#dam fast

Mississippi River – Day 62

Today is Thursday, July 29, 2021. My alarm went off at 5:00 am. I want to get an early start today. I am in the guest house at Danny Majors’ home on the Atchafalaya River. I have 85 river miles to cover in the next two days. I want to do as many of those miles today as I can so that tomorrow will be a short day and I can enjoy time with my family. It will also give me a chance to rest up and…

Glory Days – Resource Guide

If you are doing research for a Mississippi River Source to Sea trip and you have stumbled upon my Glory Days blog, this post is designed to help you find some of the most useful information without sorting through nearly 200 posts. I hope that you will read my entire blog, but this post is about getting to the meat of the information offered on the Glory Days Blog quickly and easily. PICK YOUR…

Mississippi River – Wrap-Up

Today is August 24, 2021. It has been more than three weeks since my Source to Sea trip ended. I am finally coming to grips with this new reality for me. I had dreamed about this trip for decades. I actively planned and prepared to do this trip for nearly 3 years. I even wrote about my planning and preparations in this blog, which consisted of more than 100 posts and well over 150,000 words…

MS River – Closure – Part 2

Today is Saturday, August 21, 2021 It’s been 3 weeks since I finished my trip down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. It seems like it’s been longer than that to me. I’m still missing the river, but I have started to transition into life after the river. I have been reading through the “letters of encouragement” that my family and friends sent to me for my trip. That’s been helping me more…

MS River – Closure – Part 1

Today is Monday, July 16, 2021. I’ve been home for about two weeks now. I’ve had time to re-adjust to my normal everyday life again and reflect on my Mississippi River trip. 20th Annual HLC River Jaunt Yesterday I attended the 20th HLC River Jaunt, which is a wonderful local event put on by the Chillicothe Chamber of Commerce. The HLC event takes place on the Illinois River, not the…

Mississippi River – Thank You

Today is Monday, August 2, 2021. My “Glory Days Mississippi River Trip” has come to an end. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I think I’ll have to be back home for a few days before it hits me. We are in Memphis for a few days. I needed to stop by Dale & Miriam Sanders house to complete my signature on their “Paddlers Wall”. As I start to process all that I have experienced during my trip, it’s…

Mississippi River – Day 64

Today is Saturday, July 31, 2021. I am shaken awake by my daughter at 4:45 am. Carol’s alarm is going off and neither Carol or I hear it. We both get up, even though my alarm isn’t set to go off for another 15 minutes. Carol quickly dresses and goes down to start the car. I slowly straggle along a few minutes later dressed in my paddling clothes. This will be the last day of my Mississippi…

Mississippi River – Day 63

Today is Friday, July 30, 2021. I wake up at daybreak. I am hanging over my kayak on the porch of a fishing camp. Another sunrise on the river. I quickly take down my hammock, fold up my blue tarp, and pack up what little gear I had taken out of the kayak. I am already wearing my “river clothes”, so there’s no need to change. I am on the river a few minutes after 6:00 am. Grand Lake / Yellow…