I had the chance to listen to a 2 hour talk this morning  from Dana Starkell, the son of Don Starkell,  who wrote the book "Paddle to the Amazon" ( published in 1989).  Dana and Don Starkell hailed from Winnepeg and they both made an incredible 12,181 mile canoe trip from Winnepeg to the mouth of the Amazon River. Not sure the record still holds but at the time it was the "LONGEST JOURNREY EVER MADE BY CANOE". They left June 1st 1980 and finished May 1st 1982.

Dana now lives with his wife and son not too far from my home in Bettendorf, IA.

River Action, a non profit organization here in the Quad Cities organized a 2 hour boat ride on the Mississippi River  and about 25 folks got to listen to Dana tell his story of paddling their 21 ft. fiberglass canoe all the way to the Amazon. An incredible story. Unfortunately Dana's dad  and author of the book "Don Starkell" passed away from cancer a couple of years ago.

I bought his book after his talk and can not wait to sit down and read this international best seller. It should be a good read.

Dana has made 2 trips by canoe down the Mississippi to New Orleans and one trip all the way around to Key West.

When I retire I would like to travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans and perhaps along the intercoastal to Key West. I plan to visit with Dana and get some pointers.