Post #49: Ellen's Arrival Thursday, June 19th

Ellen finally arrived at Fort Peck.  She started from the Seattle area on the 18th after dismissing her students for the summer and a hotel stop in Missoula.  Crossing Montana is a two day affair.  She made it. She is safe. We are together.  It has been four weeks since I saw her last when I put in at Three Forks. We had a wonderful dinner with wine and pie at a picnic table below the dam.

It is so nice to have her with me.  What was I thinking when I left her for four weeks? I missed her.

Ellen opens a bottle of wine as she prepares dinner for the two of us on the shores of the Missouri below the Fort Peck Dam.  Finally, I get to eat a great dinner prepared by my favorite chef.  I find it hard to describe how nice it is to have her next to me and knowing that she is going to finish the last section of the paddle alongside me.  This is what life is all about. John


Ellen's point of view
After an eight-hour drive yesterday, I arrived in Missoula, MT. I left directly from school and drove into rain. With help from a hotel worker, I took the Whisper off the Forester in the pouring rain and stashed it in a conference room. Safe and sound. I had made the hotel reservation a month ago and forgotten that I'd reserved a suite. My room was big enough itself for the kayak (if I could have gotten it up to the third floor).

OK, this doesn't really do the room justice. This was about at third of the floorspace and the bed was around the corner!

This morning, I did a quick run along the Clark Fork river, showered, loaded up the kayak, and headed out for what would be a nine-hour drive to Fort Peck, eating breakfast in the car. Every couple of hours, I would call John to update him as to my whereabouts--my progress. It was kind of exciting, knowing that though I had a long drive ahead of me, I was getting closer to him with each mile. When I finally arrived at the Fort Peck Hotel, John sauntered down the path toward me with his arms stretched wide. I was astounded at the trim, tanned, beard-wearing, handsome man in front of me. To say that he was a sight for sore eyes was an understatement. He walked me around the town, arm around my waist, to shake out my legs from sitting so long, and then we headed down to the dam to make dinner--steak, mushroom risotto, corn on the cob, and apple pie! 

My god, it was good to see John, to be able to hug him, to be able to talk to him in person!  Ellen