There is a wide, sandy riverbed at Henry, Nebraska. Depending on where a person was standing on the grassy bank to view it on May 18, all it looked like there was in the riverbed was sand.

On the north side of that riverbed, however, the North Platte River was flowing in a shallow channel a few feet wider than the Plattepus I. The best place to see this channel was standing in it.

Ron launched the Plattepus I at 2:30 p.m. Central Time, and went west. Yes – upriver – because we’d seen where the Nebraska/Wyoming border was, and by going west around a gentle curve in the river, he crossed into Wyoming, turned around, and began his cross-state downriver journey assured he wasn’t missing an inch of Nebraska.

The good news is Ron started his journey with the immediate confirmation that building the Plattepus I to float in around an inch of water was a great idea. The better news is that by the time he’d reached the bridge at Morrill, the North Platte had expanded in width and depth.

The best news? Hearing him talk about the experiences he’s having, like the joy he felt to see a large creek flow into the riverbed late Friday afternoon, and how cool it was to immediately reap the benefits of the additional water and current. A beaver slapped its tail on the water right in front of him. Deer are everywhere, and ducks and geese with their babies swim along the banks. At one point he saw a duck “swimming like crazy in the middle of the river,” and though he kept expecting it to fly away as he got closer, it didn’t. He started thinking the duck was loony and might run right into Plattepus I – and right about then Ron realized it was a decoy, tied to a branch.

He has floated right through several barbed-wire fences and is getting the hang of going around or through the many diversion dams that block the river so that water can be shunted off into canals. These do not sound like fun, and the Plattepus I has a few scuffs to show for it.

Last we saw Ron Friday night, he was camped under a bridge. There were whistling trains nearby. Daughter Sheila assured him – if he couldn’t sleep – he could always entertain himself by reading all the graffiti packed onto the underside of the bridge. Basically there was paint with splotches of concrete. In addition to the words, there was a drawing of a man smoking something that looked illegal. All in all, a full day!

Remember to view the list of bridges in the May 15 post - I'm updating the list with the time he reached them and the notations of his GPS mileage readings.

Frequently Asked Questions

First off, let me just admit that I can't answer a lot of the questions I've been getting. I mean, I'm pretty sure about the past month, but not so certain about the next two weeks. Still, a lot of people are curious about several aspects of the voyage.

What is the boat made of? I went to a lumber yard and bought four sheets of foam insulation like you would use to insulate your walls. Foam is soft so it is easy to glue, cut and sand to perfection, not that I sanded it to perfection. I added wood stringers along the front and sides so that I could fasten hardware to it. Then I fiberglassed it, encasing the foam in a rigid, strong shell. This is essentially how they make wind surfers, surf boards, etc., except that they do a better job because they know what they are doing and have a lot of experience. That's because there are a lot more people who want to surf than people who want to pole across Nebraska, for some reason.

How big is the boat? It is 16 feet long and 32 inches wide and weighs 53 pounds. If I had it to do over again, it would be 18 feet long and 34 inches wide, but that's hindsight. It is very stable to stand on and floats in about an inch and a quarter of water, loaded. It works quite well, but next time I'll get a boat designer to help me do a better job on the back end, which isn't quite as hydrodynamic as I wish. "Hydrodynamic" is a word you use when you want to impress people with your knowledge of boat building, in the absence of any real knowledge of boat building.

Where are you going to start? The town of Henry, Nebraska, is very close to the North Platte River and the Wyoming/Nebraska border. I'll start somewhere near there and if I have to I'll pole upriver a bit to make sure I start in Wyoming. Then I will follow the North Platte to North Platte (I'm not stuttering here), and then the Platte to Plattesmouth. If you Google Platte, you'll find me.

What will you eat and drink? I have a tiny stove and a supply of food that is easy and quick to cook. I also have a bunch of Power Bars, rehydration drinks and snacks, and a water purifier that runs on batteries and uses ultraviolet something or other to purify water. At least that's what the advertisement says it does. It's called a SteriPEN, but has nothing to do with cleaning up bad prose, as you can tell from this blog. I can cook, purify water and eat, all on the boat if necessary. Theoretically, then, I can survive for at least one day in the wild by myself, provided the stove lights and the water purifier purifies. I pretty much hate Power Bars and rehydration drinks.

Will you sleep on the boat? Perhaps it is more accurate to say I will spend the night on the boat. I do have a nifty spifty nylon canopy that I can put up in about 2 minutes, and a Therma Rest mattress and an ancient sleeping bag that I don't mind losing or ruining, should it come to that. The nylon canopy will serve very nicely unless I get a driving rain, (which I will be praying for) in which case it will serve very nicely as a wind tunnel and I will go to Option B: an umbrella. Option B does not offer much hope of sleep but works as a sail if I get a tail wind (which I will be praying for). The good news is that with this arrangement I can just pull up on a sandbar, or just stay on the last sandbar of the day that I get stuck on, and I have a dry, flat surface on which to pass the night in the middle of the river. No private property violations (something I'm careful to avoid, especially with Nebraskans being such strong supporters of the NRA) and no worrying about ticks and varmints. Not that I wouldn't eat ticks and varmints after the first couple days of Power Bars.

Will there be any water in the river? If I could answer this question, I would be sleeping better and there wouldn't be so many skeptics out there betting against me. I'm hoping that it is called Platte River, rather than Platte Riverbed, because there is the possibility of there being water in it. If there is no water, I will be having a walk on the beach, carrying a boat and a backpack, which is not the vacation I envisioned. With every painful step I will mutter, "The skeptics were right, the skeptics were right, the skeptics were right," which will be the most painful part of each step.

Do you really think you can make it in 10 days? I used to say an unqualified "YES." Now I mumble things about "acts of God" and things I can't control. Consider this a precursor to the fullblown excuses that will come later.

So where did you come up with this idea? See "acts of God" in the preceeding paragraph, but don't blame Him.

Do you think God is on your side? I believe God is always on my side, but I don't think that means He will decide to change the weather, the course of the river, the purity of the drinking water or the flavor of Power Bars to suit my trivial whims. After all, God is also on the side of my dear friend and mentor, Charles, who just yesterday had his whole prostate surgically removed, something that none of us would have chosen and that is of far more significance to him than this boat trip is to me. God decides when and where to intervene, and I won't hold it against him if He doesn't think it necessary to raise the level of the river three inches just when I need it most. Of course that doesn't keep me from praying that He will give the farmers three inches of soft rain and a westerly wind about the time I'm coming through. You know, for their sake!

Bridges/Approx Miles/Progress Report

Bridge/Approx Miles Per Map/Progress Report /Comments
1) Henry - 2:30 p.m. May 18 (Central Time) - Begin!
2) Morrill 9 - 5:20 p.m. May 18 - GPS (mileage) 9.34
3) Mitchell 17 - 8:10 p.m. May 18 - GPS 17.7
4) Hwy 92 Scotts Bluff 24 - 8:10 a.m. May 19 - GPS 25.89
5) Hwy 71 Scotts Bluff 28 - 9:18 a.m. May 19 - GPS 28.9
6) Lockwood, Scotts Bluff 30 - 9:30 a.m. May 19 - GPS 29.7
7) Minatare/Melbeta 39 - 12:20 p.m. May 19 - GPS 40.1
8) McGrew 45 - 3:20 p.m. May 19 - GPS 46.9
9) Bayard 52 - 5:10 p.m. May 19 - GPS 53
10) Bridgeport 65 - 9:20 p.m. May 19 - GPS 67.3
11) Broadwater 81 - 1:20 p.m. May 20 - GPS 83.31
12) Lisco 97 - 7:00 p.m. May 20 - GPS 99.5
13) Oshkosh 116 - 11:45 a.m. May 21 - GPS 113.8
14) Lewellen (first) 130 - 4:25 p.m. May 21 - GPS 131.5
15) Lewellen (second) 131 - 4:45 p.m. May 21 - GPS 132.1
(end of day May 21, between Lewellen & Kingsley Dam - GPS 145.5)
16) Kingsley Dam 158 - 3:00 p.m. May 22 - GPS 158.4
17) Keystone 164 - 6:00 p.m. May 22 - GPS 165.8
18) West of Sarben 177 - 11:07 a.m. May 23 - GPS 180.4
19) Sutherland 193 - 4:20 p.m., May 23 - GPS 195
20) Hershey 200 - 6:50 p.m., May 23 - GPS 201.81
21) North Platte 216 - 8:05 a.m., May 24 - GPS 217.41
22) East of North Platte 219 - 9:50 a.m. May 24 - GPS 220.48
23) I-80 E of North Platte 226 - Oooops. Bridge not on my route.
24) Maxwell 232 - 3:45 p.m., May 24 - GPS 233.28
25) Brady 242 - 6:50 p.m., May 24 - GPS 243.28
26) Gothenburg 256 - 1:40 p.m. May 25 - GPS 258.58
27) Cozad 268 - 6:15 p.m. May 25 - GPS 271.18
Darr Road 9:10 p.m. May 25 - GPS 280.48
28) Lexington 284 - 10:20 a.m. May 26 - GPS 287.57
29) Overton 297 - 1:35 p.m. May 26 - GPS 300.67
30) Hwy 183 Elm Creek 307 - 4:15 May 26 - GPS 309.75
31) Odessa 315 - 6:15 p.m. May 26 - GPS 316.99
32) Kearney 325 - 8:50 p.m. May 26 - GPS 326.89
33) Hwy 10 333 - 10:55 a.m. May 27 - GPS 334.54
34) Gibbon 340 - 12.55 p.m. May 27 - GPS 340.68
35) Shelton 348 - 3:25 p.m. May 27 - GPS 347.18
36) Wood River 356 - 6:05 p.m. May 27 - GPS 356.12
37) Alda Juniata Rd 363 - 7:35 p.m. May 27 - GPS 361.72
38) Grand Island 371 - 10:30 a.m. May 28 - GPS 368.76
39) I-80 by Grand Island 374 - 11:27 a.m. May 28 - GPS 371.78
40) Hwy 34 by Grand Island 380 12:30 p.m. May 28 - GPS 376.46
41) Chapman 392 - 3:50 p.m. May 28 - GPS 387.76
42) Central City, South 403 6:20 p.m. May 28 - GPS 398.26
43) Central City, East 407 - 7:15 p.m. May 28 - GPS 401.72
44) Clarks, Hwy 92 417 - 10:45 a.m. May 29 - GPS 410.83
45) Havens 424 - 12:15 p.m. May 29 - GPS 417
46) Silver Creek 431 - 1:45 p.m. May 29 - GPS 423.52
47) Duncan 441 - 4:50 p.m. May 29 - GPS 433.82
48) Columbus 449 - 6:50 p.m. May 29 - GPS 441.32
49) Schuyler 468 - 12:15 p.m. May 30 - GPS 459.12
50) North Bend 485 - 3:55 p.m. May 30 - GPS 475.62
51) Fremont 503 - 7:40 p.m. May 30 - GPS 491.32
52) Valley 513 - 9:55 a.m. May 31 - GPS 499.69
53) Yutan 520 - 11.27 a.m. May 31 - GPS 506.9
54) Hwy 6 535 - 2:05 p.m. May 31 - GPS 520.7
55) I-80 538 - 2:30 p.m. May 31 - GPS 523.66
56) Louisville 547 - 5:00 p.m. May 31 - GPS 531.66
57) La Platte 561 - 11:40 a.m. June 1 - GPS 545.26
58) Missouri River 564 - 12:10 p.m. June 1 - GPS 548.26 FINISHED!

Soak the Skeptics

I wouldn't say this is the most enthusiastically endorsed trip of all time. I have a few loyal fans, but the majority is decidedly dubious. Think Noah.

First the chatter was that the boat wouldn't float. Or that it might float, but it would tip over. Or that it might not tip over, but I would. Or that it would break into a thousand little beads of styrofoam and I would be left essentially swimming in a sea of pink fluff.

Now that the boat floats, the chatter has changed. Maybe I will make it the first hundred miles, but certainly not the last five hundred. I will be dragging the boat because there is no water in the river. I will be dragging because I am old. I cannot possibly go as fast as I think I can possibly go. Lake McConaughey is insurmountable. How will I ever get past the dam at the end of the lake? Where will I sleep? How will I sleep? Will I sleep?

My inclination is to laugh it off, but I have decided that what I should really do is turn pessimism into money, kind of like some stock market whizzes make money by predicting that the market will go down. I'm reminded of the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Sundance said before his fight, "Let's make some money off of this. Bet on the other guy."

I have now created a list of all 58 bridges along the route, with approximate mileages, and I will be encouraging people to make a $5.00 donation to the shelter and a prediction as to which bridge will be my last. "My last" is not intended to be a euphemism for anything. This of course gives a sense of urgency to my heretofore "vacation." Nothing is so motivating as having lots of people bet against you.

In the meantime, I couldn't sleep this morning so at 4 AM I went to scout available options for lightweight food. As suspected, lightweight food is lightweight and would not sustain a laboratory rat for 10 days, but I did come home with a few victuals to try. If they are tolerable here at home, they will be heavenly "out there." Anything will be heavenly hereafter. A dragonfly on the end of my pole will be delightful with cheese and crackers.

I also designed and built a rudder, more like an extended keel in that it only keeps the boat going straight, rather than turning it. The prototype was duct taped to the back of the boat in time for a windy trial in the morning. The final product gives off whiffs of genius for its simplicity and its ability to automatically lift if the water is shallow. At least that's how it works in the garage.

The afternoon's run was highly encouraging. The river is running fast due to heavy rains overnight, and a blasting wind was raising eyebrows and doppler radar warnings all over our area. I was nevertheless able to pole upriver at near walking speed, if one is walking at near poling speed. The rudder makes it far easier to go straight and far harder to turn. Fortunately it is simple to simply flip it out of the water if there is a need for maneuverability. At least that's how it works in the garage.

Plattepus I

Three weeks ago I had this dream of paddling and poling across Nebraska, but no dreamboat. Now I have built a boat, though not much of one. Most FAQ: "Is that all?" Best description thus far: "It looks like a surfboard crossed with a boogey board, and that on hormones." At least I think she was describing the boat.

I designed it myself, though "design" is a bit lofty. Mostly I, with help from Lihua, a Chinese acquaintance, started by laminating common old everyday rigid foam insulation and then sanded and squinted and sanded and squinted some more until I was satisfied and, more to the point, out of time. Then we fiberglassed so that we could quit sanding and squinting. Yes, it was pink insulation, which I would not have preferred, all things considered.

Sixteen feet long and 32" wide, weighing 52 pounds dripping wet, it is supposed to float in about an inch of water, fully loaded. But then the Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed to not lean, and "fully loaded" is a phrase fraught with difficulties. We shall see.

Christened Plattepus I by my wife Tammy as she smashed a banana over the bow on May 3, 2007, it has already surpassed my expectations by floating. In addition, much to my surprise, it goes forward when I push on the pole. Steering and handling will hopefully come later, with practice. Within five minutes I had a long list of things I would change if I had it to do over again, which is a pretty good parable of my life experience. Sadly, I do very few things over again, wasting many valuable lessons. Perhaps you, dear reader, will request a copy of my "wish I'd done it this way" list and learn from my misadventures.

In the meantime, adelante.