Paddle With Purpose River Voyages

Since 1976, Canoecopia has attracted paddlers to Madison, WI and it is now the worlds largest consumer paddlesports expo with over 20,000 attendees and 250,000 square feet of exhibit space. In 2020, Gary and Linda will be on the program to present The Five Rivers Voyage. This was our 2017 trip of 1,173 miles which ended at WEFTEC in Chicago and was supported by the MWEA Water For People Committee. With over 170 other presentations over a three day period, those of you who plan to attend will have to look sharp to find us on the schedule. We do not have a time slot yet so keep in touch if you need more details. Canoecopia Alliant Energy Center 1919 Alliant Energy Way Madison, Wisconsin March 13-15, 2020 Friday 4:00-9:00 Saturday 9:00-6:00 Sunday 10:00-5:00

The original plan for the Suwannee River Voyage was to travel 342 miles from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge west to Suwannee, Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. This would have been our shortest voyage ever and did not seen to justify our highest ever fundraising goal of $25,000. Therefore, we have decided to double the mileage to 684! When we get to the Gulf, we will now get a ride back to the Okefenokee and then follow the St. Mary's River east to the Atlantic Ocean. A 25 mile section of the Intracoastal Waterway gets us south to Jacksonville and the mouth of the St. Johns River. From there it is a "straight shot" up river 173 miles to Orlando, the site of ACE20! See you there. Please take a minute to consider donating to the Suwannee River Voyage. We can do the miles but we need you to reach the goal!

The Water For People Committee of the Michigan Water Environment Association will again be on the floor at the Joint Expo . Held in the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI on 2/4/2020 - 2/5/2020, this is the show for Midwest water professionals. You can find us at Booth 1213 which is shared with MWEA. The Suwannee River Voyage canoe will be on display and we will have lots of prizes for our Spin to Win wheel. Stop in to chat or to join the committee. We have lots of ways for you to help support Water for People, a Water Environment Federation charity of choice since 2005.

It was my own fault. I mentioned to Bear Paulsen, general manager at Northstar Canoes in Princeton, Minn., that in 2018, Linda and I should never have taken our old canoe on the 2,341 mile Missouri River Voyage. His kind words of wisdom were, "I can help you with that." In  2019, he did more than help. We now have a new, light weight canoe that feels like 43 pounds of feathers. The old canoe felt like 60 pounds of lead bricks! We also have Northstar Canoes as a sponsor of the Suwannee River Voyage. The Northstar Northwind 17 will be our home on the water in 2020 as we raise funds for Water For People. Follow us as we make Everyone Forever a reality.

Welcome to the Paddle With Purpose River Voyages blog published by Blogger. Visit often to keep up to date as planning for the Suwannee River Voyage nails down the details for weeks of paddling in southern Georgia and northern/central Florida. Come April 2, 2020, this blog will also report progress on the water and the inside story on all the adventures that make up a long river voyage. Since 2014, Paddle With Purpose has focused all of its efforts on raising funds for Water For People. All voyage costs are contributed by Gary and Linda so 100% of your donation supports Water for People, Everyone Forever. The Suwannee River Voyage will be the fifth river trip. If the 2020 goal of $25,000 is reached, we will have raised a total of over $90,000 for Water For People since 2014! To help us get there, click on Suwannee River Voyage to reach our GoFundMe page. If you are viewing this page on a mobile device, please look for the menu icon in the upper left corner. This will take y...