We are currently in Memphis, TN, staying in the care of John and Lynn Huggins. We met them through an old Clintonville resident that now resides in Memphis, Nancy and Arnold Roberts. Nancy had heard of our story after the article published in the Clintonville Chronicle, which she receives down in Memphis. I received an email shortly after letting us know we had a place to stay upon arrival, sadly they were vacationing back to the Clintonville area, August 17, a day after our arrival. Luckily her good friends, the Huggins, opened their house to us and brought us out for BBQ ribs, breakfast, and showed us the city. We've had an amazing time and have been treated like royalty. Couldn't have asked for nicer people, so glad we got to meet the Huggins, and wish we wouldn't have missed the Roberts.

Next stop Mississippi, after a delicious breakfast and grocery shopping of course.

It's been a long hot week, travel distance has slowed due to the heat. We paddle as much as we can til about 1 in the afternoon, then seek shade til about 6-7 pm, then continue in the evening til anywhere from 10pm to 2 am. We use the lighted buoys that are found about every quarter-half mile, otherwise we just use our headlamps as a signal to other boats as a signal of our location. We are still meeting great people that are very interested in our story and enjoy chatting with us about our adventure. We've been incredibly lucky to meet a few restaurant owners that have given us a free meal. Miller Time in New Boston, IL and also The Drake in Burlington, IA. We greatly appreciate what they've done for us, a good meal helps us paddle those extra miles in the heat.

I finally have a computer in front of me, so I am able to update the blog much easier than off of an Iphone. We are currently sitting in the Hilton Garden Inn located in Dubuque, IA. Stevie's mom and sister, Emily, made the trip down here to meet up with us and get us this room so we could shower and have a good night sleep.

Lately it's been really hard falling asleep at night because it's so hot, usually around midnight it starts to cool down and you can doze off here and there for an hour or two, before getting woke up by a train, barge, or other random wildlife noises.

The trip has been going very well for the most part though. We have been meeting great people, eating much better than the first week (we have a cooler now), and seeing some very cool places.

It's much simpler to update the Facebook page compared to this page due to the app the Iphone has. When we are done paddling for 10 hours in the heat, set up camp, make dinner, I am usually just too exhausted to want to type anything substantial and stick to the ease of FB.

We've gotten a few more donations as well from generous people we have met along the way. We've even had our lunch bought for us when we stopped in for some burgers. It's great meeting such generous people.

We arrived at Lake Itasca last evening just before 9:00 p.m. Thanks to the Schley's for suffering through the 8 hour drive here. Got a nice campsite next to the lake to make getting in the water in the morning much easier.

The checks were dropped off in the mail as well, but we will still be raising money throughout the trip. A total of $1075 has made it to the Mayo Clinic for research towards Pulmonary Embolisms. Thank you to everyone one that has helped and to those of you that came to say goodbye.

P.s Facebook is a lot easier to update then the blog, make sure you "like" that page and watch for updates.

Www.facebook.com/canoeforacause

Less than 24 hours until we make our way to the headwaters at Lake Itasca. Stevie has been putting in a lot of work on the canoe and it is completely ready for the trip. Seats have been re-installed, bottom was re-sanded, and a fresh coat of varnish applied. Canoe looks amazing and is fully ready for this grand adventure.

I will be messing around with the app I have for this blog on the Iphone later today. I feel like Facebook will be a lot easier to update then this. If you haven't seen the Facebook page, make sure you check it out and like it to follow us there as well.

www.facebook.com/canoeforacause

This past weekend Stevie and I continued to finish the canoe, but the glue drying time took a little longer than expected, so when it came time to do a trial run down the river, we were unable to take our pride and joy. Instead we opted for the ole Alumicraft, which a trusty aluminum canoe that has been in the Schley family for over 30 years.

We wanted to see what kind of mileage we could do in a day, but wanted to do some fishing too. So we set off from Shawano, Hwy M boat landing to be exact, at roughly 6 a.m. Water was low and slow moving, we came to a few complete stops in the middle of the river due to low areas in the Shawano portion of the Wolf River. Fishing was pretty good in the morning, landing a young musky, some good size Northern, and some small mouth's. It slowed down a bit in the early afternoon though, that's when we concentrated more on just paddling.

Finally, just before 8 p.m. we made County Highway F, which we estimated to be around 30 river miles after taking a few guesses from some river loving locals. All in all it was a good paddle. We are very satisfied being able to put in that many miles, while fishing, in low, slow moving water.

Now it's just a matter of finishing the fiber glassing of the seats, which should be done this week.

We've also gotten a few more donations too, $160 more to be exact. Thanks to everybody for their generosity and support.

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my mom passing. In a way it feels like she just left us, but at the same time it feels like it's been forever since I've seen or talked to her.

Stevie and I will be doing a test float this Thursday-Sunday down the Wolf River, camping randomly here and there for 3 nights. A good time to make sure the canoe floats and also to find out if all of our gear is good to go.

Donations continue to come in. Don't be shy. Only 19 days to go.