Today, my sister went to visit Powell County, where we both went to middle and high school in Eastern Kentucky.  She just happened to see this article posted in the Clay City Times!  

Yesterday I passed my kickstarter goal, and today we're nearly halfway to a good sonde ($1200 above my kickstarter is what I'm hoping for to ensure that I can measure water quality the same way it's been done in the past). Tomorrow night at 11:59pm will be the end of the campaign. I have to keep breathing so I don't cry with joy and astonishment that so many generous people are backing my idea.  It's super humbling and amazing.  

Now that I know I'm funded, I have begun collecting the things I needed to buy.  Namely, my kayak.  I chose to get a used kayak in order to be as environmentally friendly (and thrifty) as possible.  On Craigslist, I found a 17" 3' Aquaterra Sea Lion Plastic Sea Kayak which I'll be picking up on the 21st up in Minnesota.  I'm going to name the boat "Spirit," since I'm going to be recharging my spirit on this journey, and I feel like it's a fitting name for a white boat!

I ordered my solar panel kit today; it's a GoalZero Sherpa 50 Solar Kit, large enough to charge my computer as well as my phone and ipod and has been vetted by all sorts of other adventuresome spirits.  I've also picked up a few small things at J & H Lanmark here in Lexington; a collapsible bowl, a tiny flat can opener, folding spatula, and a handheld collapsible pump for my sleeping pad (so I don't hyperventilate every night, trying to blow it up with my lungs).  My dear friend Ben is lending me his comfortable sleeping pad and headlamp so my old pad and headlamp don't have to struggle to keep up with the demands of 3 months of camping. Tonight I'll complete an order that will include some paddling-specific items, some dried food, GPS, camp stool, tarp, and dry bags. 

I'm so thrilled to have gotten a text message from Dave Forbes, a paddler that's already on the river, warning me about some of the tricky areas up north. I forwarded it on to my buddy Dave Roberts who's leaving in a day or two.  There's supposed to be a lot of rain in the next few days (storms) so hopefully the water levels will be a bit higher and the paddling easier?  I'm just excited that I'm part of a working information water trail!  So cool.  

I spent the past few days enjoying my family for my grandmother's 90th birthday.  My grandfather, 91, said to me one day, "So I hear your parents are trying to talk you out of this paddling thing."  I affirmed.  "And you're still on for it all?" he asked.  I affirmed.  "Good for you!" he said as he clapped me on the back.  It was an unexpected and welcome encouragement from the elder tribe! (And my mom has since decided she supports me afterall, because I'm well prepared.  And my dad is very supportive of the idea, and is just concerned for my long-term financial well-being).

Today, I spent the day finishing a press release I started a couple weeks ago...it's so hard to write about yourself!  I sent it off to over a dozen organizations, magazines, and newspapers that I thought might be interested.  In other great news, I went from 82% funded to 91% funded in just a few hours today! I continue to be bowled over by the generosity and encouragement of each person who has contributed to my Kickstarter campaign.  I've got 3 days left, and I'm confident that I'll make my goal.  And I might even exceed my goal and be able to afford a sonde...

In just a week, I'll be headed up to Minneapolis to collect my kayak and a few more provisions, and then I'll be starting this journey!  Ever since I dropped my cats off at their summer camp location, things have felt like they're moving at a very fast clip.  Last minute dehydrating, last minute packing, and I'm still making last minute calls and connections.  I'm SO excited, and I am utterly grateful and humbled by the 58 people so far who have donated to my Kickstarter campaign--we are 70% of the way to my goal!  The kickstarter is up until next Friday, June 19th at 11:59pm. THANK YOU so much, to all of you who have helped spread the word of this project and donated.  I have one more week to go, and collecting that last 30% is going to be nerve-wracking, so please help me get to my goal SOONER than LATER (please!). If I go over my goal, I will be able to potentially afford a sonde (a probe that measures water quality), which would really improve the ease and stability of my water quality measurements.  At this point, I have spoken with John Sullivan, a water quality biologist who used to work for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  He paddled the Mississippi a few years ago, measuring water quality along the way.  He has shared his data and methodology with me, and I'll be repeating it to the best of my abilities.  He was able to borrow a sonde from the Wisconsin DNR a few years ago, but does not have access to them any more, as he has retired. I am doing my best to borrow a sonde, but in the event that I am not able to borrow one, I would only be able to afford one if I am funded $1200-1500 above my stated fundraising goal.  Failing that, I'll be collecting water samples the old fashioned way, measuring the samples ashore later in the day; a methodology that is much more time-intensive.  So, fingers crossed that I make my goal ASAP, and that I am able to either borrow a sonde, or that my fundraising goes exceedingly well.  Help me out, my dear readers! 

I'm a geek when it comes to maps.  I pore over them for hours looking for funny town names, tracing the wiggles of creeks and rivers.  So even though I've been planning this trip for close to 3 months, it really became real when I ordered the water trail maps from the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources.  The send them to you for free, all you have to do is request them! Their website is really cool, too; you can take panoramic tours of places along the way.  A great tool if you want to see what I'll be seeing!  Anyway, getting maps makes me feel like I'm closer to ACTUALLY DOING THIS THING, but I still need support to make sure it gets funded fully.  Please donate here and share the link with your communities!  
I also was tipped off to a wonderful resource, the Mississippi River Paddlers facebook page.  All sorts of difficult-to-find information has popped up on that page, like portage maps and a list of other Mississippi paddlers.  From what I can tell, there will be a total of 19 people going source to sea this year, all leaving between mid May and early July.  Most of them are male (there is a M/F duo, and myself), and with the exception of a group of five paddlers that left May 16th, there's a pretty even mix of duos and solo paddlers.  There are lots of people on this page who live somewhere along the river who offer a safe place to shower, restock, sleep, or say hello to a friendly face--they're called "River Angels."  So, fear not, there are many good people that will be in my midst, following my progress and checking in to make sure I get where I'm going.  

Look what came in the mail!  I now have stickers (only 100), business cards, and a shirt. This shirt is the one I'm going to put sponsorship names/logos on, and will wear whenever I'm going into town to refuel along the way.  Down there on the bottom are some postcards for a dance conference I'm teaching at down in Texas in 2016.  All sorts of fun upcoming projects! 

I have been running around doing errands, finishing up pendant orders before I leave, talking to all sorts of helpful people who have offered beds to sleep on, a meal or a place to do laundry along the way (keep 'em coming, this is great!!!).  

Yesterday afternoon, these efforts were halted when my roommate mentioned that there was a family of kittens living under our porch.  I spent the rest of the evening catching all three week-old kittens, and trying to nab their wiley, smart mama. She ended up outwitting me and taking the kittens (who I had used as bait in the humane cat trap) off to a new hiding spot before I realized she was not setting off the trapdoor.  So I just had one kitten (below) to bottle feed and care for overnight.  This morning I took the kitten in to a rehabber who will find it a good home.

My mom suggested I take a self-defense class, so I've scheduled to take one this weekend with a friend.  I've also learned that policy regarding general delivery (in case I wanted to pre-send non-perishables to myself along the way) at post offices are not consistent.  I know people have contacted post offices along the Mississippi before, and sent themselves food...guess I should just ask those people which POs were amenable to this!  

Here it is.  I've been working on pulling all this together for the past few weeks, and the KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN LAUNCHED! I want to thank Nick Lyell and Michael Kahane for going out to the Anacostia River with me recently to film some of this footage.  Thanks, too, to everyone who has already pledged your moral and emotional support, it's been really helpful.  Especially to Mike Lewis who said, "You're doing this.  You know there's no way you're not doing this, right?"  Okay. So, I'm leaving in LESS THAN A MONTH which means this campaign needs to get funded ASAP.  Please PLEASE share the link with anyone and everyone.  And a million times THANK YOU.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1564119377/paddle-on-an-environmental-adventure-on-the-missis

I'm doing some research, and it looks like Janet Moreland was the first woman to solo the entire Missouri/Mississippi river complex (3,800 miles!) at age 57, from April 24-Dec 3, 2013.  Then, it looks like Ellen McDonah, at age 60, was the first woman to solo just the Mississippi River (2,552 miles) starting in May of 2014.  As far as I can tell, that makes me the youngest woman to solo the Mississippi River.  Sort of incredible that no woman had done it before, and here we are setting all sorts of records in just a couple years!   

Wow! Yesterday I created this blog, created a visual image/logo, created a facebook page and announced to the world that I'm planning to do this thing.  The support has already been incredible, and I've gotten requests for artistic collaborations, suggestions for meeting up with legislators along the way, connections to people to talk to who have done similar projects, and tips and hints on how to make sure I do things the right way.  I am grateful and excited by this momentum.  I ordered these business cards today, and booked a flight to Minneapolis.  I am diving in and trusting that I'll be successful in fundraising!  I'm nearly finished with the Kickstarter material; will probably get that up tomorrow or the next day.  Stay tuned...

I'm so excited to be announcing this project!  I will be paddling the Mississippi River this summer while documenting water quality and plastic waste along the way.  This blog is where I will be sharing all progress, stories, videos, photos and journal entries.  Please RSS the blog to make sure you don't miss an entry.  Thanks for joining me!