My back was still a little sore from the big portage so I booked in to have a massage with a local lady masseur, who had her office just across the road from the motel. It was an hour of absolute bliss. I just hoped that I was going to feel free of stiffness once I got back on the river.
I needed to do some washing so I found the motel laundry but it only had one machine and it was being used. We packed up and drove to a Laundromat near the shopping centre instead. We returned later to take my clothes out and put them in the dryer. As we moved out of town Ed found a hairdresser and when the lady had finished I forgot to tip her, but the lady reminded me, so I handed over my credit card and the tip was added to it.
With every thing complete, it was now time to return to Southport Marina and carry on with my journey. We unloaded the car and I loaded the kayak and before I left Ed he took a few photos of me. I would see Ed again in a few weeks time at the end of my journey, but now he had to drive miles back home to Ogden. I had been in town about 24 hours and at I moved out into the main river and within minutes I could feel some pain in my back.
Oh God it was now much worse than it was. The massage had really stirred up the pain. Leaving Bismarck with a clean kayak for second part of my journey. I struggled on and as I approached a boat ramp next to a camping site I could see this guy with his old 4 wheel drive vehicle on the ramp up to its axles in water.
At first I wondered what he was doing, but then I realised he was washing it. I stopped and talked. The man was heavily tattooed, wearing camouflage gear and with a Mohican hair cut. He said he had come across from Colorado. I left him and moved around the next left hand bend and came across the local beach. Several people were swimming and messing around and one guy asked if I was going all the way.
