After a late night of paddling, relaxing and a few midnight casts of the fishing rod Max and I rose early to break camp and get around our first portage, Coon Rapids Dam. We had stayed just 100 yards from the dam, meaning the portage was the first action of the day.

Making light work of the dam, we sat and made breakfast and coffee on the downstream side, sweaty and dreading the next and final portage of the trip.

Boats hit the water after grub and we worked our way toward the first legitimate city of the voyage, Minneapolis, Mn.

For me Minneapolis marked a special moment. It signifies the end of the Minnesota wilderness (and nearly the end of the largest of 10 states along the Miss), and ushers in the industrious side of the river that many of us associate with the Mississippi. Since the early planing stages of the trip, I looked to Minneapolis as a goal. If I could make it to the twin cities, I told myself, then I could do the entire river. I figured by the time I reached the area I would be dialed in and ready to roll. I also did a decent amount of research and map reading from the headwaters to Minneapolis, and had been familiar with the Northwoods as I had spent time throughout my life stomping around the area. South of Minneapolis, the river is an open book to me. Little expectations and even less knowledge of what it may hold.

All of this to say, I was excited, humbled and genuinely appreciative to have made it to a turning point in the river, Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

As we paddled Max had heard of a good restaurant right on the river called Psycho Suzi's. We pulled up to the river front dock and strolled in. Besides an appetite and thirst to quench, we also hoped to run into someone who might be willing to lend a hand with our next portage just down river, a mile and a half gruler called St. Anthony's dam. After crushing a burger and beer we went back to the water with no luck.

Just 5 minutes after putting in, two canoes, a green wooden boat and an aluminum canoe, started working their way towards us. One guy sitting in the bow shouted over towards us, asking where we were headed. I gave him the typical answer "To the Gulf!" He was amped. Turns out, Andrew C had paddled the Mississippi a few years back and now lived in Minneapolis. His buddy, also Andrew (Andrew D), paddled up and offered to give us a ride around the portage. Sometimes life just works out.

We paddled down river with the new group. After crossing a bridge they took us in a tunnel that supposedly runs all throughout the city. As we paddled into the darkness the light behind began to shrink. We reached a point where there was no light (couldn't see your hand in front of your face) and turned around.

After helping Andrew load a few slabs of rock into our boats (he was doing some landscaping at his place) we unloaded gear at a boat slip owned by "house boat Corey" and wheelbarrowed it down the road to Andrews flat.

The flat, located on Nicollet island (an inhabited island of the Mississippi, right next to downtown) was amazingly unique. And old warehouse, it still had many of the old fixings and certainly still held the warehouse vibe. Andrew offered to put Max and I up for the night, and seeing his set up and hearing a few tales of the Andrews, we decided it would be a good idea to stay.

The ensuing eveining was amazing and jam packed. A quick list of some of the things we did:

- watched trains rip by from a a few feet away 
- explore a few abandon train track bridges 
- go downtown to a video arcade bar
- drink house made sake at a sake distillery
- visit a friends house that had a beautiful rooftop view of the city
- climb to the top of an iconic Minneapolis sign 
- tell stories the entire night

To top it off, both Andrews had stories for days. Andrew C, the fellow who first spotted us, was a true adventurer. He spent 3 years walking the circumference of the world. He had sailed across the Atlantic, only to capsize by hitting a sperm whale in the open ocean and having to call mayday. He paddled the Amazon (along with Andrew D). He had biked to the southern tip of South America, then turned around and biked back to Minneapolis. Next on his list was a sailing adventure around the Caribbean.

As you can image, the stories flowed throughout the evening as both Andrews allowed memories of past travels to simmer to the top.

An amazing night on Nicollet Island.