Rzhev is one of the oldest cities on record in Tver region. It has about 62,000 residents and has many old churches and buildings boasting some nice architecture. According to Wikipedia, it is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. As West and Jeff came around the bend to approach the city, they were appreciative of the beauty and lushness of the scenery. What they immediately noticed were the people on the banks of the river were very friendly. They were waving and cheering with, what the team took to be, encouragement. Again, they did not stop and speak with anyone.
The guys paddled 52 miles today. They said the weather is clear and gorgeous. Unfortunately, the cloud cover going away makes the night much more cold. As I was talking to West and Jeff, they were zippering their tent to keep the cold out. During the day, they are wearing their dry suits so they are staying, relatively, dry.
We are looking for them to stop in Tver to spend the night on Sunday and re-supply with water and power up their batteries and whatnot. in addition, we hope to have them tethered to internet so they can send actual pictures. We have made contact with a member of the paddling club in Tver who has given them a safe overnight storage spot for the boats. I'll give more details on that as it gets ironed out.
For those of you that have sent messages, I have forwarded those to West and Jeff. They like that people are watching their progress and they just aren't out in never, never land. I have kept them apprised of the daily news and what is going on in the world outside. I'm not too sure they are interested in anything other than friends and family...you know babies being born, team members getting ready, etc.
--Barbara
