Join us for our next monthly speaker series — River Kayaker Adventures with Perry Whitaker — on Tuesday, January 11 at 6:00pm! We'll be joined by Perry Whitaker, the Missouri State Director for the American Canoe Association and a Missouri Master Naturalist. Perry serves on numerous boards and committees in the region, including the Mississippi River Water Trail Association, the Mississippi River Network, the Meramec River Recreation Association, Team River Runner, and others. When he's not paddling on the rivers, he can be found building and repairing hiking trails, cleaning rivers, and brewing beer. 

 

Perry will discuss the 2,300-mile-long mighty Mississippi River's role in the growth of the United States and his experiences paddling the great river. The 200-mile section from the confluence of the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri, to the confluence of the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, is referred to as the “Middle Mississippi,” and when canoeing or kayaking on that stretch you’ll encounter thousands of years of history! You’ll pass Civil War sites, countless steamboat wrecks, historic Native American villages and the Trail of Tears, ghost towns, French forts, and an extreme diversity of wildlife. Perry will discuss his experience camping adjacent to the Trail of Tears and the logistics of paddling on the Mississippi and other large rivers. 

 

Register here to join us for the January 11 speaker series about river kayaking.