Day 14: 4 Miles on the Missouri + 15 on the Mississippi

Woke up on the final morning of the trip, packed up camp, and enjoyed our usual breakfast of coffee and Fig Newtons. We packed the boats a little differently today—my boat had been leaking more and more, so I stashed anything I didn’t want getting wet in Trisha’s boat. Once we got on the water, we started counting down the miles: 4, 3, 2, 1... and just like that, we were paddling on the Mississippi River. Trisha and I couldn’t stop grinning—368 miles on the Missouri behind us as we headed for the canal.

The canal, technically in Illinois, was our third state of the trip, starting all the way back in Kansas. The water was calm with no current, so progress was slow. As we approached the lock, Trisha gave the lockmaster a call. Normally, you’d use a VHF radio, but we didn’t have one on this trip. The lockmaster was more than happy to let us through, saying, “Come on in, I’d be happy to lock you today.” We entered the lock with five pleasure yachts and a pontoon boat, paddling around and chatting with the other folks as we waited. Once the gates closed, we dropped about 16 feet. To mark the occasion, we cracked open a warm beer and each took a sip before pouring the rest into the lock as a cheers to the journey.

After that, we paddled a few more miles in the canal, and then, there it was—the Arch, looming ahead. Seeing the end of the trip come into view was surreal. We pulled up just below the Arch, high-fiving and celebrating our accomplishment.

Jeramy, the man from the fishing boat last night, picked us up and drove us back to Washington to get my truck. From there, we packed up and hit the road, making it back to Kansas around 9 p.m.

It’s hard to put into words what this trip has meant—the people we’ve met, the places we’ve seen, and the memories we’ve made. Thank you all for following along on this journey! I had a blast spending time with my granddaughter and sharing with her the river and the hobby that’s been such a big part of my life. This was my 15th time making this trip, and man, the Missouri River has really changed my life. I’ve always felt like I was on loan in Kansas, but Missouri—that’s where my heart has always been. Not sure if I’ll make this kayak trip again, but what a meaningful way to potentially end an era.

Now, to get my john boat running and put these kayaks away for the season.

Day 13: 43 Miles

We packed up camp quickly this morning and hit the water by 8 a.m. Finally saw some deer—first ones of the trip—and plenty of turtles along the way. Had to navigate a bit of barge traffic mid-morning before we made it into St. Charles for lunch. We walked into town and grabbed a meal and some drinks at the Lewis and Clark Bar, then made a quick stop at a candy store to stock up on some motivational chocolates for the miles ahead. The town was buzzing with preparations for Oktoberfest.

After about an hour on land, we were back on the river, paddling toward mile marker 9. There, we stopped at a man’s house who I know from a previous river trip. He’s got this incredible historic home, and on top of that, a steamboat party house built right into the riverbank. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. We left him a bottle of wine and a thank-you note for letting us stop by, then paddled onward. We found a sandbar at mile marker 4 to camp for the night. Hard to believe we’ve come this far!

As we were setting up our tents, a fishing boat pulled up. Turns out it was a man I met on the river seven years ago, who’s been following my trip. He and his girlfriend came out looking for us and brought Subway sandwiches, candy bars, cold beer, and water—really pulled out all the stops. The people on the river have to be the nicest in the world. We had a nice visit with them until just before sunset. Then Trisha and I enjoyed our sandwiches by the fire, enjoying the last night on the river.

Tomorrow will be the final stretch, and while we’re excited to reach the end, part of us doesn’t want it to be over.

Day 12: 21 Miles

We were up at 5:30 a.m. to get back on the road to the river. Having packed the truck the night before, the morning went off without a hitch. Our first stop was in Odessa, Missouri, to drop my dog off at the boarding facility. Then it was time for a quick coffee before hitting the road again. We rolled into Washington, Missouri, around noon and spent about an hour running errands. At the gas station bait shop, we picked up some nightcrawlers and couldn't resist trying our luck at those Missouri coin gambling machines. We started with 50 cents, but as you’d expect, left empty-handed. After that, we found a safe spot to park the truck and grabbed some lunch.

By the time we got the boats unloaded and set off, it was 1:30 p.m. Not long after, around 2:00 p.m., the rain hit. It came down heavy for about half an hour, giving us a good reason to break out the spray skirts and rain gear. We paddled to the outskirts of the St. Louis metro area, just near the Chesterfield Bridge, and found a rocky sandbar to set up camp. Even though the wood was damp from the rain, we managed to get a fire going. Trisha surprised me with Oreos as a makeshift “birthday cake,” and we spent the evening talking about life while the fire crackled. Tomorrow’s a big one—40+ miles—so we turned in early, ready for some much-needed rest.

Day 10 & Day 11: 0 Miles...Weather Delay...

We slept in until 9 a.m., which is pretty late for us. After waking up, we checked the forecast and saw lightning storms and rain ahead for the next two days. While we don’t mind paddling in the rain, it’s definitely not fun—and paddling in lightning is out of the question.

It was one of those moments where we wished we could control the weather, but unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. So, we called for a weather delay. At first, we considered staying put in Washington, Missouri, for the rainy days, but in the end, we decided to head back to Kansas and wait it out. 

Alex kindly drove us back to Columbia, where our friend Randy met us with my truck. From there, we picked up my dog from the sitter in Odessa, Missouri, and made our way back to Kansas. Since then, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the forecast. It looks like the rain will linger all week, but the lightning is supposed to clear up by September 24th—just in time for my birthday! We’re planning to hit the river again around noon tomorrow and finish our paddle to the St. Louis Arch.

Day 9: 30 Miles

We didn’t rush out this morning. Spent some time shootin' the breeze with the fishermen down by the riverfront, grabbed a cup of coffee, topped off our water jugs, and visited with a few folks at the bait shop. Didn’t get to paddling until about 10:30 a.m., but we weren’t in any hurry.

The first stop was New Haven. We pulled in and made our way to the Paddle Stop Brewery, where we signed the thru-paddlers map. After that, we checked out the local distillery - nice people there. As we walked through town, we ran into some folks sitting on a bench. We told them about our trip, and they asked if we were hungry. We said, “yes,” and before we knew it, they invited us to their granddaughter’s celebration of life. We sat down with them, shared a meal, and listened to stories about their granddaughter. Their kindness really caught us off guard. It was a humbling experience to be included in such a meaningful occasion.

Afterward, we got back on the water and paddled toward Washington, Missouri. Trisha’s friends, Alex and Taylor, along with their family, picked us up right as a storm started rolling in. They brought us to their property, which turned out to be the perfect spot to ride out the rain, thunder, and lightning that lasted all night. 

Day 8: 31 Miles

This morning, we got up, quickly packed, and started paddling. Motivated to reach Hermann, we even skipped coffee. We paddled down to a small town called Chamois, where we walked into town to use the facilities and check out a local bakery. After that, we paddled another four miles, passing a nuclear power plant, to Portland, Missouri.

The last time I was in this town, I shut the bar down, but today we arrived at noon, so we settled for Stag beer, Gatorade, and greasy hamburgers. There were plenty of Katy Trail people around, and they're always fun to chat with.

We then paddled on to Hermann, about 16 miles away. With record-high heat and no shade, it was tough afternoon. We were so happy when we finally made it to town. We had our own boat ramp to keep our gear and a camping spot right near a clean public restroom.

We hitched a trolley ride to the laundromat, and nice guy there drove us to the park for showers. Fresh and clean, we enjoyed some German brats for dinner before heading to bed. It was a loud night camping, with lots of people and trains passing by all night long.

Day 7: 30 Miles + 3 More Miles on the Osage River

This morning, we packed up our sandbar camp and hit the river. I finished packing before Trisha, so I went fishing downstream and caught a nice channel cat. We passed a dredger and encountered lots of barge traffic today around Jefferson City. We made a brief stop at the boat ramp across from Jefferson City, where a kind fisherman gave us two cold Powerades-a real treat on a hot day.

As we paddled to the mouth of the Osage River, we decided to go 1.5 miles upstream...against a strong headwind...for margaritas at a Mexican restaurant. We arrived in town about an hour before the place opened, so we ended up meeting an awesome group of locals in front of Melly Mooz Boutique. The people here treated us so well, offering beers, rides, snacks, and more. As I always say, people who live along the river are the best.

After hanging out for a bit and enjoying some Mexican food and margaritas, we headed back to the Missouri River and camped on a big sandbar.

Day 6: 30 Miles

Wednesday was a great day; things are starting to liven up on the river. We woke up and paddled three miles toward Rocheport, Missouri. Since this town isn't on the river, we tied our boats along the bank, climbed the steep embankment, and got onto the Katy Trail. From there, we walked about a quarter of a mile into town. We grabbed coffee and breakfast at Meriweathers, enjoying a great time talking with all the cyclists doing the Katy. From here on out, we'll overlap with them at a few stops.

After breakfast, we walked back to our boats and set off again. We quickly arrived at the I-70 bridge, currently a construction zone. Paddling under the bridge, we passed all the welders working at the site-pretty exciting to see it from a river perspective. We then paddled on to Cooper's Landing, where we stopped for a sandwich and some beers and met some interesting characters: a man who makes dugout cottonwood canoes, a guy with an awesome station wagon, and the great staff at Cooper's. We stayed for about an hour and a half before hitting the river again.

At the 30-mile mark, we found a huge sandbar and set up camp. The sunset tonight was beautiful, and we celebrated reaching the halfway point of our trip with some Oreos.

Day 5: 37 Miles

We woke up and drove the mule to the Rolling Pin Bakery in Glasgow, where Jon met us. We enjoyed coffee, breakfast burritos, and sticky buns. After breakfast, we dropped off some postcards at the post office. Then Trisha drove me back to the boats while she picked up Jon. Once they returned, we used the mule to haul our camping gear to the bottom of the boat ramp, where we said our goodbyes and thanked Jon.

As we paddled on, we passed massive log piles and stopped for lunch, enjoying Vienna sausages and chicken salad on crackers. We reached Boonville, Missouri, around 4 PM, tied our boats up under the highway bridge, and walked to a bar for burgers and beer.

We returned to our boats around 6 PM and paddled seven more miles until sunset. We pulled into a sandbar, quickly set up our tents, and climbed into bed. The full harvest moon shined like a flashlight on our tents all night.

Day 4: 30 Miles

We woke up on the sandbar this morning, remade our campfire, and sat around sipping coffee and eating Fig Newtons. As we enjoyed breakfast, a barge passed by, hauling rock. Afterward, we started paddling.

For “lunch,” we stopped in a shady spot to eat some Twizzlers and drink Gatorade and orange juice. Right after lunch, I caught a drum on my rod and reel. About six miles outside of Glasgow, I spotted a man fishing in a johnboat. I greeted him, and to my surprise, he asked, “Are you Ted Decker?” It turned out to be my friend Jon! At 90 years old, Jon can no longer walk, yet here he was, miles from town, fishing solo while waiting for me.

After chatting, Jon headed back to town to take his boat home, and we paddled the last six miles. At the city boat ramp, Jon was waiting for us in his side-by-side mule. He offered to let us borrow either his car or his mule to get around town. We were taken aback by his generosity. Trisha drove us around in his mule, stopping at the grocery store, the pizza place "Muddy Mo," Jon’s house to see his handmade guns and bows, and finally to the campground for our first showers of the trip.

The kindness of river people is unmatched. That night, we slept right above the boat ramp.

Day 3: 38 Miles

This morning, as we packed up our boats, a good friend, Rog, came by to say hi. He also took me to refill our water jugs and buy some worms for fishing while Trisha waited with the kayaks. It’s great to reconnect with old friends on these trips! When I got back, Trisha had made us coffee, so we drank that before we got started paddling. It was a sunny day with big, fluffy clouds. We found Wilson, the basketball, floating in the river. Trisha played music on a speaker she brought, and we had a great day of paddling. I caught three fish with the worms: two drum and one channel cat. We camped at the furthest north bend of the river for this trip. From here on out, we’ll be heading further south. We enjoyed the sunset from our sandbar campsite and then had a campfire. Trisha made spicy ramen with her Jetboil, while I had sardines and crackers. We slept great, we were about 2 miles from the train tracks tonight so no rumbling.

Day 2: 27 Miles

We faced another headwind today, but fortunately, it was just a short 27-mile paddle to Waverly, Missouri. We woke up pretty worn out from yesterday. The first 5 miles were slow and quiet, but things improved in Lexington when our friend Christine, a local real estate agent, showed up with McDonald's breakfast. That hot meal and coffee really lifted our spirits, and the rest of the day flew by. When we arrived in Waverly, our friend Kyle met us with his side-by-side. He gave us a tour of the town, introduced us to his parents and the rest of his family (who are also friends of mine), and took us to visit the grave of my old friend Larry “Flathead” Delana, who was Kyle’s grandpa and Amy’s dad. (You’ll see a picture of Amy, my granddaughter, and me from our photos today.) I poured half a can of beer on the gravesite in tribute. We then grabbed a slice of Casey’s pizza for dinner, hung out a bit more, and crashed in our tents for the night. Throughout the trip, we’ve been camping between the river and the railroad tracks, which makes for some noisy nights. The fast trains roar by us all night long, but we sleep as best we can.

Day 1: 47 Miles

We kicked off our trip at Kaw Point. Trisha, who had just flown in from Idaho and had never paddled the boat she was using on this trip, got in for the first time. I gave her a quick rundown on the Missouri River, mainly explaining that you need to paddle back and forth across the river using navigation signs whenever it curves to stay in the best current. Our first stretch took us through downtown Kansas City. While everyone else was driving over the bridges for work, we were paddling along the river below them. We faced a headwind all day, which made the paddling challenging. Along the way, we saw plenty of fish jumping and birds of prey. We pushed on, knowing that a hot meal awaited us at our destination: Catfish Charlie’s in Wellington, Missouri.

After arriving, we enjoyed a hearty dinner of fried fish and crab legs with friends. We then set up our tents right outside the restaurant and settled in for the night.