Diary Entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Wed. 5   I portage Lock and Dam 21. The scenery from 21 to Hannibal Missouri was very beautiful. Long paddle day, I am being cooked by the sun. I decide to skip the Mark Twain Hannibal Land. The barges are stacked up here at the Lock and Dam in Hannibal. I portage over the spillway, and take a back channel that ends up running dry. I turn back tired, I throw up my tent on an island near the dam. The sandy island I sleep on heated by the sun during the day radiates heat underneath me. It feels like a sweat lodge surrounded by mosquitos.

Diary Entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

        Going passed La Grange to Quincy Speed boat traffic picked up to a higher level. I hugged the Missouri shore and kept to it, to stay safe, from the fast traffic. I took hundreds of wakes.
     A boat came up to me and I was told I could get a meal at their camp. A good warm meal sounded wonderful to me after a long days paddle.
    After making a crazy mad entrance and answering questions and giving silly answers to their children, I eat a nice 4th of July hamburger meal, that I am grateful for. They had just added on to their river house, that stood on 14 foot stilts. The cabin was like a tree house surrounded by cottonwood trees, in this floodplain forest. The area was a great place to settle on and was their place for Summer vacation every year. The Kirk and Barbara Valhe Family fed me very well, and I got a bed, and shower at their house, and I thank them for their kindness and generosity.

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

                              {Earl's Party}
Hardly going a mile I hit a gas station and cold beer tap in Alexandria, Missouri. I met some nice people at the tap, and got some free drinks. The propreiters of the place had a son who had just been married this morning. He and his new wife soon came as the rest of the wedding party did. I was asked to stay for food and a place to sleep, but having only gone one mile, and having 1,400 miles to go, I decided to move on.
My Grandmother is from Kahokia Missouri a nearby town. Earl looked somewhat familiar, and could be a relative of mine.
I pick up potable water at Fenway Landing three miles above the dam Missouri side.
I thought I was going to have a long wait when I saw two barges waiting to lock through. A fisherman and boater came up to me and said they were going to lock us through before the barges, probably due to the Forth of July celebrations. That was great news, for it would have been a long couple of hours to sit in front of the dam or portage over.

Dairy entry from the book{Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

July 4th 30 miles.
         I was on the river at nine in the morning headed for Quincy Illinois. River boat traffic wasn't as heavy as expected. The party on the river got larger as I got close to Quincy. A lot people tube skiing, giving off multiple wakes.
        
Diary entry from the book{Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Monday July 3     41miles
            Speedboat traffic is light and sporadic. I didn't have to worry about boat wakes today, but tomorrow is the 4th. The sun  is really getting to me, I may have to stop during the heat of the day and rest in the shade. I am carrying two gallons of water, and going through it quickly.
       Locked right through the Keokuk Power Dam. I don't think I could stand to sit out the 4th. I am camping near the mouth of the Des Moines River.

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

                         Iowa won't feed you
                           It won't help you
                 They won't allow you to live
                           If they can't eat it
   And poop it out of their ass, they don't want it
                     Iowa is American Gothic
                         It is numb and plain
       Iowa is Heaven and Hell at the same time
                      If you've got the money
                     Anywhere can be heaven.

Poetry from the book {Bunny Hop} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

       I have been an artist since I was a six year old child. My artwork has always been inspired by nature. From a small child playing in muddy creeks to paddling down the Mississippi River, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. My forays into nature have become a part of me. I feel more at home and peace in wilderness than I do anywhere.

Diary entry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

        I leave the Joyous island No. 8. I hug the eastern shore when I can. Rock bank protection runs along the shore for miles since St Louis.
       A lot of barge traffic on the river, very busy. The barges have gotten much bigger since they have been freed from the constraints of the lock and dam system. Some barges are so big that they have to have two towboats to push upstream. The boat wakes coming off these floatilas can be enormous.

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

       The island that I camped on gets prettier as I travel down it's length. A machine eats away at its tip. I am over awed by its gentleness and room.

Diary entry from the book {Prometheus Lives} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

                When your heart is on over load

                       Electric is your Love.

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas

        My heads pounding like a freight train
                   My belly's bleeding out
             Homestead, home sweet home
          I am constantly searching for peace
       But money and peace don't go together
               They work to bleed you dry.

Poetry from the book {The Lion and the Sun} by Artist Troy Richard Thomas