The 2018 Expedition will spend 100 days paddling down the Mississippi from the Twin Cities. 聽The final destination is聽dependent on weather and other unforeseen circumstances, but the planned itinerary is as聽follows:
Aug. 23 Depart from 海角社区 campus and聽hike to B’dote at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers
Aug. 24 Expedition聽Launch & Ceremony.
Aug. 25-27 Prairie Island, Red Wing.
Aug.聽27-29 Lake Pepin: studying water quality and impact of farming and increased sediment load on the river; sampling with fisheries biologists from the Minnesota DNR.
Sept. 10-12 Winona and LaCrosse: meeting with faculty and students at Winona State University; stream ecology labs; discussion of the impact of the lock and dam system on the river’s ecosystems
Sept. 13-15 Shuttle back to Twin Cities for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Forum and “Paradox of Water” Conference
Sept. 16 Shuttle back to camp with an international contingent of participants from the Water Conference. 聽Two additional canoes will carry a group of international water experts and peacemakers for one week of on-water workshops and experiential learning.
Sept. 24: and history of Native American communities
Sept. 28-30 Dubuque, IA: visit at the , sleeping on the steamboat there.
Oct. 7-10 Quad Cities: 聽meeting with ; meetings with local farmers; field lab with Prof. Reuben Heine, Geography Dept. at Augustana College.
Oct. 15-17, Kibbe Research Station: 聽Field Research and labs with faculty and staff from Western Illinois University
Oct. 20-21 Hannibal, Missouri, the “Mythic River,” Mark Twain, Huck Finn, and the literature of the river.
Nov. 1: Arrive St. Louis: 聽layover with study of trade, urban economics, environmental justice, and the city’s relationship to the river.
Nov. 10: 聽Confluence of Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo, IL
Nov. 15-25: Paddling the Middle Mississippi
Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving somewhere in the vicinity of Memphis聽(deep fried turkey!)聽Music, history, and food; meet with researchers from the Mississippi River Project at the University of Memphis
Early Dec. 聽Wilderness Inquiry vans meet with expedition at final takeout point for shuttle back to the Twin Cities
Dec.聽1-2 Arrive Twin Cities
Welcome back celebration at Augsburg聽University
Dec. 17 End of semester and final papers due.