My first thought as I groggily woke up today was finding the correct map for today’s leg of the Expedition.
Then I remembered that I’m not getting back in to my kayak today, because yesterday we paddled in to Chinook Pier to finish our 226 mile journey down the navigable waters of Michigan’s longest river. And what a tremendous finish it was to 12 days in the water drawing attention to the Grand River.


How did we do? Gloria Miller is celebrating her 85th birthday today, one day after finishing her third Grand River Expedition. Erich Ditschman has raised more than $12,000 of his $20,000 goal for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan. He paddled every day, followed by 8 hours of dialysis every evening. Christian Miller, at age 12, finished the Expedition in his home town and was absolutely ecstatic yesterday after we got out at Chinook Pier. He’ll go back to Lakeshore Middle School a different young man this September.

We started as about 60, but at last count I believe there were just over 50 of us who finished the entire Expedition. Well over 300 people paddled at least some portion of the Expedition, including my significant other who kayaked just under 100 miles in four days on the water. Communities from Liberty to Grand Haven provided us with campsites, food, water, and moral support along the way. Expedition 2010 differed from the previous two (1990 and 2000) in this way. The grassroots nature of the event and community support for our message tells me the people of Mid and West Michigan love their Grand River.

I have much more to report on the Expedition, and our journey. Come back to this site in the coming weeks for more photos, information from the trip, and updates on the people who participated. The water trip is over, but awareness and stewardship of the Grand River Watershed continues.