Posts in Illinois
Day 70 Mississippi River - Halloween 2017
Day 70 Mississippi River - Halloween 2017

I woke up this morning to sunny skies after a cold night that saw me wake up in the early morning hours and toss on my Patagonia puffy.

After an internal debate about wether or not to make coffee, I gave in and brewed a warm cup of dark roast in my french press, (I originally planned not to, for the sake of getting on the river quicker) drinking it as I packed up camp.

The weather made for perfect paddling conditions; clear skies, flat glass like water and a slight fall chill (to be fair, true perfect conditions would have been a bit warmer, but begged can't be choosers).

Today was my first full day on the lower Mississippi, as I passed Cairo, IL and the confluence of the Ohio river, which also forms the border of Illinois and Kentucky, yesterday. At this point in the trip, it's truly a massive river. With the addition of the Ohio, the Miss nearly doubled in width

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Illinois, KentuckyWill CollinsCario, Ohio RiverComment
Day 68, 69 Mississippi River
Day 68, 69 Mississippi River

After grabbing breakfast with Ken and Michelle I pushed off into the water around noon. A sunny but chilly day ensued.

An hour or so before sunset I settled on a large sandbar and cooked up a good ol' fashion driftwood bonfire. Temps both nights hovered in the mid to upper 30s.

Day 69 marked a mile stone, as I passed Cairo, IL - the southern most city of Illinois, and the Illinois Kentucky border. Cairo also marks the confluence of the Ohio River, which drains much of the Easter United States. By the time it reaches the Mississippi, the Ohio is just as large if not larger than the Miss! With more water flowing in, the width of the Mississippi seemed to double. It's a real big river now!

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Illinois, MissouriWill CollinsCarioComment
Day 60 Mississippi River
Day 60 Mississippi River


I woke up at Richfield in the darkness of early morning. After a great nights sleep and a day off the river I planned to get my first sunrise paddle of the trip in. I used the gator that Dennis had left me to load up all my gear (including freshly washed clothes and refilled water) and drive it down to the waterfront where my boat was tied up.

When all was said and done I pushed off into the Miss around 6:20am. As darkness worked its way into dawn a cloudy sky and numerous Islands on the eastern shore stole what I was hoping to be a memorable sunrise. Rather than an orange haze painting the sky, the sun decided to work its way over the tree tops while hiding behind cloud cover, only to emerge hours later overhead.

Clouds covered the sky throughout the day, joined at times by a significant headwind which caused rolling waves on and off again.

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Illinois, Missouri, Good PeopleWill CollinsComment
Day 59 Mississippi River - The Richfield Duck Club
Day 59 Mississippi River - The Richfield Duck Club

I woke up at the Tiki Bar campsite and began packing up. Just as I was set to push off, my phone rang.

My cousin Lara and her husband John, who live in St. Louis, were on the line. We had been trying to connect for a few days but with poor cell reception and low phone battery, a few texts were all that was exchanged. Unfortunately, the pair were out of town for the weekend, however, John had planned on setting me up with his business partner, Mike, who owned a duck club on the banks of the Mississippi.

As John described the location of the club I realized that the Tiki Bar campsite I had stayed at was less than a half mile away, just across the river and separated by Cuivre Island. With the location of Richfield now dialed in I paddled 15 minutes past Cuivre Island, then turned upstream for another 20 minutes.

As I pulled up to the concrete steps I was greeted by Dennis, the grounds keeper. Following some small talk and tying up the boat I hopped in the gator and the two of us drove up towards the house.

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Good People, IllinoisWill CollinsRichfield, Duck HuntingComment
Day 56 Mississippi River - Flying Fish & Old Time Trappers
Day 56 Mississippi River - Flying Fish & Old Time Trappers

Camping on the Eastern shore, a crisp shade covered camp in the morning. Despite the chill I took time to make coffee and do a bit of reading from the new book gifted to me by Jane in Quincy, IL, Mark Twains "Life on the Mississippi". 

I broke camp and hit the water, ready to make my way into the sunshine that had taunted me while reading in the shade. 

A beautiful, cloudless day on the water warranted a few layers of sunscreen throughout the afternoon. 

Sometime around 5pm I spotted a large sandbar in the distance- the perfect spot to stop and set up shop for the night. As I pulled up to the edge, a silver, flat bottom boat came flying to the inside portion of the sandbar, which was shaped like a horseshoe. Three fellas in waiters began running the course of the sandbar, from one point of the horseshoe to the other, dropping a large net. As they worked, hundreds if not thousands of fish began jumping out of the water, covering the inside of the bay with a wall of flying fish. 

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Good People, Illinois, Mississippi Stories, VideoWill CollinsAsian CarpComment
Day 55 Mississippi River
Day 55 Mississippi River

Once again I slept in, lulled by the comfort of a soft bed. I walked downstairs to find a cup of Joe and Jane.

After a bagel and egg sandwich I began packing up all the gear scattered across Janes garage and began tossing it in the back of the Jeep. By 10:30am or so we were loaded up with the canoe strapped to the roof rack.

We hopped in the car and Jane drove me past Gary's work at Gardner- Denver and dropped me off below Lock #21 in Quincy, IL. Crashing waves splashed and teetered the boat with every pass as I worked to load the canoe. The rolling waves forced a quick thank you and goodbye between Jane and I.

I pushed off and hit the water around 11:30am, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The day brought sun and a slight headwind along with a quick current.

I worked my way South, making it past Hannibal, MO and passing through Lock #22 a few hours before sunset.

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Illinois, MissouriWill CollinsQuincy, HannibalComment
Day 54 Mississippi River
Day 54 Mississippi River

After sleeping in, I walked downstairs to be greeted by Jane and a waiting cup of coffee. Scrambled eggs, fried breakfast sausage and buttered toast soon followed.

Garry had headed back to the lake earlier in the morning to attend to a few tasks before heading out to Milwaukee for work in the afternoon.

Following breakfast and small talk I came to the conclusion that it made sense to stay the night with Jane and Garry again this evening. Game 2 of the NLCS, plus the opportunity to go to the grocery store and make the short trip to check out Hannibal, MO was all too good to pass up. After making the decision I retreated to my room to knock out some writing while Jane worked on finding recipes and ingredients for a family get together at the lake this coming weekend.

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Missouri, Illinois, Good PeopleWill CollinsHannibal, Mark TwainComment
Day 53 Mississippi River
Day 53 Mississippi River

I woke up early to cloud covered skies and enough of a headache that I contemplated my decisions the night before. The forecast called for on and off rain throughout the morning, with it picking it in the late afternoon. 

I packed up the tent and made breakfast under the cover of an overhang that protected the deck of a beautiful log cabin home that Pam rents out on a nightly basis (the cabin was unoccupied.....I hope). 

I hit the water and began working my way South toward a rendezvous in Quincy, IL. An old college friend of my Moms (whom she hadn't seen in 25+ years!) had been following the journey and offered to put me up for the evening. 

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Illinois, Iowa, Good People, Video, MissouriWill CollinsQuincy, CantonComment
Day 52 Mississippi River - The Warsaw Brewing Company
Day 52 Mississippi River - The Warsaw Brewing Company

With sunny skies and a slight breeze I did my best to dry out wet gear.

As I paddled through the day my solar charger replenished both my phone and speaker battery, meaning music was rolling in the boat.

The river hard turned into what for all intense purpose was a massive lake. Extremely wide with no islands to duck behind for wind cover, I paddled into a slight headwind. Passing Fort Maddison, IA and Nauvoo, IL the river was at its widest point to date. A beautiful, large white church peered out towards the water from a hill near Nauvoo.

Around 5pm I pulled up to lock 19 near Keokuk, IA. As I entered what is the longest lock on the Mississippi, I asked the Lock master if he knew of a good spot to pitch a tent for the night. First, he recommended some of the islands down river, then he told me of a restaurant just down the way, the Warsaw Brewing Company.

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Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Good People, Mississippi StoriesWill CollinsNauvoo, Keokuk, Fort MadisonComment
Day 51 Mississippi River
Day 51 Mississippi River

I woke up after a cold and damp night hopeful for sun. I unzipped the tent door and peaked outside to find heavy cloud cover and mist once again. Dang it.

After the discouraging start it took me an hour or so to get moving and pack up my belongings inside the tent. With the rainfly still soaked from the the past 3 days of moisture I decided to keep it separate from the rest of my sleeping essentials in an effort to mitigate any seeping that could/would occur had they been packed together.

I moseyed around the morning mist in my rain gear, feeling a bit down about my circumstances. I was cold and wet, and had spent the past 3 days in the same condition, and to top it all off I had missed rendezvous with helpful folks offering warm beds the past two nights.

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Iowa, Illinois, Hard times, StormsWill CollinsBurlingtonComment
Day 48 Mississippi River
Day 48 Mississippi River

As I came to in the morning, I stuck my head out of the tent. A massive barge was parked just off shore from my camp waiting to enter the nearby lock. As I made oatmeal and coffee the engine fired up and a blow horn from the the lock signaled the all clear for the barge to enter. Shortly after hitting the water toward the Quad Cities I received a message from an old family friend, Ben L. I had forgotten that Ben lived in the Quad Cities, and he reached out, asking if I was available to grab dinner that evening. Being that it was still mid morning and East Moline was a short distance away, I told him that sadly dinner wouldn't work, as I would be cruising through town shortly. Luckily, Ben was able to get away for lunch, so we made plans to meet for a quick bite.

I paddled to a public boat launch and met Ben around 11:30am. He helped me to unload the boat, and we stashed the gear and canoe on a nearby dock. It had been years since I'd seen Ben, and it was great to catch up. He had stayed with my family for a time when I was in high school and he was working his first job as a psychologist at DeKalb High.

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Good People, Illinois, IowaWill CollinsDavenport, Quad Cities, East MolineComment
Day 47 Mississippi River
Day 47 Mississippi River

After a great night spent with my cousins, I woke up with plans of meeting them for breakfast. Sandy and I drove to the Mississippi Cafe in Albany, IL to meet them. A delicious meal of ham and eggs filled me up, as did talk around the table.

After the meal Katie, Bart and the boys headed back home toward Genoa, IL. Sandy and I drove across the river to Clinton, IA to hit the nearest grocery store. I stocked up on food for the coming days.

We drove the 20 or so minutes back to Sandy's and began packing up the gear I had set out to dry, refilling my water bottles and loading the boat. With the sun shining for the first time in 3 days it was almost as if it was meant to be that I had taken the weekend off with Sandy and family and was set to hit the river once again. I gave a heartfelt thank you to Sandy for her extreme generosity in hosting both me and my family, and pushed off from shore. Sandy stood on the raised bank, waving as I coasted away. A few doors down I recognized one of the gentlemen who had throw his wife the 60th birthday party. He waved and gave me a shout - I returned it with a "Thanks for having me to the party!!".

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Illinois, Iowa, Good PeopleWill CollinsQuad Cities, Albany, ClintonComment
Day 46 Mississippi River
Day 46 Mississippi River

After a late morning of sleeping in I walked next door to Sandy's house for breakfast. Today would be an off day on the river. My parents planned to come and visit in the morning, while my cousins planned to drive out in the early evening and stay the night.

After several cups of coffee my Mom and Dad arrived at Sandy's place mid morning. The four of us sat around the table and talked while taking in the view of the river. Rain, wind and cloud cover dominated the area, making my day off seem even more satisfying. After sharing conversations and watching College Game (where my brother was seen on TV waving a Colorado Buffs flag outside of his hometown of Dallas, TX), my parents and I set out to grab lunch and check out the river town of Le Claire, IA.

The downtown area of Le Claire was full of activity on this Saturday, despite the light rain sprinkling on and off again. We walked the street, popping into shops here and there and grabbing lunch at the Blue Iguana, a local Mexican joint. We also stopped by American Archeology, home of the TV show "American Pickers". Being as none of us had seen the show, other patrons seemed much more enthusiastic about the shop, taking pictures with the sign and buying souvenirs to prove they had been.

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Good People, Illinois, IowaWill CollinsLe Claire, CordovaComment
Day 45 Mississippi River
Day 45 Mississippi River

I woke up to a thick cloud covered sky. The plan for the day was to paddle and camp a few miles above Cordova, IL. My Aunt had put me in contact with Sandy G. who lived in Cordova and had offered to put me up tomorrow evening.

After a quick breakfast I pushed off from my sandbar and started my way South. The forecast called for thunderstorms and wind for much of the next two days. As I paddled the low hanging clouds brought a fine mist. Enough to warrant rain gear, but thankfully not enough to completely soak me.

After a few hours on the water I realized I was closer to Cordova than originally anticipated. I gave Sandy a call and told her of my location. Turns out I was only about a half hour or so away from her place. She told me how to locate her house, just after mile marker 508.3. Look for the wooden structure on river right with a flagpole flying an American and Illinois Flag.

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Good People, IllinoisWill CollinsCordovaComment