Paddling By

Saw the clydesdale horses, the arch, union station and the cardinals today.

Visited the Lewis and Clark Discovery Expedition. Later we danced with the barges. Andrew is pondering what if all the sleeping bags in the world woke up?

The mighty Mississippi… enough said.  It will be quite a different journey as we begin the next phase of our trip.

Made it to Grafton, IL, the confluence point of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Ate dinner with two nice couples we met at the marina.

Woke up to thunderstorms. Faced strong head & tail winds with waves. Andrew had a fish jump on his boat. Walked a mile through mud and slept in the county jail.

Took a day off from paddling. Dustin read T.S. Eliot, Andrew read Huck Finn, and Jonathan read Joseph Conrad. All in all a very relaxing day.

Woke up to thunderstorms and had early morning rain. Naples, Florence, Montezuma… yep we’re still in Illinois. Saw a few bald eagles today to boot.

Light rain off and on refreshed us until mid afternoon. Andrew blessed us with his 100 miles to the Mississippi dance. In Beardston; our beards fit right in.

Met some super nice people in Havana, IL. Six boxes of mac and cheese w/ various seasonings were just enough. Another beautiful moonrise spoiled us before bed.

So Dustin observed that our adventure is very similar to the game Oregon Trail, but somehow The St. Jo, Illinois, Mississippi Trail doesn’t have the same ring.