Woman kayaks down Mississippi River

    Babbs Horak had an unforgettable adventure last month when she spent a week on the Mississippi River. Horak was a Washington resident for 40 years and now lives in Iowa City. During the first week of August, she kayaked down the Mississippi River from Dubuque to Muscatine with a group of about 150 people. The event is an annual occurrence known as the ?River Rumble? and is put on by a non-profit organization called Midwest River Expeditions.

    The group began its trip July 31 at Mud Lake near Dubuque and ended it with a banquet in Muscatine on Aug. 7. The rumblers traveled 135 miles and stopped to sleep in towns along the route, namely Dubuque, Bellevue, Sabula, Clinton, LeClaire and Andalusia.

    Horak was acquainted with only one of the 150 or so kayakers and canoeists before the voyage, and that was her neighbor in Iowa City, Greg Ellyson. Ellyson has five kayaks of his own, including one that he made himself. He invited Horak to join the rumblers on their trip, and she gladly accepted the invitation.

    Horak, Ellyson and the other participants got on tour buses that took them to Mud Lake. That?s where the adventure began.

    Horak said a man would wake up the crew every morning at 5:30 by carrying a boom box around the camp that played soothing music. Local restaurants opened early for the kayakers. The kayakers made special deals with some of the restaurants, which often offered them an all-you-can-eat menu.   

    The kayakers were on the water by 8 a.m. and spent a couple of hours on the water before their first break. After a few more hours of paddling, the group took a break for lunch at 1 p.m. The rumblers usually spent a couple more hours on the river in the afternoon before retiring to their campsite at about 3 p.m. On a few days of the trip, Horak traveled with the road crew that was responsible for transporting the kayakers? tents and supplies.

    The kayakers spent the evenings visiting, playing musical instruments and exploring the towns and the parks they were staying in.   

For the full story, see the Sept. 3 edition of The Washington Evening Journal