Monday 10 October 2011

End of the river - Its all over!

After 65 days and over 3000 kms of paddling I have finally reached the end of my journey. While at times it has been tough and challenging it has been a great way to see the American Mid-West and to meet a lot of wonderful people in the process.
Now that the journey is done I guess its time to think of something else to amuse myself and no doubt it will involve travel. Enjoy

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Washington, Missouri - last days!

My time on the river is quickly drawing to an end as I expect to be in St Louis in the next two days. It will be weird not to spend my days paddling, swimming and camping by the river as the trains roar by at night. The last couple of days have been more social than what I have been use to. First I camped at Coopers Landing, a must stop spot for all river rats. Caught up with Jim a house boat owner out of Kansas City and Brendan, a fellow Aussie who was cycling across country. Even had time for my first shower in over two months - think I prefer the river wash.
A day down river I caught up Steve Schnarr and his fine crew doing volunteer work with Missouri River Relief. Over a few drinks and an excellent meal I got to meet some excellent folk and learn all about the great work they are doing to keep the river clean and encourage more river use.
Without a doubt the prettiest town on the river has been Herman, Missouri. Settled by Germans in the 1840s it has retained all of its charm and understandably lays claim to being the German capital of the USA.

Thursday 29 September 2011

Boonville, Missouri 2980 kms down, only 320kms to go!

Its worthwhile noting when travelling by river through the state of Missouri, you can catch an unlimited supply of carp a day but only 5 bullfrogs.Curious as to how one catches bullfrogs, local research informed that a large flashlight is required as once it is shined in the bullfrogs eyes they freeze making capture an easy task. And of course they taste just like chicken. On a side note, carp when surprised seek suicide by jumping meters out of the water. This makes for an interesting though a touch disconcerting sight as they weigh anywhere between 1kg and 20kgs.
Local wildlife trying to wrestle a fish up the shore.

Only 320kms to go until I reach the end of the Missouri River in St Louis. I have a flight out on October 6th which means I have slowed down my pace so I don't arrive too early. And now time to get some food.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Atchison, Missouri - Home of Amelia Earhart

Below is a link to a recent news story a TV station out of Omaha did on me. Havent watched it myself but sure it will be riverting.


http://www.ketv.com/news/29237207/detail.html

Wednesday 21 September 2011

St Joseph, Missouri 2574 kms down, only 720kms to go.

Just got into St Joseph, Missouri and while I haven't really had much of a chance to look around the downtown area is really pretty though also really quiet. Still not really sure about which sections of the river are closed or were closed but have started to see other traffic on the river so things are looking good. Aside from yesterday I had a four day stretch of really nasty weather that made for some cold and wet paddling. The upside though was the river was flowing nicely meaning I covered a lot of distance in a short space of time, clocking up 90kms one day without too much effort. It has slowed down a little now.
The above two pics come from downtown White Cloud in Kansas. Not a great deal happening there with the only places open being the Post Office and a bank that was straight out of the 1850s that wouldn't have looked out of place when Jesse James dropped by for a withdrawal. Speaking of Jesse, St Joseph is his hometown and there is a museum devoted to his life around here somewhere that I'll try to see.

Well that's about it. Plan on a lazy day around town before getting back on the river late this arvo. Should be passing through Kansas City in the next day or two though I try not to spend much time in the bigger places. Enjoy.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Iowa & Nebraska - The river is closed???

Due to serious flooding over the summer many parts of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers were closed to all boating traffic. I had been lucky that by the time I reached the closed sections they had been reopened, up until yesterday that is. The section of the Missouri that goes through Iowa and Nebraska has been closed all summer but I have heard that it all reopens September 15th. The water is running fast though not as fast as places up north and the river level is dropping. Means that I get the next 300kms all to myself.

Passed through Sioux City which is probably the biggest city I have visited on the river. The weather has turned cold with it dropping to o degrees overnight. As the days and weeks pass my tent continues its terminal decline. I has now reached the point that is it rains I must make sure to wear my raincoat in the tent. And now its off to Omaha.

Monday 12 September 2011

Farewell South Dakota, the last of the dams!

Finally earlier this morning with great happiness I crossed my final dam just above Yankton, South Dakota. From here on in, all the way down to St Louis we are 'dam free' which means easier,faster paddling and more to see and do. One thing in favour of the dams is the fact that towns are able to be situated closer to the river saving long walks into town. Pierre 160kms up river was an excellent case in point and aside from lots of cool old buildings to see some friendly locals Julie, Faith and Leanne took it upon themselves to show me the sights and treat me to a steak dinner at Mad Marys - most tasty. They also introduced me to Mr Mac a renowned teacher who has been teaching Latin for over 40 years - I was of the impression that the teaching of Latin stopped many years ago.
Roger and his wife who helped me portage around the dam at Pickton.
The above baby deer had fallen down the bank breaking or injuring its back leg and as a result was unable to get back up the hill. Sadly there was no room in the kayak for it.

Portage over the dam at Yankton, South Dakota.

With Labor Day having passed, summer is well and truly over in the USA. There are few boats or people on the river and lakes and many of the marinas and shops have closed for the season. Luckily in the next couple of days I will cross into Iowa where there are more people and greater access to towns. While I carry a radio on the front of the kayak I find myself listening to podcasts as I paddle instead. Each town I get to I find a wifi spot and download as much as my itouch will handle. - Might have overdone it today as the itouch froze for about an hour though luckily it is up and running again. Well best run, grab some supplies and get back to the river as Sioux City is only days away.

Thursday 1 September 2011

Pierre, South Dakota 1650kms to go

Another couple of weeks and another couple of lakes. It seems they are never ending in this neck of the woods and they just keep on coming. Lakes tend to be tough work with very unpredictable weather and a lack of places to buy supplies. South Dakota while famous for the faces of US Presidents on Mount Rushmore, doesn't have the most exciting scenery. Lots of rolling hills with not a great deal of vegetation. What it does have a lot of according to locals is rattlesnakes. They pride themselves on the quality and quantity of their rattlesnakes. Yet to see any though I do keep an 'eagle eye' out for them.
After a 290km paddle of Lake Ohae I then had the challenge of carry the kayak and gear 4kms over the dam and down to the river. As it was just on 100 degrees it made for hot work though luckily about half way along a bloke from the Army Corp of Engineering stopped and gave me a ride. Now I am currently in the South Dakota state capital of Pierre which I have just been told is the smallest of all the state capitals in the USA. It has a population of about 14,000 and is perched right on the river banks. Course this means like many places in the area they suffered from flooding this summer. They have a little island just across from the town which makes for a great camping spot as you can see the lights and sights from there.
(Picture of my land bound kayak and gear searching for the river.) Was speaking to a local yesterday who reckons I only have about one more month of paddling before the weather will turn nasty. With just over 1600kms to go I might fall short of the target - I would have started earlier but flooding in Montana killed that idea. Well that's about it. Time to tour the Capitol building, gather supplies and get back to paddling. Hopefully the wind will be at my back. Cheers 

Saturday 20 August 2011

Bismark, North Dakota 1126kms done, 2169kms to go

Ahhh, it feels great to be off the lake and once more on a moving river. The past week on Lake Sakakawea was marked by tough paddling, strong winds, rough water and some very unpredictable weather.A couple of days back I had just finished setting up camp and was listening to the radio when the programming was interrupted by an emergency broadcast. A call had gone out to everyone in the area to move to their basements as a tornado was forming. As my tent lacks a basement and burrowing into the sand didnt seem worthwhile, I got to stand out in the open and marvel as the sky seemed at war with itself. Pretty awe inspiring. Luckily after about 20 minutes the whole thing moved south leaving behind only heavy rain.

Aside from all that the lake was rather rewarding with spectular scereny, lots of good folk at places like Indian Hills and I even got to see an Indian Pow Wow which was really interesting and continued over 3 days. On my last night on the lake I was picked up by the nice folk above, Ron & Elsie Reichert and was taken back to their place for an excellent steak dinner. Setting up the tent at 10pm later that night was interesting to say the least. And now its time to gather supplies and continue on down to South Dakota.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Wilston, North Dakota - Missouri River

Well yesterday arvo I hit the Missouri River and bid farewell to the Yellowstone. Put in a strong day covering over 60kms then messed it all up with one of my 'famous shortcuts' which saw me back at the starting spot 2 hours later. To make things even more interesting recent flooding meant there was no dry land so ended up pitching tent at 9pm on what I though was the yard of an abandoned house.
I love visiting towns along the way though often this involves a lot of work. Due to the threat of flooding towns will often be 5 - 10kms from the river which often involves long slogs up hills, though forests and on ocassion in someones car. Sadly with the advent of the car many of the towns I have visited are shadows of their former selves with the main streets boarded up and all commerce moved out to Wal Mart on the Highway. The price of development I guess.

And now I have a long 210km stretch of nothing along Lake Sakakawea so hopefully the weather and winds will be favourable. Cheers

Friday 5 August 2011

Glendive, Montana

Just a quick post as the weather has turned really nasty and need to secure the kayak better. Only about 100kms before I hit the North Dakota border and join the Missouri River.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Livingston , Montana to MIles City 507kms or 318 miles

So after several relaxing days in Bozeman, Montana with Robert and Evonne I finally put the kayak into the Yellowstone River. Evonne ensured that I ddnt go hungry the first couple of days by stocking me with cookies and bread and Robert to care of the transportation aspect while fighting off a Diamondback Rattlesnake.


To say that the first couple of days was a learning experience would be an understatement. Due to record rainfall the river was running higher and faster than I expected with a host of challenging rapids and rough water. Within the first minute I was in rough water and by the fifth minute I was in danger of sinking. While I quickly learnt the best way to tackle the rapids, the first three days were filled with moments of controlled panic and a lot of roller coaster like fun. Sadly a couple several days behind me misjudged one set of rapids and drowned.

After the first three days the rough water lessened and the river slowed down. First week is always a case of working out what goes where on the canoe and what can be disposed of aside from ripping out the pages of books as I go. The countryside has gone from towering mountains covered in trees to small hills with very few towns in between. Often I have to walk 5kms into town which often turns out to be little more than a gas station. Due to small dams across the river on three ocassions so far I have had to drag the kayak around them. Not that difficult but a pain all the same. Recent oil spill from a refinery three weeks back meant a 100 mile stretch of water was suppose to be oil tainted making drinking a little hard. Passwed that now so drinking river water like mad - doesnt taste good in tea. Currently in the bustling town of Miles City but will be moving on within the hour. Should be out of Montana and into North Dakota by the end of the week.

Monday 25 July 2011

The Begining

So here's the plan. Tomorrow I enter the Yellowstone River at Livingston and paddle 750kms to where it enters the Missouri River on the North Dakota border. From there its about 2000kms down to St Louis.

While I am not much of a writer and will often be away from the internet for long periods I will endeavour to include both photos and text of my journey and maybe it will be of interest.