“Current” Events

Over the past few blogs I have not exactly supplied information as to what kind of stories the river has provided. The blogs have been more of thoughts I derive well paddling, mostly because I talk to myself. So here is an update as to the people I’ve met, the things I have done, the things I have seen and the places I have been.

I suppose the most recent place to start is at Blanchard dam. Where I spent the night because the portage was very long and I wanted to find a Cross Rock to make a necklace out of. They can only be found in a handful of places in the United States, Teddy Roosevelt Thomas Edison to list a few men who carried these cross rocks around with them, and now Matthew Furman. Next, the city of Monticello, about 30 miles above Minneapolis; Here I met Chip and the Bauer possé. The time spent in Monicello has to be one of the highlights, I got to go fishing and caught my first walleye or pair of walleye, some smallmouth and chip let me real in his Northern because he thought it was the worlds largest bass. Then I kind of made it impossible for Chip to get rid of me until he took me up in his ultralight (which is like a hang glider). If you have $8000 laying around, definitely worth the investment. The next day I went through Minneapolis where I had a very long portage because they closed upper Saint Anthony falls lock dam,  in the middle of the city where all my stuff can be stolen. But after calling Amir The Uber driver and working a deal out with him we drove my 17 foot kayak through the middle of the city with me hanging out the back. The awesome part between Minneapolis and St. Paul, I’m sure if you follow me on Snapchat you saw the graffiti doors.  The cliffs are all limestone which, commonly form caves, a place where all The cool kids and talented artists hang out, really awesome, everywhere looks like the freaking Narnia door.

Along the way I have had some very sketchy moments on the water, the best part is I have never felt more in tune with the plan God has laid out before me. With this, manifest destiny, I haven’t had a moment where I feel overwhelmed, even in 6 foot waves; shout out to Lake Pepin and lock dam 14.

Next I find myself in La Crosse Wisconsin where I met John and Beth Sullivan; exactly the kind of people one wants to meet on a long distance journey. Beth is the queen of cakes and John is the upper Mississippi river expert in; who has paddled the river in 2014. Just south of Le Crosse I got to camp in a fishbowl island that had to be one of the most beautiful campsites I have seen.

One of the last places I stopped at was in Dubuque Iowa, where I camped on the local beach, because it’s so damn beautiful. It was here I found out my wonderful grandmother of 90 years passed away, so I stayed another day on the beach fasting and praying. I didn’t eat food but the locals sure hook me up with beer and margaritas. I obviously skipped a lot, but here I am in the Quad cities looking forward to St. Louis.