STATUS: KENTUCKY RM 915

9/27: Jim and Dave enjoyed a zero day with their best friend Bob Jackson who drove from Cody WY to spend a couple days with the guys.  They resumed paddeling on 9/28 when Bob dropped them off at the marina which he described " was right out of a Stephen King novel with all the fog."..  They travelled 47 miles and camped on an island sandbar at RM 111.5 in Chester, IL.  On 9/29 the rain kept them in their tents until 10 am.  They still managed to log 45 miles and camped at the trail of tears state park in MO at RM 66.5.  They have encounter many "loopers". These are people who travel in expensive crusiers and who start in the fall in the Great Lakes Region and travel down the MS River to the Gulf of MX. The whole circuit takes about a year.  On 9/30 the guys travelled 50 miles for a record day!! !They camped at RM 16 on a sandbar!  On 10/1 they paddeled 55 miles and are camping at RM 915!!  Great day for the River Rats!!!  They are officially in the Lower MS River section passing the confluence with the Ohio River.  They also entered KY and officially left IL. please leave any postive comments you have for them as they are approaching the final stretch of this journey!!!  please check the blog for BOB'S explanation about the nitwits and Roys words of encouragement....

 

 

STATUS: ARNOLD, MO (OUTSIDE ST LOUIS)

 

9/26: ON 9/21the guys logged a 41.5 mile day in great conditions and crossed the 1,000 mile mark!!!  They camped at Rm 301 at an island campsite next to lock and dam #22.  On 9/22 they travelled 43 miles in again great weather and camped in a family's front yard because the marina at RM 258 was closed.  On 9/23 they did another 42.5 miles and camped on an island outside Grafton, IL at RM 215.5.  They had great weather again and are getting a renewed energy with the great weather!!!  On 9/24 they did a 36 mile day and camped on a barge in St. Louis (barge camping was on Dave's wish list) and have travelled a total of 1163 miles!!  They no longer have to worry about locks and dams as those days are now miles behind them!!!  On 9/25 they guys took a zero day to recoup and wait for their friend Bob Jackson to arrive from Cody, WY.  On 9/26 Bob should be arriving soon and the trio will be reunited.  

 

STATUS: 9/19 HOTEL IN NAUVOO, IL.

 

 On 9/12 the guys logged a 12 mile day and spent the night in Clinton, IA. at RM 521.  They encountered huge waves at "unlucky lock #13" and were almost swamped.  On 9/13 they paddled 26 miles and stopped in LeClaire, IA to visit the American Pickers store, which they said was awesome.  They didnt see anyone from the show but said the store was super cool and the employees were very nice!  They camped at a state park in IL on RM 593.  They encountered strong headwinds all day!  On 9/14 they logged 25 miles, again due to strong headwinds, and stayed at Clarks Ferry campground, RM 468.5,  which is run by the Army Corp of Engineers.  On 9/14 they had logged a total of 873.5 miles.  On 9/15 they travelled 18.5 miles in headwinds (suprise, suprise) and camped at Blanchard Island campground at RM 450.  On 9/16 they paddled a brutal 22.5 miles and stayed to camp at Keithsburg Riverside campground on RM 416.  It seems at this point the headwinds are not gonna let the guys catch a break!!  on 9/17 the weather forced them to take a zero day, as the winds and thunder were just too much to even leave their tents/hammocks.  On 9/18, again battling horrible rain, Dave and Jim got into their canoe and travelled a personal best of 43.5 miles!!!! They stopped for the night in Madison, IA.  They are closing in on 1,000 miles and the MO border!  On 9/19 they paddled 5 miles but were forced to dock in Nauvoo, IL due to..you guessed it...headwinds!!!  After a bad paddling morning they did meet a very nice family (the Ralph's) who to quote Dave "saved their rear ends." 

 

STATUS: SANDBAR OUTSIDE SABULA, IOWA

 

9/11/15: OVER A 1/4 OF THE WAY!!!  On 9/7/15 Jim and Dave camped on a sandbar after a 30 + mile day.  On 9/8 they came to the town of McGregor, IA where they stayed the night at Little Switzerland under the care of Becky who the guys said was awesome!  They did 27.5 miles under heavy morning thunderstorms and wind.  On 9/9 they camped on another island sandbar (their new favorite camping sites) at RM 599.  They did 34.5 miles before encountering rain and thunderstorms all night.  On 9/10 they camped on another island at RM 569 after a long 30 mile day.  They had thunderstorms in the AM but perfect weather in the PM.  On 9/11 they travelled past Sabula Iowa to camp on another sandbar in really high winds.  Spirits were high when I spoke to them tonight but the goal is to put in a half day starting early in the morning to get to Clinton, IA then take some much needed rest and watch some football with some good food and a few beverages.  Conditions have still been pretty tough weather wise but hopefully will improve in the coming days!!  

 

STATUS: TREMPEALEAU, WI

 

9/5/15: ON 9/2 Jim and Dave paddled 30 miles in the rain to stay at Everts Resort in Hager City, WI.  They rented a cabin and enjoyed the high life at Everts cabin after many nights in a row in their tents/hammocks!  Ski and Nicole @ Everts were super helful and great people said the guys!  They had a very tough day with horrible weather but are very happy to finally be in Wisconsin!! The total miles travelled as of 9/2/15 is 547.7 miles!  On 9/3 they travelled 33 miles including the famous Lake Pepin and camped at Sandy Island RM 961.  The river was very crowded and the guys said In MN they must celebrate Labor Day all week!! Tons of partyers celebrating on the MS RIver this week!! On 9/4 the guys travelled 30 miles and camped on the River Bank after encountering very large barges and numerous locks along the route, as well as the ever present head winds who have haunted them the entire trip.  While waiting in line to go through the locks the guys were given beer by many of the other boaters for canoeing the river and Dave informed me by the time it was their turn to pass through the lock they had "an entire bag of beer collected"  apparently the canoers of the entire MS are the celebrities on the river!! The river rats then travelled to Trempealeau, WI on 9/5 after a 17 mile day.  They got up early and knocked out 17 miles quickly so they could stay at the Inn on the River in Trempealeau, WI and have the rest of the day to do some much needed laundry, relax, bag a geocache,  and watch some Tennessee football!!!!  

 

STATUS: RM 425: ISLAND CAMP

 

9/2:  Sorry for the delay in updates.. On 8/27 Jim and Dave camped at Riverside State Park canoe campground near St. Cloud, MN.  They met a fellow paddler Nicole, who built her own wooden canoe.  She is also hoping to canoe the entire way. She paddled with the guys until Minneapolis where they parted ways.  On 8/28 they travelled 21.6 miles and stayed at Stears campground after a long but very good day.  They had to portage around Blanchard Dam.  On 8/29 the guys travelled 36 miles and had two long portages around Sauk Rapids.  They stayed at Oak Island campsite.  On 8/30 they had a great 40 mile day and stayed at Coon Rapid Dam campsite.  On 8/31 they arrived in Minneapolis, MN after a short 11 miles and had an amazing view of the cities skyline as they paddled. They were picked up by Above the Falls Sports shuttle to avoid the 1.5 mile portage (with canoe and gear that would be almost impossible) to take them around St. Anthony Falls; which locks were closed earlier this year due to the asian carp population. (Finding a shuttle for this portage was harder than I imaged it would be,  but we got it set up and the company was awesome to work with!!!).  While in Minneapolis Jim and Dave stayed with the son of a friend of theirs, Dr. Jim Goddard and his family, who the guys say were beyond awesome!!! They got a cold beer and a hot shower, Two things I imagine they wanted/needed badly :).  On 9/1 they camped at RM 425 on an island after a 30 mile day.  They have passed the 500 miles travelled mark and keep paddeling!!!  (side note: they were told this has been the windiest August in MN in the last 10 years!!!, hopefully the headwinds lighten up for them soon!)

 

STATUS: ,CHARLES A LINDBERG PARK,  MN. 

 

8/27/15: On 8/25/15  Jim and Dave paddeled 39 miles and made it it Half Moon campsite.  On 8/26 they had a great day and met along the route with Rob, Chuck, and Steve with In-Fisherman Magazine. The guys said they were awesome!!! They put in 26 miles and camped at Crow Wing State Park, MN.  On 8/27 they travelled 29.3 miles and are staying tonight at Charles A Lindberg park.  The made a quick stop on their way to Lindberg campground at John C's sportsbar and the amazing owner gave the guys their meals for free for soing the MS!!! Yes, Dave tipped him :) 

 

 

 

STATUS: AITKIN, MN. 

 

8/25/15: On 8/22/15 Jim and Dave made it to Willow Creek campground after a 26.5 mile day with very strong headwinds (seems to be a theme of the trip so far!!) They met a man from Australia, Phil,  who took Dave on a harley ride into town to get food! It stormed pretty bad at night but they got back in the canoe early on 8/23 and headed to Aitkin, MN.  They travelled a tough 22 miles (slogging as they called it) and stayed a much needed night in a dry/warm hotel room with a few cold beers in hand!  A guy named Jim Anderson hauled the guys, their gear, and canoe all over town on errands and was extremely helpful!!! They took a zero day (rest day) on 8/24 to regroup and stock up on supplies and food.   

 

The following is a message from Dave and Jim:

 

"We want to say how much we appreciate the followers of the website.  Makes us feel good to know that so many people care about this adventure.  The number of kind and helpful people that we have met so far is amazing.  It would be very hard to realize this trip without the kindness of strangers.  THe weather so far has been really nasty with lots of rain and wind.  We know we can put in big days (had a 42 mile day) but the weather has kept our mileage down and that frustrates us.  The trip has always been about a couple of fools having fun for a couple of months and accomplishing something kinda cool.  Its been great so far but could be so much better with decent weather.  IT WILL COME...

 

STATUS: JACOBSON CAMPGROUND, JACOBSON MN

 

8/21/2015   On 8/18 Jim and Dave camped at Schoolcroft State Park in the rain.   On 8/19 they travelled about 20 miles in stiff headwinds and cold and rainy conditions to reach Pokegama Dam and camped at Pokegama Dam Campground.  They met some awesome folks with Army Corp of Engineers: Toni, Jeff, and John, who went out of their way to assist in drying out some of their clothes and belongings after a very rainy day.  8/20: Jim and Dave paddled 42 miles today in great conditions!  They are camping at Jacobson campground in Jacobson, MN.  

 

STATUS:  below Lake Winnie, MN at

USFS campsite

 

8/17/2015   The 8/15 was a rough day with very strong headwinds which made progress almost impossible.  The guys still managed to log 16 miles but couldn't quite reach their planned campsite.  Instead they stayed at Wolf Lake with the very kind couple Jim and Kathy, who offered to let the boys camp on their land.  On 8/16 they made 25 miles and stayed at Ardles Resort near Lake Winnie, MN.  At Knudson Dam Rec. Area they were helped out by Dan & Mike along the way.  Dan is an Aquatic Nuisance Inspector and Mike is the campground host at Knudson Dam Rec area.  Very nice and helpful!! Tonight 8/17 Jim and Dave were helped out by a great guy named Roger who they hitched a ride with to their campsite!  They were at Plughat boat ramp at Lake Winnie Dam and needed a lift because the campsite was too far to walk with the canoe and gear and Roger graciously helped out!  Then when they got to the campsite USFS campground below Lake Winnie,  the host Bubby loaned the guys his car to go get some much needed junk food!! Both guys are overly impressed with the comradre and amazing generousity of all the people they have encounter along the journey so far!!!

 

 

Status: Lake Bemidji State Park

 

8/15/2015   Dave and Jim had a rough start to the adventure.  The first stretch of the Mississippi was no more than a creek with very low water and was virtually impossible to float; they found themselves dragging the canoe a lot.  There were also leeches and copious amounts of mud!!  That evening they were assaulted by a perilous thunderstorm but spirits have stayed high.  The second day they arrived at camp early despite some difficulty locating the site and enjoyed the wonderful scenery over dinner. The 3rd day they really got some miles under their belt.s  They paddled 30 miles and camped at Lake Bemidji State Park and had noodles over a fire! 

 

8/11/2015   The brave adventurers have now reached the headwaters of the Mississippi.  They are at Lake Itasca, Minnesota.  This is where it all begins.   As storm clouds gather these heroes have no fear and approach their task with a grim determination. (disclaimer:  there are no storm clouds and they are probably merry)

 

8/9/2015   The boys are in Knoxville.  Dave survived a treacherous drive from Atlanta with his daughter, Danika Patrick Williams.  They are spending the night at Jim's and leave at first light toorrow morning.

 

 

8/1/2015    Jim and Dave are in the preparation stage of the trip. Which likely means drinking beer and eating good food. Ignorant of the trials and tribulations that lay ahead....