In an 1886 interview with The Chicago Tribune, Mark Twain opined: “Along the Upper Mississippi every hour brings something new. There are crowds of odd islands, bluffs, prairies, hills, woods and villages — everything one could desire to amuse the children.”
That observation certainly hasn’t changed, especially when paddling the Upper Mississippi.
Last month, four Coast Guard Auxiliarists from Springfield, plus my wife Jenn, set out for Davenport, Iowa, to participate in Floatzilla, an annual paddling event sponsored by River Action Quad Cities, a local water-quality group.
