Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville IL)
Davenport IA,
Shawano WI,
Haughton MI (up), which would include the Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor area as well as Brockway Mountain.
Sault Saint Marie MI (up) and Sault Saint Marie ON Canada,
as well as other stops along the way. We did not paddle the Mississippi at Saint Louis nor at Davenport although it was tempting, but we did paddle the Wolf River in Shawano WI with my God Son and his father, as well as the area of Lake Superior around Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw peninsula. We also dipped paddles in Potato Creek near South Bend IN.
One of the interesting features of the trip was that we were in no hurry, not having to be anywhere at any particular time, so the GPS was told to guide us the shortest distance, but to avoid highways, freeways and tollways. This made for interesting through the country travel. We are sure that the corn farmers in Illinois are still wondering if those people from Texas with a canoe on a trailer driving between the cornfields were just lost or complete nuts.
For a number of years I wanted to do a longer canoe trip, something measured in tens of miles instead of 4 to 6 mile trips. The Saint Joseph River beginning its flow in Michigan and flowing south into Indiana and then turning north again at South Bend Indiana seemed like the river for this for a number of reasons; 1) It is basically a class I river with a few class II spots. It is a fast flowing river, and one is really never too far from civilisation. 2) Since my wife has family (a sister, brother in law, and their children) in South Bend it seemed a good base of ops. In 2008 a small segment of this river was paddled, from Bristol to Elkhart, just to get a feel of the river. Two of four nephew went with me on this afternoon paddle. Their first experience on a canoe.
we also made other interesting stops along the way; Bear Dunes National Monument and at a couple of lighthouses. We walked a long way along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
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