Why

I have often been askked why I am doing this paddle. I think the best way of answering this is to be found on the wbsite of a fellow paddler (deltaserf.com) where he sets out what it is not about. So with some adaptations;
1/It is not a race
2/I'm not the first (and not the last either) (Although if I start in any tributary that feeds inti Elk lake ,which feeds into Lake Itasca I might be able to claim that i am the first to travel the whole length of the river from it's source-every one else starts from where the river leaves lake Itasca and so I will have travelled another 10k or so further
3/I am not the oldest (well I am not sure about that)
4/I am definitely not the youngest
5/Its not for a cause(well that was true until I gave a talk at my rotary club on Friday and some of my fellow rotarians decided they would like to sposor me for my favourite charity. I did not want to be involved in using the paddle as a fund raising event because I simply didn't have time to put something together and I am an unproven long distance paddler. That was also behind my resaon not to seek sponsorship although there is an ideal company in the States that I could have approached called Musselman. They make fruit juice and fruit based snacks so it will be amatch made in heaven for future trips)
6/I am not raising money for anything (that was true until Friday see point 5 above. I have nominated my charity/ies as Pakinson's and Alzheimer's research,partly because it is an area my daughter Jane is involved in as a medical researcher and partly because the Michael J Fox Foundation has a high visibilty in the States to partner with in the future should I be foolish enough to want to do another paddle
7/It is not a tour or organized trip.
8/I am not trying to find myself
(hopefully I'll know where I am at all times)
9/It won't help me figure out the meaning of life
10/It won't make me a better man(at this point there probably isn't much chance of changing who I am)

This may be my last post for a while as I depart in less than 24 hours and I am not taking a lap top with me. I hope that the motel will have a computer or that I can go to the library or an internet cafe