This past week we made it from Minnesota, down the border of Wisconsin and now into Iowa. We are right on schedule!
Day 25 (June 24), we took off from the Staker residence to cross the rest of Lake Pepin (about 14 miles). As usual, with every lake, this one was current-less and slow. The 84 degree weather and 80% humidity didn't help. After a couple hours we finished the lake and got out of our kayaks at the first landing possible. We stretched out and ate lunch while noticing a large storm coming over from the lake we had just crossed. We quickly finished our lunch as the first rain drops fell, put on our rain gear and spray skirts and headed out to push on for the day. We had one more lock and dam for the day so we called the lock master. He said he was locking through a canoe right now and that we would be up next. We pulled into the lock and the person throwing us rope said that the canoe paddler was asking if a Marine passed by. I was pretty confused, so we locked through very quickly and tried to catch up with him. We met up with him a few minutes later, and he asked which one of us was Nic. He introduced himself as James Welborn and said he read an article about me before he left and had been trying to catch up to us. He is an 18-year-old who is paddling the entire river by himself. His Facebook page is Welborn's Mississippi Solo. We pretty much just floated the next hour and a half after deciding that we would camp together in Buffalo City, WI. After our 33 mile day, we set up our tents at a boat launch and walked over to a bar just a block away and had dinner. I noticed the Brewers game was on and was shocked it wasn't the Twins game. It took me about a half hour to realize I was in Wisconsin. It felt good to be back in my own state. We went back to our tents and went to bed after discussing our plans for the next day.
We set our kayaks in on Day 26 (June 25), and Gabe quickly got slammed against the dock by the current. I told him to back up and I would push him out further from the dock. The current again swept him towards the dock but this time he took on a little water. It looked like he had gained control so I turned around to pull my boat in. All of the sudden I heard a loud splash and turned around to see Gabe's kayak flipped upside down with Gabe under water. His head popped up after a few seconds and then he went back under again. I ran towards the dock and he came back up holding on to his kayak. He walked to shore as we held onto his kayak and he explained that the leash to his paddle was wrapped around him and holding him under. If he would have panicked the situation could have been a lot worse. We spent about 15 minutes emptying the water from his kayak and then put our boats in on the other side of the dock. We paddled with James to the next lock and then exchanged snacks after passing through. James was ending his day in Winona but we had 40 more miles to La Crosse. We told him we needed to go at a much faster pace in order to get there so we parted ways. James is a very good kid and I have faith that he won't have any problems making his way to the Gulf. Gabe and I went through three more locks that day. None of them dropped more than 12 inches. If we could legally run through the dams we would - the water is even all the way through them. We contacted John Sullivan, who was our next contact in La Crosse, and told him of our plans for arrival. He has been another incredibly helpful and valuable resource during the planning process of my trip. John paddled at least three miles upstream in the strong current to meet up with us and snap some pictures as we approached La Crosse. We pulled into his house and met his wife, Beth, and their extremely loving dog, Liffey. Beth had a pizza and rhubarb desert waiting for us. Gabe and I planned on getting pizza this evening so it was perfect! We did our laundry and showered before calling it a night. We paddled 47 miles for the day.
On Day 27 (June 26), John made me oatmeal for breakfast and Gabe ate a few eggs. After packing up, John generously offered us a map to finish off the state of Wisconsin, a new waterproof cell phone case for me, a floatable wrist strap and a new water bag to replace the one Gabe lost when he flipped over yesterday. He took us down to the Marina where we stored our boats the night before and gave us $20 for dinner sometime. We have once again been spoiled by the kindness of people along this river. Gabe and I went through two locks this day. We paddled a few miles to a park that we were hoping to stop at - until we saw that it was entirely under water. We paddled around the fence and into the park, around the children's playground, and then got back on the main channel to continue looking for campsites. Just a few hundred yards down we saw an RV campground. We paddled through a tree line and made it to shore. The campground was not accessible by road because water was covering it, so we had the whole campground to ourselves. We set up camp and cooked dinner before starting a fire, then called it a night. We paddled 27 miles total and are now completely done with Minnesota portion of the trip!
On Day 28 (June 27), I had a radio interview with 620 WTMJ in the morning so we couldn't get on the water until sometime after 9:30. We were aiming for Prairie du Chien, WI. We got on the water and paddled 35 miles that day. We pulled into Prairie du Chien and I called the police department to ask if we had permission to sleep in the flooded park. The officer rudely told me we couldn't camp there and that we should get back on the water and look for one of the islands between Prairie du Chien and Marquette. I tried explaining to him that I hadn't seen a single island that wasn't completely under water in the last 30 miles, but he ignorantly disagreed with me and told us to keep paddling. We knew it was a bad idea to get back in the water just before dark, so I decided to go to the neighbor's house across the street from the flooded park and knock on their door. A younger couple answered, and I explained what we were doing on the river and asked if we could simply leave our kayaks next to their garage so we wouldn't have an issue with the police. The guy told us that he owned the entire lot next door and that we were welcome to leave our kayaks there as well as camp on his lot if we didn't want to rent a hotel room, and we gratefully accepted his offer. Prairie du Chien is the destination I've been most looking forward to this entire trip...my wife is going to visit me there!
I took a break from paddling on Day 29 (June 28) in order to meet up with my wife and spend a day with her. I met Heather at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites in Marquette, Iowa in the morning. She brought our dog, Nala, with her and it was unbelievably good to see them. She also brought me a change of "normal" clothes to wear for the day, which was awesome. We got to do a little sight-seeing during the day and took a walk around Pikes Peak State Park in McGregor. This park had the most amazing views of the Mississippi with all the surrounding bluffs and islands (that were completely flooded, just like I had told you, Officer). Nala really enjoyed our time at the park as well and I loved getting to play with her again. We went out for lunch at Fort Mulligan's in Prairie du Chien (right across the river from Marquette), and then went to see 22 Jump Street at the Prairie Cinema. It was so incredible spending time with my little family. The hardest part of this whole trip has been being away from my wife, so I was incredibly happy that she was able to come visit me for a short weekend.
On Day 30 (June 29), I ate breakfast with Heather at our hotel before we had to pack up and leave. We drove back to the house that Gabe and I left our kayaks at in Prairie du Chien. We moved our kayaks back to the flooded park and started to re-pack and re-organize our gear. Barry Adams met up with us shortly after we arrived and conducted a follow-up interview for the Wisconsin State Journal. We talked to Barry for about an hour and before long it was time to leave. I said goodbye to my wife and dog and we left the flooded park around 12:30 pm. We spent most of the day paddling into winds again but were lucky enough to have pretty clear weather other than that. We were about 10 miles away from Cassville, WI when I called Jaci Hirsch. Jaci reached out to me after reading an article about me a few months ago. She had a house on the river and offered rooms for us to stay in for the evening. I also had been in contact with a woman named Barbara Bergsma. Barbara's niece works for the Semper Fi Fund and tipped her off about what we were doing. Barbara reached out to me and wanted to help any way she could. She generously offered to take us out for dinner and put us in hotel rooms. When we pulled into Cassville we were greeted by Jaci, Kathy (Jaci's neighbor) and Barbara and they all had noise makers - Jaci even made a sign! It was a nice welcome to the area and we were happy to finally meet them. They took both of us out for dinner that night at the Potosi Brewery. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and they generously covered both of our meals. We enjoyed describing what our experience was like so far and had a great time talking with them. We drove back to Jaci's house in a pretty bad lightning storm and were happy to be out of the elements once again. We paddled 26 miles for the day.
We woke up to scrambled eggs, potatoes, and a big plate of bacon at Jaci Hirsch's house on Day 31 (June 30). Everything was delicious! This day made it exactly one month since I've started this trip! We gathered our belongings and headed back to Eagle Roost Resort where we left our kayaks for the night. We met with a gentlemen named Dave who writes for the Grant County Herald which covers the Cassville area. He conducted a short interview and took video of us departing on the river. Less than a mile down we got to see the sign Jaci made us along the river and said our last goodbye to her . We are so grateful to have connected with her. Half way through the day, Gabe and I must have had 6 or 7 of Michael Hirsch's homemade chocolate chip peanut butter cookies that he made for us. As we approached the lock near Dubuque I called the lock master on the phone and said "We've got two kayaks heading southbound. Is there any kind of wait to lock through?" The lock master responded with, "Are you the two Marines?" I said, "Yes, sir." He then informed us that he needed to call the local paper in Dubuque because they wanted to send a photographer down to take photos of us locking through. We waited along the wall of the lock entrance for a few minutes and was greeted by another gentlemen who welcomed us on behalf of the American Legion, VFW and Marine Corps League. All the lock crew members were out talking to us and there was even a small crowd on the observation deck waving to us as we locked through. Just a mile downstream we pulled off into Dubuque Marina and Yard, completing our day with 24 miles. Keith was the gentlemen who said he would be happy to watch over our boats in his marina for free. Barbara Bergsma met up with us shortly after our arrival and packed our gear in her trunk. We then had the opportunity to meet Chris Billmyer and his family. Chris is a Marine Corps Veteran who was severely injured from and IED blast in Afghanistan which resulted in him losing his legs. The Semper Fi Fund was there to assist him and his family during that very difficult time. They've also made some vehicle modifications to his truck and offered him a wheel chair that can allow him to go through just about any terrain. Chris's service dog, Odin, also receives support from the Semper Fi Fund. The Billmyer family said that they are still frequently receiving calls from the SFF asking if there is anything else that Chris needs. His story is another reminder of why I am certain I chose the right organization to represent during this trip. I thoroughly enjoy getting the chance to meet individuals and their families who have received assistance from the SFF! We caught a ride back to our resort and brought all our essential gear inside. We then went downstairs to a conference room and had our interview with Craig Reber of the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque. After finishing that we took Barbara out for dinner right at the resort. Everything she has done is so incredibly generous and we had a great time just talking during dinner. Barbara reached out to all of the media and organized our interviews, and talked to the Grand Harbor Resort, which gave us a complimentary room that evening. Without her help from Cassville down to Dubuque I don't believe we would have spent much time there. We took the shuttle from the resort to a Sprint store so that Gabe could get a new phone. The lady helping us, Denise, even offered us a free ride home so that we didn't have to call a cab. We went to our rooms and organized a few things before going to bed at our incredibly nice resort. Thank you so much Barb!
We checked out of our room on Day 32 (July 1) and caught the shuttle to the Dubuque Marina and Yard. We met up with Joe and Eddie from Wisconsin Public TV. They wanted to cover our story for an episode of "Wisconsin Life" that airs seasonally. I'm excited to see it air later in the year - they said it should come out sometime in November. Gabe and I took it quite easy on the river today an nearly floated at least half of the way as I caught up on journaling. Weather wasn't bad and the water conditions were pretty good as well. We floated past one couple and they asked if we were "the two Marines." I'm happy that so many people know what we are doing now. And here is my good Samaritan/animal lover story for the day: When we arrived at a lock, I noticed two birds chasing one other bird. They somehow managed to run that one bird right into the wall of the lock about 15 feet from me. It appeared like the bird was dazed and possibly injured a wing because it was just floating there. The horn sounded for us to leave and I saw the bird make an attempt to fly but it just flopped around in the water. I turned around in my kayak and paddled towards it and reached out my paddle. The bird actually swam towards the paddle so then I started inching it closer to me so it would follow. Then the bird just turned and went straight towards me. I reached my hand out and picked it up and gently threw it up in the air over the lock wall about 8 feet so it could be on land. Before that bird even touched the ground it took off flying. It just needed a helping hand and I was glad I could help the little guy. We decided to camp right near the boat launch just after the lock. Before I even got out of my boat, a man pulled up next to us in his truck. He said he read about us in the paper this morning and wanted to meet us. He asked where we were staying for the night and I pointed over to the strip of grass that we had planned on. He said ok and drove off. About 10 minutes later we see this old school Volkswagen pull up. It's the same guy, Steve, from a few minutes ago and he offered us his van to sleep in for the night. It was the most random act of kindness but we sure felt blessed to have crossed paths with him. Two more Marine Corps vets came down to talk to us as well. We cooked dinner and drank a beer before going to bed. We paddled 25.5 miles for the day.
Today (Day 33) we are making our way to Clinton, IA - about 40 miles away! I apologize for the really long blog posts lately. I will make sure to post more frequently so I don't have to cover a whole week at a time!
Day 25 (June 24), we took off from the Staker residence to cross the rest of Lake Pepin (about 14 miles). As usual, with every lake, this one was current-less and slow. The 84 degree weather and 80% humidity didn't help. After a couple hours we finished the lake and got out of our kayaks at the first landing possible. We stretched out and ate lunch while noticing a large storm coming over from the lake we had just crossed. We quickly finished our lunch as the first rain drops fell, put on our rain gear and spray skirts and headed out to push on for the day. We had one more lock and dam for the day so we called the lock master. He said he was locking through a canoe right now and that we would be up next. We pulled into the lock and the person throwing us rope said that the canoe paddler was asking if a Marine passed by. I was pretty confused, so we locked through very quickly and tried to catch up with him. We met up with him a few minutes later, and he asked which one of us was Nic. He introduced himself as James Welborn and said he read an article about me before he left and had been trying to catch up to us. He is an 18-year-old who is paddling the entire river by himself. His Facebook page is Welborn's Mississippi Solo. We pretty much just floated the next hour and a half after deciding that we would camp together in Buffalo City, WI. After our 33 mile day, we set up our tents at a boat launch and walked over to a bar just a block away and had dinner. I noticed the Brewers game was on and was shocked it wasn't the Twins game. It took me about a half hour to realize I was in Wisconsin. It felt good to be back in my own state. We went back to our tents and went to bed after discussing our plans for the next day.
We set our kayaks in on Day 26 (June 25), and Gabe quickly got slammed against the dock by the current. I told him to back up and I would push him out further from the dock. The current again swept him towards the dock but this time he took on a little water. It looked like he had gained control so I turned around to pull my boat in. All of the sudden I heard a loud splash and turned around to see Gabe's kayak flipped upside down with Gabe under water. His head popped up after a few seconds and then he went back under again. I ran towards the dock and he came back up holding on to his kayak. He walked to shore as we held onto his kayak and he explained that the leash to his paddle was wrapped around him and holding him under. If he would have panicked the situation could have been a lot worse. We spent about 15 minutes emptying the water from his kayak and then put our boats in on the other side of the dock. We paddled with James to the next lock and then exchanged snacks after passing through. James was ending his day in Winona but we had 40 more miles to La Crosse. We told him we needed to go at a much faster pace in order to get there so we parted ways. James is a very good kid and I have faith that he won't have any problems making his way to the Gulf. Gabe and I went through three more locks that day. None of them dropped more than 12 inches. If we could legally run through the dams we would - the water is even all the way through them. We contacted John Sullivan, who was our next contact in La Crosse, and told him of our plans for arrival. He has been another incredibly helpful and valuable resource during the planning process of my trip. John paddled at least three miles upstream in the strong current to meet up with us and snap some pictures as we approached La Crosse. We pulled into his house and met his wife, Beth, and their extremely loving dog, Liffey. Beth had a pizza and rhubarb desert waiting for us. Gabe and I planned on getting pizza this evening so it was perfect! We did our laundry and showered before calling it a night. We paddled 47 miles for the day.
On Day 27 (June 26), John made me oatmeal for breakfast and Gabe ate a few eggs. After packing up, John generously offered us a map to finish off the state of Wisconsin, a new waterproof cell phone case for me, a floatable wrist strap and a new water bag to replace the one Gabe lost when he flipped over yesterday. He took us down to the Marina where we stored our boats the night before and gave us $20 for dinner sometime. We have once again been spoiled by the kindness of people along this river. Gabe and I went through two locks this day. We paddled a few miles to a park that we were hoping to stop at - until we saw that it was entirely under water. We paddled around the fence and into the park, around the children's playground, and then got back on the main channel to continue looking for campsites. Just a few hundred yards down we saw an RV campground. We paddled through a tree line and made it to shore. The campground was not accessible by road because water was covering it, so we had the whole campground to ourselves. We set up camp and cooked dinner before starting a fire, then called it a night. We paddled 27 miles total and are now completely done with Minnesota portion of the trip!
On Day 28 (June 27), I had a radio interview with 620 WTMJ in the morning so we couldn't get on the water until sometime after 9:30. We were aiming for Prairie du Chien, WI. We got on the water and paddled 35 miles that day. We pulled into Prairie du Chien and I called the police department to ask if we had permission to sleep in the flooded park. The officer rudely told me we couldn't camp there and that we should get back on the water and look for one of the islands between Prairie du Chien and Marquette. I tried explaining to him that I hadn't seen a single island that wasn't completely under water in the last 30 miles, but he ignorantly disagreed with me and told us to keep paddling. We knew it was a bad idea to get back in the water just before dark, so I decided to go to the neighbor's house across the street from the flooded park and knock on their door. A younger couple answered, and I explained what we were doing on the river and asked if we could simply leave our kayaks next to their garage so we wouldn't have an issue with the police. The guy told us that he owned the entire lot next door and that we were welcome to leave our kayaks there as well as camp on his lot if we didn't want to rent a hotel room, and we gratefully accepted his offer. Prairie du Chien is the destination I've been most looking forward to this entire trip...my wife is going to visit me there!
I took a break from paddling on Day 29 (June 28) in order to meet up with my wife and spend a day with her. I met Heather at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites in Marquette, Iowa in the morning. She brought our dog, Nala, with her and it was unbelievably good to see them. She also brought me a change of "normal" clothes to wear for the day, which was awesome. We got to do a little sight-seeing during the day and took a walk around Pikes Peak State Park in McGregor. This park had the most amazing views of the Mississippi with all the surrounding bluffs and islands (that were completely flooded, just like I had told you, Officer). Nala really enjoyed our time at the park as well and I loved getting to play with her again. We went out for lunch at Fort Mulligan's in Prairie du Chien (right across the river from Marquette), and then went to see 22 Jump Street at the Prairie Cinema. It was so incredible spending time with my little family. The hardest part of this whole trip has been being away from my wife, so I was incredibly happy that she was able to come visit me for a short weekend.
On Day 30 (June 29), I ate breakfast with Heather at our hotel before we had to pack up and leave. We drove back to the house that Gabe and I left our kayaks at in Prairie du Chien. We moved our kayaks back to the flooded park and started to re-pack and re-organize our gear. Barry Adams met up with us shortly after we arrived and conducted a follow-up interview for the Wisconsin State Journal. We talked to Barry for about an hour and before long it was time to leave. I said goodbye to my wife and dog and we left the flooded park around 12:30 pm. We spent most of the day paddling into winds again but were lucky enough to have pretty clear weather other than that. We were about 10 miles away from Cassville, WI when I called Jaci Hirsch. Jaci reached out to me after reading an article about me a few months ago. She had a house on the river and offered rooms for us to stay in for the evening. I also had been in contact with a woman named Barbara Bergsma. Barbara's niece works for the Semper Fi Fund and tipped her off about what we were doing. Barbara reached out to me and wanted to help any way she could. She generously offered to take us out for dinner and put us in hotel rooms. When we pulled into Cassville we were greeted by Jaci, Kathy (Jaci's neighbor) and Barbara and they all had noise makers - Jaci even made a sign! It was a nice welcome to the area and we were happy to finally meet them. They took both of us out for dinner that night at the Potosi Brewery. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and they generously covered both of our meals. We enjoyed describing what our experience was like so far and had a great time talking with them. We drove back to Jaci's house in a pretty bad lightning storm and were happy to be out of the elements once again. We paddled 26 miles for the day.
We woke up to scrambled eggs, potatoes, and a big plate of bacon at Jaci Hirsch's house on Day 31 (June 30). Everything was delicious! This day made it exactly one month since I've started this trip! We gathered our belongings and headed back to Eagle Roost Resort where we left our kayaks for the night. We met with a gentlemen named Dave who writes for the Grant County Herald which covers the Cassville area. He conducted a short interview and took video of us departing on the river. Less than a mile down we got to see the sign Jaci made us along the river and said our last goodbye to her . We are so grateful to have connected with her. Half way through the day, Gabe and I must have had 6 or 7 of Michael Hirsch's homemade chocolate chip peanut butter cookies that he made for us. As we approached the lock near Dubuque I called the lock master on the phone and said "We've got two kayaks heading southbound. Is there any kind of wait to lock through?" The lock master responded with, "Are you the two Marines?" I said, "Yes, sir." He then informed us that he needed to call the local paper in Dubuque because they wanted to send a photographer down to take photos of us locking through. We waited along the wall of the lock entrance for a few minutes and was greeted by another gentlemen who welcomed us on behalf of the American Legion, VFW and Marine Corps League. All the lock crew members were out talking to us and there was even a small crowd on the observation deck waving to us as we locked through. Just a mile downstream we pulled off into Dubuque Marina and Yard, completing our day with 24 miles. Keith was the gentlemen who said he would be happy to watch over our boats in his marina for free. Barbara Bergsma met up with us shortly after our arrival and packed our gear in her trunk. We then had the opportunity to meet Chris Billmyer and his family. Chris is a Marine Corps Veteran who was severely injured from and IED blast in Afghanistan which resulted in him losing his legs. The Semper Fi Fund was there to assist him and his family during that very difficult time. They've also made some vehicle modifications to his truck and offered him a wheel chair that can allow him to go through just about any terrain. Chris's service dog, Odin, also receives support from the Semper Fi Fund. The Billmyer family said that they are still frequently receiving calls from the SFF asking if there is anything else that Chris needs. His story is another reminder of why I am certain I chose the right organization to represent during this trip. I thoroughly enjoy getting the chance to meet individuals and their families who have received assistance from the SFF! We caught a ride back to our resort and brought all our essential gear inside. We then went downstairs to a conference room and had our interview with Craig Reber of the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque. After finishing that we took Barbara out for dinner right at the resort. Everything she has done is so incredibly generous and we had a great time just talking during dinner. Barbara reached out to all of the media and organized our interviews, and talked to the Grand Harbor Resort, which gave us a complimentary room that evening. Without her help from Cassville down to Dubuque I don't believe we would have spent much time there. We took the shuttle from the resort to a Sprint store so that Gabe could get a new phone. The lady helping us, Denise, even offered us a free ride home so that we didn't have to call a cab. We went to our rooms and organized a few things before going to bed at our incredibly nice resort. Thank you so much Barb!
We checked out of our room on Day 32 (July 1) and caught the shuttle to the Dubuque Marina and Yard. We met up with Joe and Eddie from Wisconsin Public TV. They wanted to cover our story for an episode of "Wisconsin Life" that airs seasonally. I'm excited to see it air later in the year - they said it should come out sometime in November. Gabe and I took it quite easy on the river today an nearly floated at least half of the way as I caught up on journaling. Weather wasn't bad and the water conditions were pretty good as well. We floated past one couple and they asked if we were "the two Marines." I'm happy that so many people know what we are doing now. And here is my good Samaritan/animal lover story for the day: When we arrived at a lock, I noticed two birds chasing one other bird. They somehow managed to run that one bird right into the wall of the lock about 15 feet from me. It appeared like the bird was dazed and possibly injured a wing because it was just floating there. The horn sounded for us to leave and I saw the bird make an attempt to fly but it just flopped around in the water. I turned around in my kayak and paddled towards it and reached out my paddle. The bird actually swam towards the paddle so then I started inching it closer to me so it would follow. Then the bird just turned and went straight towards me. I reached my hand out and picked it up and gently threw it up in the air over the lock wall about 8 feet so it could be on land. Before that bird even touched the ground it took off flying. It just needed a helping hand and I was glad I could help the little guy. We decided to camp right near the boat launch just after the lock. Before I even got out of my boat, a man pulled up next to us in his truck. He said he read about us in the paper this morning and wanted to meet us. He asked where we were staying for the night and I pointed over to the strip of grass that we had planned on. He said ok and drove off. About 10 minutes later we see this old school Volkswagen pull up. It's the same guy, Steve, from a few minutes ago and he offered us his van to sleep in for the night. It was the most random act of kindness but we sure felt blessed to have crossed paths with him. Two more Marine Corps vets came down to talk to us as well. We cooked dinner and drank a beer before going to bed. We paddled 25.5 miles for the day.
Today (Day 33) we are making our way to Clinton, IA - about 40 miles away! I apologize for the really long blog posts lately. I will make sure to post more frequently so I don't have to cover a whole week at a time!