I had a dream in high school to someday boat from the Statue of Liberty, down the Intercostals Waterway, around Florida, up the Mississippi River, through the Great Lakes and back out to the Statue of Liberty. I have always had that on my "Bucket List" but think it is a bit of a pipe dream because of the time, money and being able to have the right boat. In 2005 I bought my first boat, a 18ft Larson bow rider. I do most of my boating on the Mississippi River now and I keep thinking about my "Dream". One day I said half joking maybe I will boat from Wabash MN, where I normally put the boat in the Mississippi, to Quincy IL, which is where I went to college. It is also where I got my start in Broadcast TV, and where our corporate headquarters are located.
On a nice 2007 sunny Sunday afternoon I met Gary Hoffman in the Alma Lock while he was canoeing. I ended up giving him a ride the river for a little while and he told me about the trip he and his son made in 2002. They canoed from the beginning of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca to end of the Mississippi in New Orleans. The more I talked about it and mentioned to others, and if Gary & his son can do this trip in a canoe, I realized this isn't a joke I could actually do this.
Last Summer I asked my Dad if he wanted to join me on this adventure and he and my Mom agreed right away. We have been planning this for about a year. We will leave from Wabasha on Sat., Aug. 27th, and hope to be in Quincy by/on Wed., Aug. 31st. I will be in the boat for the entire trip, my Mom & Dad will alternate driving my Jeep and empty trailer to Quincy. Once in Quincy we will trailer the boat back to Rochester.
We have not picked cities to stay in because we don't know how long it will take to get to each location. If we stop at a Lock at the wrong time we could be waiting two to three hours to get through. We are planning to travel 100 - 150 miles a day. The entire trip is about 430 miles and the first lock we will pass through is Lock & Damn #4 in Alma WI. The Lock & Damn in Quincy, IL, which we will not have to pass through, is #21.
As I have talked to more people about this adventure I have had people interested in helping complete this dream. My friend Andy and his son Connor are going to make sure we get started okay by traveling with us to La Crosse, WI. Another friend Pete, a former Navy man who also had a plan to travel the Mississippi to Pensacola FL, is going to join us for the entire trip. We hope to pick up a friend and co-worker Brady for the last day on our trip into Quincy.
I hope with this site I can share with you the fun we are having, the sights we are seeing, and you will be able to follow our progress on the map. The GPS is the location of my cell phone, so let's hope if you don't see the GPS update that means we are out of cell service and not that we are stranded or that the phone fell over board.
So this is leg one of my dream and keeps my "Bucket List" alive.
