole from above the cave.
Photos taken from the top of the cave. In the last photo you can see my kayak sticking out from the shoreline on the right side.
While on top of the cave, I was a little queazy. But that didn't seem to bother this guy at all. He drove his V-8 powered tricycle out on a little protrusion and stopped right on the edge.
The breakfast bar and the dining area where I ate a late breakfast and later on I went back for lunch.
I could see a couple of bicycles on the ferry coming toward town, so I waited and talked to the two girls as they arrived. Their names are Bethany and Aaron. They started in Maryland and are headed to Oregon. The whole trip will last about two and a half months. I shared some of my extended trips by bike and my kayak trip.
This is what I looked like on the last day.....a little tanner and a little bushier.
Loaded up and ready to return home.
WHAT'S NEXT?
I don't know if I'll be finishing my trip this summer, or if I'll need to wait until next year. In either case I'll eventually make it to the end of the Ohio River.
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