Canoeing the Missouri
It’s sort of a spiritual thing, Canoeing.
It’s hard for me to verbalize, but there’s something about floating down a river’s current in an unmotorized boat which just connects with who I am at deep levels. It has nothing to do with whitewater rapids or excitement — it’s pure appreciation of natural beauty and the power of the river. I fondly remember many river trips with my dad from childhood and I love the way a certain combination of paddle strokes will push the boat this way and that, using the river’s power, rather than overpowering it.
Today, my dad, my brother-in-law, Scott, and I took one of the most beautiful and serene canoe trips I’ve ever experienced. Nothing particularly challenging, especially for the river-wise skills my dad now commands, just calm peaceful floating down a beautiful river.
For once, I didn’t do much paddling. I spent nearly all of my time during our 9-mile trip down the Missouri river taking photographs and just enjoying the ride. We started very near the beginning of the Missouri in Headwaters State Park, and floated down to a little campground called Fairweather.
We started at a crisp 5:30 am, with a quick swing through McDonald’s for breakfast, and then about thirty miles of driving to reach the river. The standard procedure on a float like this is to drop the boat off at the start, or ‘put-in’ point, drive the boat-carrying vehicle (my dad’s pickup) down to the end of the float along with another vehicle, and leave it parked. Then drive back in the second vehicle to the starting point. Park the second vehicle, then everyone piles into the boat, floats down to the ‘take-out’ point, where we load the boat onto the truck and all ride back up, picking up the other vehicle on the way home.
We floated the river in a few hours, but to be honest, I completely lost track of time. What I knew — it was too short. Due to the regional fires, there was a low haze in the air, which added a painterly quality to everything. Everywhere I looked, it was soft, subtle and beautiful. We saw red-tailed hawks, deer, herons, kingfishers, and many other river birds. Not to mention some gloriously quiet scenery. Follow the link below to see the slideshow of photos taken from the trip.
Floating the Missouri River (32 photographs).
