Canoeing was the conventional mode of transportation for the earliest adventurers who braved the treacherous waters of the Mississippi River. Kristian Gustavson, a Bloomington, Ill. resident, and his father, William, are reliving the adventure two of Kristian’s uncles followed down the Mighty Mississippi 42 years ago. “We’re following the same route in the same canoe taken by my uncles – Bob and Greg Gustavson,” young Kristian said Tuesday as he and his father stopped at the Helena Harbor for an overnight stay. Once the Gustavsons arrive at the Port of New Orleans they plan to contact relatives to pick them up and make the trip by vehicle back to Bloomington. They met with John Ruskey, the Clarksdale, Miss. resident, who opened his second Quapaw Canoe Co. outlet in late June on Ohio St. Ruskey, a Colorado transplant, opened his first canoe company on the banks of the Sunflower River in downtown Clarksdale three years ago. “There is a growing interest in canoeing,” Ruskey said, who is still getting his business set up in Helena. He envisions canoe races on the Mississippi River perhaps as early as October. The 17-foot Grumman canoe was sturdy enough for the previous Gustavsons to make the trip down the Mississippi River four decades ago and Kristian Gustavson sees no reason to think it won’t work again. “We’ve traveled along the Mackinaw River (in central Illinois,” Gustavson said. “We decided to give this a try.” Their starting po ...
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Canoeing was the conventional mode of transportation for the earliest adventurers who braved the treacherous waters of the Mississippi River. Kristian Gustavson, a Bloomington, Ill. resident, and his father, William, are reliving the adventure two of Kristian’s uncles followed down the Mighty Mississippi 42 years ago. “We’re following the same route in the same canoe taken by my uncles – Bob and Greg Gustavson,” young Kristian said Tuesday as he and his father stopped at the Helena Harbor for an overnight stay. Once the Gustavsons arrive at the Port of New Orleans they plan to contact relatives to pick them up and make the trip by vehicle back to Bloomington. They met with John Ruskey, the Clarksdale, Miss. resident, who opened his second Quapaw Canoe Co. outlet in late June on Ohio St. Ruskey, a Colorado transplant, opened his first canoe company on the banks of the Sunflower River in downtown Clarksdale three years ago. “There is a growing interest in canoeing,” Ruskey said, who is still getting his business set up in Helena. He envisions canoe races on the Mississippi River perhaps as early as October. The 17-foot Grumman canoe was sturdy enough for the previous Gustavsons to make the trip down the Mississippi River four decades ago and Kristian Gustavson sees no reason to think it won’t work again. “We’ve traveled along the Mackinaw River (in central Illinois,” Gustavson said. “We decided to give this a try.” Their starting po ...