New families

As we finished up a Tellico lake, we drifted into Fort Loudon Marina in Lenoir City, home of the famous Calhouns restaurant. We hadn't even sat down and the owner came up and snapped our picture. Apparently they knew who we were. 

They entire day was spent talking and sharing stories with all the boaters and workers. What amazed Nolan and I the most was everyone's generosity and accomodations. It was made sure we were well fed, put up for the night, and driven into town to resupply our food. 

The TV stations showed up and crowded around, it was certainly a new experience and I kept telling myself to remain humble. Humility has been such a valuable asset on this adventure. So many people have taken their time and kindness to let us know they believe in what we are doing. 

And it is a reminder to take the time. Take the time to chew your food, to take a breath of fresh air, to look someone in the eyes and say hello, and thank you, and see how their day is. Take the time to laugh, and cry, and to enjoy your life. Take the time to hold the door, give someone a hand, go out if your way, change someone's day, even their life. If you don't take the time you will only look back and wonder where it went.

Thank you Kyle for the ride into town, thank you Nicole and Calhouns staff and owner for taking care of us, thank you Edwin and Jean for letting us sleep on your captains deck, and thank you everyone at Calhouns for making us feel like family.

Both ABC and CBS covered Pete and Nolan on the news last night and this morning. Here are the links to check them out. Awesome coverage from WATE and Local 8Now.

http://www.wate.com/story/25931218/canoers-pass-through-lenoir-city-raising-money-for-diabetes-cure

http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Duo-paddles-from-Smoky-Mountains-to-Gulf-Coast-265635041.html

The universe works in obvious ways

After a few wrenching days, everything we owned wet, intense storms, pletheras of chiggers and ticks, heat exhaustin, and no clean clothes - things were getting tough, but things can change in an instant. Our spirits have been revived. 

Today we arrived at the Sequoyah Lake Tellico Resort and Marina and were graciously welcomed by so many great people. The owner of the restaurant made sure we were well accommodated and hosed down with sufficent suds. 

One kind miss, Porsche, gave us a lucky 4 leaf clover she found, and another man in retirement overheard me looking for cheap sunglasses, and came out looking for us 3 miles up river to give me a spare pair that belonged to his wife whom passed last year. If that ain't love I don't know what is. So many wishes and blessings by the locals. We are truly grateful.....and camping on an island :) 

Just when you think no one is there, someone steps in. Everything we need is always taken care of, we just have to trust that power will be there for us. And it always shows up. Today was a great example of that. 

Most manly moments

Apparently the portages around the 4 dams in the first part of our trip were never meant to be humanly possible. Some company wrote "portage spot" and put a dock leading out of the lakes as a public relations brownie point. They forgot to mention calderwood dam was a 2000 foot climb up a mountain, and the. 5 miles down a 2 lane no shoulder mountain highway - with a canoe on your head and 200 lbs of gear! The portage is there, just not possible. Luckily we had some friends Jeff Wadley and Charlie Wimmer meet us at the top and drive us down to the other side. But the 2000 ft climb with the gear almost left us buried in the hills. 

The tiny white dot on the right is the dock we pulled out of. Picture was taken from the end of the trailhead.

Our next portage around Chilhowee dam was only a quarter mile.... Of Not maintained rainforest bush! We had to blaze the entire trail with a machete to reach the bottom. We persevered with sweat and tear, all to leave us bursting in laughter at the insanity of the entirety. 

Spirits are high, clothes are certainly not dry, and we are simply loving the adventure. We are apparently the first ones to consecutively canoe and portage all 5 lakes to make the little tennessee river as far as anyone knows. Pretty manly I suppose. I need to go put nail polish all over Nolan's chigger bites now. Until next time

Jeff & Charlie lend a hand

Had contact with our nomads! They are well except for chigger bites and big, gross millipede sightings. They reached Calderwell Dam on midday Sunday, which is south of Maryville, Tennessee. Time wise they are right on schedule. 

Once they reached their portage point Sunday, they had to carry the canoe up a mountain. They were picked up by Jeff Wadley (left) and Charlie Wimmer who took them, their canoe and gear to town for some "dead cow" as Pete puts it (lots of red meat). They also drove them to a grocery for supplies and they put the canoe back into the water to paddle to their campsite for the night. They were on their way this morning.

This is my life now!

It's been raining a lot, so between that and the humidity, Pete and Nolan are used to being wet. Here's Pete under their lean-to during a pop up rain. Pete is trying to stay dry while Nolan is obviously getting wet to take the picture.

Nolan at a waterfall

There's still a long way to go with just one week into the trip. Pete said it's hard to pace themselves with the paddling and they have to mentally prepare themselves each day. And they are sore.


Pete's poetic words for the day were (paraphrased)....For every beautiful waterfall, there's a rainfall. For every star in the sky there's a mosquito.



Keep them in your prayers and keep spreading the word and this link.
Pete's Mom (Kris)

Pete and Nolan on Wednesday just before they launched in Fontana Lake, North Carolina. They are officially on their journey. 

Our last communication was with Pete Wednesday morning when he texted his dad "we're off." 






Their plan was to reach the Fontana dam sometime today where they will portage. We hope to hear from them this weekend when they are in an area of good cell service. The GPS has not been working since Wednesday and we'll find out why when they call.

If all is going as planned, they will shove off again on the Little Tennessee River  and head toward Tallahassee. 

Will keep you all posted as we hear from them. Keep them in your prayers.

Pete's Mom
(Kris Stadalsky)

Don't Miss Your Life

"I know every stream and every wood... I have hunted.... and lived like my fathers before me, and, like them, I lived happily". - Chief Ten Bears from the Ketahto tribe.

We are just about to embark on our 3 month journey through the back country of America, and as the eagerness grows to be in natures arms, so does the realization of everything that I will stepping away from. But rather than being melancholy, it has made the life and blessings I have much clearer. It's easy to miss all the great things we have every day because that's just it - they are there every day.


When you are about to step off into a life that is separated from all things you are accustomed, it puts how extraordinary your life already is into perspective. We are all surrounded by great people and things, and just because we are used to them, doesn't mean they've lost their significance. Imagining without, the things you have now, truly moves you into a place of gratitude. So don't miss the beautiful flowers outside your window because your too busy dreaming about the ocean a far.

Posted by Pete