Voice of the Rivers 2008

May 25. Brian Randall. “There ain’t nothing in the world so good when its cooked right- and whilst I eat my supper, we talked and had a good time.” Huck Finn

Today we feasted! Sweet rolls in the morning, guacamole dip, delicious sandwiches, watermelon and cupcakes in the afternoon and fried rice with fresh vegetables at dinner. The VOR team is so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Potter for providing such a wonderful lunch at the Thurmond Dam. A full stomach is such a wonderful thing. We would also like to thank the executive director of the Savannah River Keepers, Frank Carl for bringing us fresh vegetables for our dinner.

We ate a lot of food today, but none of it was peanut butter. It was awesome.

For the first time a kayaker came our and met us this morning, his name was Dan Brandenburg. He was able to paddle with the team for a short while. He said he would have cooked breakfast had he known we would be passing through. It was good to make another friend on the river.

For those following our trip or any one familiar with the Savannah River, the first one hundred miles are lakes. The past eight days we have been essentially the Voice of the Lakes but today we finally put on the Savannah River. Our logo makes a lot more sense now. A river has a current. Currents are nice. The river has a completely new feel; there is a greater sense of things. Lakes end at a dam but rivers meet a seemingly infinite ocean. The lakes have all been beautiful but they are still man made. A river is a wonder unto its self. Fortunately for us, the Army Corps of Engineers was nice enough to turn on the river by releasing some dam water.

Today we got to see the hydroelectric process when we toured the Thurmon Dam. Our expert guide was Park Ranger Pepper Shields, whose upbeat enthusiasm energized a group long over due for a nap. Our wonderful tour guide was full of information on how the Strom Thurmon Dam at Clarks Hill was operated, built, run and maintained. She also gave us pocket whistles. Hydroelectric power is a relatively simple concept until one sees all the generators or the control room. From there one would think they could launch rockets. It was a very impressive industrial structure. We were not allowed to take any pictures so in an effort to best describe what we saw I’m going to say, think Death Star. It had all the blinking lights, giant turbines, generators and security you would expect plus there was a wookie…John Greene. But rather than destroy your planet, it generates enough clean efficient energy to power your home for a year in just a half and hour.

It seems out of order to end an entry with a description of a sunrise but our day ended in a great discussion about its beginning so that is how I will end with you.

“The water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important.”

One after another,
silhouetted boats crossed the brilliant morning sky
trapped for a moment in the world beneath them
Reawakened by warmth and wonder,
they paddled towards the blue-sky moon.

“Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me”

Alone in our craft, we continually push on.
We think and dream, as people do.
Our reality is deliberate
And our minds are free to wander.

Simply we live.
For there is an “infinite expectation of dawn” within us.

Brian Randall