Monster Day on the Mighty Mississippi

Monster Day on the Mighty Mississippi

Bell City, Missouri September 24, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: I launched from Cape Girardeau at 10am into a swift current with the wind at my back. It was my best River day of the trip. Eight and one-half hours later, I arrived in Cairo, Illinois. This was a...
Cape Girardeau-Part 2

Cape Girardeau-Part 2

Cape Girardeau, Missouri September 22, 2019Dear Family & Friends: Phil Brinson lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Tom Kettering, Rick Dryer and I met Phil decades ago while river rafting on the Colorado River. We bonded immediately and became close friends. Cape...
Cape Girardeau-Part 1

Cape Girardeau-Part 1

Cape Girardeau, Missouri September 22, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 58 miles downstream from my tent camp near Chester, Illinois, was my next destination, but it wasn’t easy getting there. About 30 miles downstream, the cable connecting my...
Big Day on the Big Muddy

Big Day on the Big Muddy

Across the River from Chester, Illinois September 19, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Today was a huge day for me. Because of the fast current, I was able to average 7.5 mph and covered 50 miles from Kimmswick, Missouri to an island in Missouri across from Chester,...
Loopers

Loopers

Hoppies Marina Kimmswick, Missouri September 18, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: Before departing St. Louis on September 18, I visited the famous courthouse where the Dred Scott case began. Dred Scott was a slave who sued for freedom for himself and his wife, Harriet,...
Life or Death in the Chain of Rocks

Life or Death in the Chain of Rocks

St. Louis, Missouri September 17, 2019 Dear Family & Friends: On September 15, I paddled 16 miles to Alton Illinois. After securing my canoe at the local marina, I checked into a hotel. I had a great dinner at Fast Eddie’s Bar & Grille, a venue recommended by...