Well here we are over half way through canoe season.  I still have things completely undone that I thought would be finished by now- including more blogs than this.  I understand when someone shows up to float, they aren't hugely concerned about most things other than a pretty day, great scenery, and hanging out with friends and/or family.  Well God has taken care of that so I am trying to fill in a few gaps.  The retail area is mostly done but the rest of the trailer still needs a few things.  The main project I haven't gotten to is the bathroom/changing room facility.  Just behind the trailer I hope to be able to put in a two stall bathroom with room to change into dry clothes.  On the backside will be a sink, hose connection, and a cold water rinse shower.  If this isn't made this year, you can look for it next year.  The camping area at the bottom of the hill needs a little work, but won't change a lot.  The port a jon will remain down there(you're welcome ladies).  I hope to do some more clearing and claiming of the wild areas.  There certainly are some excellent campsites now and firewood everywhere due to all of the cutting and clearing I have done.
The time is flying by and it certainly is a good thing that I haven't found the time to get these things done.  I have all of you to thank for keeping me busy driving the van up and down the road hauling floaters.  It's just about too hot to do some of that stuff anyway so I think fall will be the best time for all that.

How hard is it to get an address?  Well apparently it’s harder than you would think.  One of the more simple tasks of getting an address for the property tuned into an ordeal.  The first thing I did was call the tax assessor’s office who had the land listed as “Bakerville Rd”.  I knew it was a long shot but at least Diane pointed me in the right direction- the 911 office.  I find out all I have to do is come to the Waverly Police Station and fill out a request, pay a $25 fee and wait.  They sent out someone to verify the location and place a marker.  I knew it would be a little tricky because the Buffalo River separates Waverly from Hurricane Mills on Bakerville Rd.  A few days later I get a call with my new address.  Cool it’s all taken care of right… WRONG.  First thing I did was call the tax office to let them know and they promptly updated their records.

So now it’s time to form the LLC.  I start the process on the State of Tennessee website and quickly get a reject message stating the address is not in the system… sigh.  I call the state business office to let them know the address is new and I need to use it.  They aren’t much help.  They just tell me I have to be in the USPS database.  I called the post office in Hurricane Mills to have them put me in.  Not much help there either.  They just pass me off to the Waverly Post Office.  Waverly has to send someone out to verify the address???  I thought that was already done by the 911 office… exasperation.   Why wouldn’t the post office just do it to begin with?  Whatever.  I wait a few more days and finally call back to check the progress.  Lonnie tells me it has been verified and they have submitted it to the national database but has no idea how long it takes to update… gees.  Wait, wait, wait.  I finally called the national USPS help line to get things moving.  After plenty of time and patience they finally break and put it in for me, but I did have to promise to have a mailbox up within a week.  That’s fair.  Back to the LLC formation.  I suppose the State of Tennessee doesn’t get in a hurry updating their system because I waited for a week and still no luck.  Back to sweet talking, I called and explained over and over with the worker until she gave me to her supervisor.  Eventually we overrode the system error and got me listed- WHEW!

The wheels of progress turned slow, and without some pushing and pulling I would still be waiting on my address but we finally got it taken care of.  Drum Roll Please…   16520 Bakerville Road, Hurricane Mills, TN!!!  Unfortunately Google still thinks I am located in Waverly somewhere up the road.  It will take some time but Google knows everything- they will figure it out soon.

Of the 8,309,417 things I have to do to get my canoe business up and running, buying a van is one of them.  For the past few months I have been eyeing passenger vans in a 500 mile radius.  Picking the right one at the right price is not easy.  Obviously, there is no need to go out and buy a nice new van to run people up the river.  That’s the last thing they care about when you come out to spend a day floating the Buffalo River.  There will be coolers that have been dragged through the mud, nasty wet dogs, and who know what else getting in and out of the vans.   Do I go with a later model van with high miles in hopes that it has been well maintained?  Do I look for a fleet vehicle so I know it has been on a maintenance schedule?  One owner?  Should I go Ford, Chevy, Dodge?  Does it even matter?

After a few weeks I ran across a Craigslist listing on a Ford E350 that was used by a company that hauled around people in a home health care.  We agreed on a price and set up a time.  Well lo and behold I find a light on the dashboard glowing.  So we take the van to a mechanic to determine the extent of the problem.  It turns out to be the alternator- no big deal.  I feel like I was being gracious in offering the following terms:  the seller pays for the alternator and I will pay for the labor or put it in myself.  After all it’s only fair since the agreed on price was under the assumption there was nothing wrong with it.  Well apparently Mr. David found a better offer after our deal because this dude vanished like a fart in the wind.  So my search continues…

Well after searching to the end of the internet and back again… twice, and looking at a small handful of potential river wagons, I find a freshly posted Dodge Ram B3500 for sale in Little Rock Craigslist.  I found from previous experience that if it’s a really good deal on Craigslist, it’s either a fraud or it will disappear in a day.  Time was of the essence.  I had to strike.  After a few emails and phone calls I learn that the van is owned by a drug and alcohol recovery center.  It only has 83K miles and has been mechanically maintained but it is otherwise pretty scratched up- PERFECT!

So the journey begins.  I book a Megabus ticket to Little Rock for $8.25.  That’s right eight dollars and twenty five cents.  Well I did splurge and paid the extra 25 cents for Megabus to SMS my reservation number.  Hey, I’m a big spender- what can I say?  Then I have to scramble to get my training buddy Ike to come get me and take me to the bus station.  He agrees and says he’ll be on the way.  I carefully count out the cash and check it again, load my 9mm and tuck it in the proper place and off I go.

Upon arriving at the bus stop(gas station @ Roosevelt and I-40 with bars on the window) I am finally picked up by the maintenance man from the center.  He brings me to the facility where the van is.  There I meet with Andrew, the COO.  He takes me out to the van for a quick gloss over.  I kick the tires, take it for a quick spin, throw the money down and head for Tennessee with nearly a full tank of gas to boot!