Canoeing the Mississippi River

This trip did not happen after years of dreaming. It came about because at age 59, I had the skills, a small bit of history with the river, an income for a few months and acres of free time.

Plus of course that urge to be someplace else.

It did not seem momentous to me when I began, but I have to admit it did when I finished. I had paddled across the country, from north to south, for 2,200 miles. I spent three and a half months mostly camping out.  It was something I am happy and proud that I accomplished and I am writing it all down in case my family (and future family) and friends want to share the memories with me.

Looking at the image below of the entire river in the context of the whole county still leaves me a little speechless.

I hope you enjoy the journey.

The Logistics page will tell you about what I took along with me and how I planned for this voyage.

The Trip page contains my journal, my photos and often a map of each day’s travel.  I split that into three subpages for ease of readability: Lake Itasca to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minneapolis-St. Paul to St. Louis, and St. Louis to New Orleans.

The Press page contains some newspaper clippings about my trek.

This map shows many of the major cities I passed through on my voyage from Lake Itasca, at the top, to New Orleans.