The first half of October was full of hiking and camping in the woods, as Ryan and I took a vacation to Vermont and Maine for multiple days. When we returned we had a bunch of work days scheduled and our final paddling trip of the season. There was a lot to get done in October before the weather takes a turn for the cold! One of our first missions was to further fix up Central Park in Brownsville. The wooden fencing and benches throughout the park needed a good scrubbing and fresh coat of paint. Now they are a nice red color, and when people walk by they can sit by the wharf instead of passing it by. There were a few community members that came by to thank us too which was really rewarding. We had another day of painting in Fredericktown too. The building that sits right on the shore of their public docks needed a fresh coat of white paint to spruce up the dull concrete block color. Now when people pass by on the river it will make the town look much more inviting. Some community members are going to continue work in the park that is located right on the water as well. We had another workday in Rices Landing to make some final touches to the old lock wall. There was quite a bit of weeds and overgrowth we didn’t have time to tend to last time. We also did a trash pick-up of the park and lock wall area. Point Marion saw a lot of the Corps this month. October was the final stretch for the public art project we have all been helping with this year. After our last few workdays there, the seven-panel glass mosaic is ready to be hung on the side of a building in town soon for all to see. It looks incredible. One of our final missions was to clear overgrowth and other vegetation from the public boat ramp in Point Marion in preparation for the launch of our Fall Paddle on the Mon trip. We had just fewer than 20 people in attendance so it made for a nice, close group of people out on the water. The weather held up right to the end, and it was really great to see all the trees and changing leaves from the big river.
