Pre trip---- Road trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gotta make a three state road trip to pick up some car parts for Van Jr.
and some supplies for work,soooooo im gonna do everything i can do in three states to find me a canoe or kayak today,,,if i wait any longer ,there is no telling what i might end up with,i have looked at so many ads from so many stores i  was even tempted by a sit on kayak with a mini sail!!!local distributor had ad on craigslist for canoes and kayaks for $299.00 and up,so took time to drive over for the classic bait and switch they tell me those ads posted two days ago were for 2011 models,which they just sold the last off but they were happy to offer me one of the same models a year newer ,for a mere      $300.00 dollars more !!!!i cant stand deceptive ads and won't spend any money  there at all....will update later and let ya know what happens.....

still in need of canoe!!!!

have just about everything ready for the trip except a couple essentials,the biggest need is a canoe,hard to canoe the mississippi without one !!! i have been waiting and checking craigslist and various paddler forums but anything decent always seems to be overpriced or too far away,so im kinda waiting till the last minute hoping i can still find something ,i have the resources to buy a new base model canoe but im giving it away at the end of the trip because the cost of havin someone drive from iowa to louisana just to transport my canoe would be more than the canoe is worth.....SO IF ANYONE CAN THINK OF ANYONE WITH A MID GRADE FAIRLY PRICED CANOE PLEASE PLEASE PUT ME IN CONTACT WITH THEM !!!!!!
       LOOKING FOR A COUPLE DECENT PADDLES AND A PFD WHICH I  WILL BUY NEW JUST TRYING TO FIND  SOMETHING COMFORTABLE AND LOCAL,I DONT WANNA GET SOMETHING OUT OF A CATALOG AND BE STUCK WITH A PFD THATS UNCOMFORTABLE.... AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH HAND HELD GPS WILL WORK BEST,
SO FEW MAJOR ITEMS LEFT TO PURCHASE SHOULD BE ATTAINABLE,HOPEFULLY NOT TOO EXPENSIVE.BUT I'VE GOT A COUPLE WEKS LEFT TO GET IT TOGETHER! BUT THE TRIP IS DEFINETELY ON FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL EVEN IF  I HAVE TO BUY A CANOE WITH ATTACHED BILGE PUMP!!!!
THE TRIP IS ON ANDTHANKS FOR FOLLOWING ALONG,BOUGHT A NEW VIDEO CAMERA SO IF IT SURVIVES THE TRIP IM HOPING FOR SOME GREAT VIDEO OF THE RIVER,ITS PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE   !!!!!!!!

work is hard but the adventures that follow are worth it !!!!!

been bustin my butt at work trying to get some of these 18 wheelers finished so my partner isn't overwhelmed while I'm gone ,but its seems like for every satisfied trucker he tells ten friends and now its almost to the point where every semi in Iowa wants to be polished ,i love the word of mouth advertising and I'm not whining by any means ,happy to have a business that's really starting to thrive we even did well during the winter when most polish shops wouldn't even bother opening ,I'm blessed to have friends and family that support me and my work/play ethic.....gosh that Mississippi river is calling my name and i cant wait to start paddling and the business is in good hands while I'm on the river !!!

wow thanks for the responses

just noticed in two days the lbog has hadnearly 500 visitors and they are from ten different countries!! i think thats incredible,thanks so much for all the encouragment !!

thanks for all the replys to sponsorship or help with used gear

opened my email today and was pleasantly suprised to see reply's from many adventurers and outfittters !
trying desperatly to upgrade some equipment/possibly field test gear,as many of you know  i hiked the A.T. last year with ancient gear ,it made it a little rougher on me but was a heck of a learning experience
looking for any support..gear (used is fine) returned merchandise dry bags used handheld gps a decent pfd (personal flotation device) wide brimmed hat,paddles heck even a used canoe as long as it doesnt come with a bilge pump or even just a sticker from your company for the canoe

going to check out some canoes and whats wrong with sponsors these days?

well i've got a few leads on canoes this week just gotta run around and check them out,weight is an issue obviously and a solo canoe would be nice but they are scarcer as, long as i dont need a bilge pump i guess it doesnt really matter what it is just as long as it will float for a couple thousand miles

Still looking for a used hand held gps if anyone knows of someone who might let it go cheap and im still looking for a decent but comfortable (PFD)life jacket

  I'm shocked to see i have followers on this blog from from nine different countries!!!
its amazing how the Internet brings people together
i will start posting pics of my gear soon so you can check it out and maybe someone  will feel sorry for me and my ancient stuff and donate/loan/sponsor me some new stuff !!!!

i have talked to a few manufacturers and since I'm not a proficient blogger they were hesitant to supply much of anything...their loss i think a 15 foot ad on two sides of a canoe traveling 2,000+ miles would be great advertising especially since anyone who would see it is in the right demographic .

different countries following the blog !!

United  States, Italy, United Kingdom ,Canada, Germany, Spain, Poland ,Romania, Russia

and if you could share this blog on your site or share it to your facebook it would be very appreciated http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpaddlingthemississippiriver2012.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F02%2Ffollow-me-on-my-journey-paddling-down.html%3Fspref%3Dfb&h=_AQGkRhPaAQGb8L8L6xVpSbTzvgU2tOuWHBGrcwBKp0GIxQ

less then a month to go!!

less then a month to go!!
    i cant sleep and probably wont get very much until i get on the river ..anticipation is killing me
.my backpack sits in the corner and scream at me lets do it !!!
(backpack doesn't understand about finances)
I'm slowly getting rid of the caffeine a little bit each day. i had terrible headaches at the beginning of the Appalachian trail which miraculously went away every morning when i had some coffee ?? lol? and I'm not so bummed about putting on 40 lbs this winter cause i know it will disappear quickly with paddling.i have watched and read every bit of info i could get my hands on,and completely overloaded myself with info(someone should really limit my computer time !!) thanks to everyone who's following my ramblings,they will hopefully get better when I'm on the river,well the pics will at least

getting it all together.....

have been so busy researching stuff for the trip,my list of things to do only seems to be getting longer..trying to be well informed but am almost to the point where I'm just over researching this.My planing for hiking the Appalachian Trail was almost nil..i suffered a little but learning things along the way was better then anything i could of googled !!
people have been very supportive of my journey and its great to have a total strangers wish you  good luck and a few kind souls have offered gear or assistance when i get near their area of the river !!!!
Its probably a good thing i haven't found  a canoe yet ...I'm so psyched about leaving i probably would of just grabbed my backpack and started paddling and its still just a little too cold for that .....