"It is the most amazing feeling in the world to accomplish a goal you set out for yourself. It can be big or it can be small. As long as you don't give up, you will succeed"

Yesterday, I accomplished my goal of kayaking the Mississippi River. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I learned many things along the way. One of my favorite parts of this whole journey is meeting all the wonderful people along the way. I have met people who were inspired by paddling for a purpose. From Minnesota to the Louisina Bayou, I have met great people.

The journey began in 35 degree weather and ended in 105 degree weather. The beautiful Minnesota wilderness is now an alligator filled bayou. 

The harderst part of the trip, was camping…in particular camping in 100+ degree weather and not being able to sleep. The body is drained of every onze of enery. The heat was aweful, the wind killed me, but my motivation was the finish line. Even when it was thousands of miles away, giving up was never an option. Having people visit me on the river kept me going along. 

I recieved encouraging messages from people in South America, who followed the journey via Telemundo. 

I learned that girls get prettier the further south you go. 

Minnesota has its hot dishes, Wisconsin has its cheese curds, Iowa had great pork tenderloins, St. Louis MO is filled with awesome history, Alton, Illinois has fast eddies. Tennessee has Elvis and BBQ and family. Arkansas had ??? Mississippi has DOES restaurant and Louisiana a whole lot of cajun food. America really is the biggest melting pot in the world.

The drought, now the worst in 50 years, affects people all around the world in one way or another. After three months on the river, I was ready to get out of it. I think I would have gone crazy if I had to do more.

August 22, 2012 will be the day I wont ever forget. Thank you all for the wonderful support.