While Jason and I were killing time in Missouri, his sister and her boyfriend came up for a few days from Florida.  She really wanted to go and float the river since he had never been.  I hadn’t either, so it was decided that we would load up and go float the river! The river in question is the Big river that runs along St. Francois state park.  We started at the outfitters at Cherokee Landing with a small cooler of sodas and snacks.  The water level was super low this time of year so our trusty metal canoe got some new scrapes along the bottom as we bashed our way down the river.  I even found a few cool rocks along the gravel bar where we stopped for some food and because Jamie really really wanted to swim.  I didn’t think the water was *that* warm!

I was a little hesitant to do a tandem canoe because it looks like an awful lot of teamwork, however it was actually awesome.  Jason’s really good at navigating rapids since he did so much whitewater kayaking and I was starting to get the hang of it by the end! I also liked not having to yell at him across the water to chat because I’m in my own boat somewhere else.  Overall, I had a ton of fun! This area is much rockier than I ever expect Missouri to be so there were rocky bluffs lining the river and big trees and the occasional cute little vacation cabin.  I want to go again!