Kevin Knieling: Going the distance

I'd like to introduce you to a guy by the name of Kevin Knieling. In a world of people who've had wild dreams about roaming the world, he's someone who's actually doing it.

My mom, who lives up in Drayton, North Dakota, had heard of Kevin's latest voyage: A kayak run that would begin in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He intends to paddle south down the Red River of the North. From there, he'll portage several miles to the heading of the Minnesota River network... and that will carry him toward the Twin Cities of Minnesota. At that point, he'll pick up the Mississippi River and traverse it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

His travels serve as a great reminder that inland behaviors have a way of flowing all the way to the seas... because his kayak will take that very trip.

I've been in touch with Kevin, and we've had a brief email exchange about his trip, as well as our project at CleanUpTheRiver.com. I've asked him to check in with us once-in-a-while, and tell us about his observations from the rivers. He sent the two photos that appear in this posting, along with waypoints indicating their location; one is a disk implement used to cultivate fields, the other is some type of rusted-out boat or other scrap iron. Follow Kevin on this voyage, as I will be doing, by checking out http://www.kevinknieling.com/. You can follow the progress of this river voyage, specifically, by going to this section of his site:

http://www.kevinknieling.com/2008/. Once you're there, just click on the button that says, "Paddle It!"

Safe voyages, Mr. Knieling, and thanks for letting us see the state of these rivers through your eyes!

- Mike