​Abram Was Here

A river of landscapes, and what a journey! Cruising approx  695 leagues in an Ultra-light Micro-ship canoe. From Montana to Missouri. 

 

The Missouri River is the main watershed coming into the basin from the NW area of the heartland.  It is made up of three sections and passes through several kinds of landscapes and historic areas. The headwaters is at three forks Montana, where three small mountain rivers come together. Riding the shallow mountain rifles through canyons and onto some mountain lakes heading north towards Canada.  It requires several dam! portages, no navigation locks on the Missouri. It passes through the spectacular White Cliffs and Missouri Breaks, both noted in awe by many of the river passages of before. From there the Upper Dammed Missouri begins and one must navigate the mudflats of the wetlands to enter each of the big lakes. A series of gargantuan manmade reservoirs range from 25-250 miles long.  A lot of paddlin’, a lot of holdin’ on sailing, and a lot of layin low waiting for the wind to die down. About 1200 miles of lake paddling. Onto the last section of the Channelized Lower Missouri River, where the river has been modified for full flow, how crafty we are in controlling the river.  I passed under a bridge that was built over land, then had the river moved under it. All the way down into the heartland to where it dumps into the Mississippi River,  and ending at the St. Louis Arch.

There were awesome people all along the river.  Thank You, I miss you all.