From Minneapolis to Saint Paul

How many of you enjoy the water around Minnesota? Seriously, the lakes and rivers might be the best reason why summers in Minnesota are so great. Am I right? Earlier this summer, Joe and I took the kayaks out and headed down the Mississippi. We started at the docks on the U of M campus and ended at Harriet Island in Saint Paul. I asked Joe how many miles the trip would be and he told me about 6-8 miles. All I have to say is, “Liar!!” It ended up being 12.7 and he didn’t want to tell me because the last time we took the kayaks out we did 13 miles and I almost died from soreness and exhaustion. Sneaky sneaky Joe.

Here’s the docks we started at in Minneapolis on campus.

Once we were in the water the adventure started.At the Ford River Parkway we had to take the locks through the dam. I did get a little anxious at first because I didn’t know what to expect but it really wasn’t that bad.Down down down we go. You had to hold on to this tiny rope and because they didn’t throw enough rope over, we had a guy in a boat hanging onto our kayaks haha. Oh sweet taste of freedom we survived! We finally made it to Saint Paul!

At this point, I’m feeling it. This is also the point where I found out how long the trek really was hence the over dramatic pose!

It was such a beautiful afternoon out on the river. Thankfully the current was really moving too…it only took us about 3-3 1/2 hours for the whole trip. Have any of you taken a trip out on the rivers? Any one tackle more than 13 mile kayak trips? Let’s hear some stories!