I popped my head out of the tent first thing in the morning to find a cloud engulfing the river. Thick fog had socked in camp, and hung around so low and dense that seeing the opposite shore wasn't an option, let alone around the next bend. Knowing that the mid morning sun would eventually burn off the haze, I enjoyed a slow AM that gave way to reading, knocking out a few posts, and a few cups of Joe.

With the Iowa/Minnesota border a mile or so down river I was soaking up my last breaths of Minnesota air. 36 days spent canoeing this great state. From the trickling headwaters at Lake Itasca, filled with swampland and waterfowl, to the swimming black bear near Grand Rapids, the turning tree tops of Brainerd, the city skyline of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the towering bluffs of the driftless, hundreds if not thousands of bald eagles, deer, beaver, and of course the amazing people. On a few occasions I heard folks toss around the phrase "Minnesota Nice", which is what I've come to realize as the norther equivalent of "Souther Hospitality". The past 36 days have proved to me that Minnesota Nice is more than a saying or a slogan. It's a northern way of life. And I'm damn thankful to have been able to experience it in its truest form- via canoe on the Mighty Mississippi.