Day 11: 9/6/06

We paddled our little hearts out today, covering 31 miles in the hot sun. This section of river, between Palisade and Aitkin, MN is characterized by high, sandy banks, pastureland, and lots of wildlife. On top, a Leopard Frog basks in the morning sun.










We've been seeing tons of bald eagles, osprey, kingfishers, and wading birds. These shorebirds (Dad a little help?) weren't shy, dancing around as we floated by.










Not only did animals frequent the river's banks, trash found its way there as well. We've seen old pontoon boats, junker cars, and just about anything else you can imagine. This far north and people already littering?! Whatsupwiththat?!

At the campground in Aitkin, we were helped out of the water by Charlie and Pete, a couple guys from Clinton, IA who were up fishing for a while. We were surprised and humbled to hear that Charlie had taken the same river trip we were on. Twice. He had canoed it once and kayaked it a few years later. He kept us up later than normal with stories of his adventure. Maybe we'd run into him again in Iowa. Lots of friendly souls so far on this trip...