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. […]
Swimming with the Big Fish
La Place, Louisiana November 4, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Paddling in the busy ports is a whole new experience and challenge. When I entered the Port of Baton Rouge, I felt like a tiny minnow swimming in a pond with Killer Whales, Great White Sharks, barracuda, alligators and piranhas. I bid farewell to Pat […]
More Southern History and Hospitality-Part 2
St. Francisville, Louisiana October 31, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Happy Halloween! October 30 started with a trip to a medical clinic in St. Francisville to have a tick removed from my chest and a nasty rash on my body treated. I tried to remove the tick myself with a pocket knife, but to no […]
More Southern History & Hospitality-Part 1
St. Francisville, Louisiana October 29, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: I had two great days of paddling down the River after I departed from Natchez. Soon after I left Natchez, I departed Mississippi. The rest of my journey will be in Louisiana. On the afternoon of October 28, I set up camp on a sandbar […]
