May 24, 1992
 Sunday morning brought a cloudy day with a pleasant north wind at 10 mph.  I motored  across the dangerous part of the river.  The worst part was getting the motor warmed up.  It begins the day with a lot of sputtering and spitting.  I started and restarted it about 15 times.  Finally it settled down to a steady purr, I pulled away from the dock and headed into the current.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I was safely behind the lock.

11:05
After motoring clear of the dam, I put up the sails and quietly made my way downstream.  The quiet was so good.  After a full day of chugging along with the constant drone of the little motor, I felt sheer delight to sail quietly with the wind.  I kept saying, "Oh my, this is better than motoring any day!"

11:08 Milemarker 154.5
 The wind blew perfectly strong, and I was sailing every bit as fast as the motor could take me.  But I could hear all the birds and dogs barking and waves lapping the side of the boat.  The wind favored me for 2 1/2 hours.
 I had begun to think it was impossible to have a favorable wind on the Arkansas River.  But here it was... "the wind at my back!"  What joy!

11:38 Milemarker 151.9
 North wind about 5 to 10.  I am making tracks with a sailing with a strong current. This is better than motoring.

12:16 Milemarker 148.5
 Wind dies every now and then, but the current helps.  This is relaxed and calm with lovely scenery.

12:26 Milemarker 146.8
 Nine miles in 1 1/2 hours.

1:42 Milemarker 143.2
I turned the motor back on.  When the wind finally slacked, I cranked the motor to make sure that I would arrive in Little Rock on time.  What a joy to feel secure in making 29 miles before sunset!  This motor has made a great difference.  But I still distrusted the motor enough that I insisted on motoring until I was within five miles of the harbor before taking a break.  If the motor did go out, I wanted to be close enough that I could oar in with plenty of daylight left.

2:20 Milemarker 140.5
 I have particularly enjoyed the rock formations of the hillside bluffs along the river.  The striations of the bedrock vividly demonstrate their making.  Layers of sediment that formed ages ago in the bottom of some prehistoric ocean are now tilted like a gigantic slide so that the layers run almost vertical now.  What subterranean forces have pushed the bedrock into such cataclysmic contortions?  Perhaps they are symbols of the elemental forces that have erupted in my life forever changing the landscape.  Will the contortions of my life ever be as beautiful as these?

2:53 Milemarker 137.3
 Pinnacle Mountain appears in the distance.  It seems strange approaching it from this direction.

3:07 Milemarker 136.2
 Parlam Park is a pretty site, but I must never try to unload there because it has a low bridge between the boat ramp and the river.

5:31 Milemarker 130.1
 The serious power-boaters out for a Memorial weekend frolic scream by with their motors blaring at full-bore.  Surely my little puttering Elgin is not as sinful as those monstrosities!  Surely I can still justify myself.  Or have I also sold my soul to gasoline god?
 Now I am in familiar sailing waters.  I have been here before.  For the first time in 170 miles on the river I recognize the scenery.  I remember that glorious day near Maumelle Park when the wind gathered my little sailboat in its arms and threw me flying across the river barely under control at a breathtaking speed.  For 10 glorious minutes I mastered a perfect wind and experienced the thrill of being airborne!  I shall never forget it.  This is where it happened.