Day 8: Presentation in Rome & paddling the Coosa

Richard woke up in his tent - he hadn’t slept much the night before. He stopped in at our camper on his way to the shower and we told him that the coffee was brewing and it wouldn’t be long before we started cooking breakfast - eggs & bacon were on the menu.

My husband Joel did a wonderful job of cooking breakfast and we all pitched in to assist him. Richard enjoyed having some warm food to eat – between dinner at Outback and this breakfast, he was getting spoiled.

We didn’t have much time to hang out in camp since we had a busy day ahead of us…

Richard was expected to be at the Rome library on Saturday at 11:00 AM to do a presentation for the “Celebrate Etowah” festival that is currently going on along the communities along the Etowah River. We’d planned to put our kayaks into the river at Heritage Park in down town Rome - the same location where I’d picked him up on Friday afternoon. The park is located at the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers — they join to form the Coosa River. The library is located approximately 1/2 mile upstream on the Oostanaula river. We had planned to paddle upstream to the library for the presentation, arriving right around 11:00 AM. Then we would meet up with more paddlers who were going to meet us at the library and we would all paddle together to Lock & Dam park - approximately 7 miles downstream from the library.

We arrived earlier than necessary for the presentation, so Richard was able to visit with his cousin Sherry, who lives in Rome. He also got to enjoy another one of his favorite snacks - popcorn! The library staff was popping popcorn to serve at the presentation.

While we were at the library, Richard’s sister, Sandy and her husband, Paul showed up to bring Richard his spare paddle and some other supplies he needed. They also stayed to visit and watch Richard’s presentation. When he was called in for his portion of the presentation, he had to set the record straight that he had a kayak, not a canoe as indicated on the program’s agenda. He told the story of how he ended up kayaking down the Chattahoochee River to the Gulf of Mexico 2 years earlier and how it changed his life. He fell in love with the river and he is committed to sharing his love for the rivers with others. It was evident by his presentation that he is passionate about educating others and getting people involved in protecting, cleaning and preserving our rivers.

He noted that the rivers in our area are so often overlooked - we drive over them everyday, but we do not pay attention to the diverse environment of the river and the peacefulness that it can bring to you if you spend some time alone with the river. Richard answered a few questions and told some more stories of his experiences while paddling.

As we were leaving the library, the staff offered to bag up the remaining popcorn and send it with Richard – he had commented how he loved to snack on popcorn. The library staff found some gallon sized Ziploc bags and sent 5 bags of popcorn with him to take for snacks.

We gathered with the others in the group to begin the paddle down to Lock & Dam Park. Joe Cook had organized the paddling trip and before taking off, he briefed us on what to expect on this section of the river. It was mainly flat water with one optional rapid at the end, which is caused by the remains of the old dam near the park. There is a take-out before the rapid or you can choose to run the rapid and take out at the boat ramp just below the lock.

The paddle was uneventful and relaxing. As usual, Richard made many new friends and made his best effort to talk to as many people as he could. We paddled for a little over 2 hours before arriving at Lock & Dam Park. When we arrived at the park, most paddlers chose to take the safe exit before the rapid, but a few of the “dare devils” chose to run the rapid. Of course, Richard was one of them! (see the photo gallery for pictures)

After arriving back at camp, we started preparing to cook dinner. A few more of Richard’s paddling friends had driven out to Rome to join him for the paddle down the Coosa from the library to Lock and Dam Park. Everyone was invited to stay for dinner - hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill. Steven (aka “Elliot’s Deadbeat Dad”) ended up joining us for dinner. We had a great dinner at the campsite and while we had access to a washer & dryer, we washed Richard’s clothes – they needed to be washed very badly (trust me!). Richard also spent some time at the campground’s karaoke event under the main pavilion. He couldn’t resist the call of the country music and the singing of one of the campers - she did have an amazing voice.

After dinner, we settled in for the night and began sorting through pictures from his camera so that I could include descriptive captions with each picture and accurately portray his experience on the river. We went to bed around 10:00 PM and we were all awakened by a thunderstorm that came through around 4:00 AM, but both he and Deborah stayed dry in their tents (thankfully!)