68Noah steered the canoe into the river channel where the current moved them gently along. An earthy smell of soil and moisture wafted from the banks, where low-hanging vegetation supplied shade.
“Becca, could you grab the backpack and get the plastic bags? There are also some gloves. We'll both need a pair.”
Becca reached into the middle of the canoe and grasped the backpack. She found several large black refuse bags and some leather garden gloves. “Got 'em!”
“Good!” Noah maneuvered the canoe to an area where a number of large, rounded boulders formed an eddy. Among the branches and clumps of dead grasses, Becca noted garbage. Lots of it. Plastic water bottles, beer cans, a pink flip-flop—all swirled in a whirlpool by the rocks. The top of a bikini, an orange package that once held Hot
