LECLAIRE, Iowa -- The Mississippi River is about 2,400 miles long.
It takes a drop of water about 90 days to make its journey all the way down from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
But for a woman on a paddle board, you're looking at about a three-month journey.
LouAnne Harris took on the task of paddle boarding the entire length of the Mississippi River starting in August of 2019. She started at the river's source and planned to paddle into November until she makes it to the end of the line.
LouAnne is making the journey in part as a fundraiser for "Rivers for Change," which is a nonprofiit that works as an advocate for getting people out on the water that runs through their community. The organization is a 501(c)(3) that uses adventure, conservation and education to inspire people to connect to the water in ways they haven't experienced before. LouAnne was a recipient of the 2019 Source to Sea Grant, giving her funding toward the trip.
The experienced paddler took off from Clinton on Tuesday, September 17 and from LeClaire on Wednesday. Her goal was to make it to Muscatine by the end of the day.
Once her full-length river journey is complete, she'll be the first woman to have paddled the Mississippi River.
LouAnne is keeping a blog of her journey on Facebook. You can follow her here.