Sights set on May 10: Missouri River cruise

The SDCA will host a cruise at 1 p.m. May 10, 2008, on the Missouri River from the Myron Grove Recreation Area downstream.

Here is a look at the area where the cruise will go down:



Rick Johns of the SDCA will host the event, and he's a Vermillion native and familiar with the area. He offered these keys on the route above:

* The put-in spot is top-notch. Plenty of room for unloading and shuttle driving. It is about nine miles from Vermillion.
* As proposed above, the route could take as long as five hours.
* Paddlers who want a shorter cruise can take out at Clay County Park. That would cut the trip almost in half. The park is about three miles west of Vermillion.
* The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will raise the water level May 10. The water may be higher when this cruise takes place than it would be before the "spring change."

Rick said the water level change will only play a role in one way: the historic ship that's lodged on the river bottom (on our route) may not be visible, or as visible, as it would be were the water lower.

But we'll have Professor L. E. Bradley, program director and chair of the anthropology department at the University of South Dakota, along with us, and he will share insights on the area. If the river cooperates, he'll tell us paddlers who take part more about the wreck, and the region.

Back to the proposed route. Here is a close up of put-in area. (I can't stress enough how useful Google Maps, Google Earth, and Mapquest can be in locating information paddlers can use.)



Here's a look at the Nebraska-side take-out. Remember, this is proposed, we don't want anyone considering this cruise to feel they will have to make a five-hour paddle. But a reminder, Rick said this could be five hours.



The more who want to come, the merrier! We'll probably set up a meeting point in Vermillion. Then we'll caravan out to the starting point they call "High Lines." So stop back for information on that.

As Steve's last post showed, the new Prairie Paddler newsletter is out, it is both in the mail and here on our blog.

More information on the May 10 trip is on the way, but feel free to e-mail me if you have questions. If you're familiar with this area, weigh in on the route length and such if you feel like it.

Peace,

Jarett C. Bies