My New Website and Camino de Santiago
Costa Mesa, Ca. March 19, 2020 Dear Family & Friends: I hope that all of you are well, and I pray for our deliverance from this horrible pandemic. My New Website Welcome to my new website. My old website was getting a bit old, rusty and outdated, so today I am launching “Eight Summits,” version […]
Annual New Year’s Message
Costa Mesa, Ca. December 31, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: During the darkest days of World War II, King George VI came to the microphone of the BBC to deliver the annual Christmas message to the British Commonwealth. He spoke these eloquent and immortal words:* I said to the man who stood at the Gate […]
Mississippi River Video
Costa Mesa, California December 27, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Attached is a video documenting my trip down the Big Muddy, starting on July 26, 2019 at Lake Itasca, Minnesota and ending on November 17, 2019 in the Gulf of Mexico. The video is 58 minutes long. Try to view the documentary on a big […]
Eight Summits: The Bill Burke Story
Costa Mesa, California December 6, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: “Eight Summits: The Bill Burke Story” just won first place in the International Outdoor Film Festival. Eight Summits was entered in the Festival a few years ago and was doing the circuit similar to the Banff Mountain Film Festival that travels around the United States. Over 1,480 […]
Mississippi River Recap
Costa Mesa, CaliforniaNovember 30, 2019Dear Family & Friends:The Mississippi River trip was the adventure of a lifetime. The journey lasted 115 days, starting on July 26, 2019 at the source of the River at Lake Itasca, Minnesota and ending on November 17, 2019 at the Gulf of Mexico. At least 20 of these days were […]
End of an Epic Adventure
Venice, Louisiana November 18, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: At 4:30 pm on November 17, I reached the Head of Passes, the official terminus of the Mississippi River. My journey is over. Larry Hooper was there to greet me and take my canoe and me back to Venice, the last city on the River. Larry […]
Closing In On the Gulf
Homeplace, Louisiana November 17, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Yesterday was a great day on the River. But, it didn’t start out well. I woke up in freezing temperatures. Frost covered everything, including my tent and gear. I did not want to get out of my warm sleeping bag. Once I got out, I had […]
The Last 100 Miles are the Hardest
Somewhere 25 Miles South of the Big Easy November 15, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: All of the reports about the journey down the Big Muddy south of New Orleans being the hardest and most dangerous are apparently true. Brandon showed up with my canoe at 10:30 am in Old Algiers, on the West Bank […]
Rockin’ n’ Rollin’ with my Family in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana November 12, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: I arrived in New Orleans on November 5, three days ahead of my family. As a student of World War II, I was excited to have the opportunity to visit the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. This fabulous Museum is a must see and, […]
Relaxing in the Big Easy
New Orleans, Louisiana November 6, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: After seven hours of paddling, I arrived in New Orleans yesterday!! It’s hard to imagine this trip started over 100 days ago, 2,300 miles upstream. Now, I have less than 100 miles to go before I reach the salt water in the Gulf of Mexico. […]
