Kayaking the Mississippi River

Ellensburg Public Library hosts author David Ellingson presenting a slide show of his adventures chronicled in his new book, Paddle Pilgrim. Sunday, March 9th 4:00 pm at the Hal Holmes Center Paddle Pilgrim recounts 2,300-mile kayak journey down the Mississippi River ?It had been on my bucket-list since I was a boy and read Huck Finn,? reports Dave Ellingson, college professor and pastor, who paddled the entire Mississippi River in his kayak during the summer of 2012. The 2,300-mile journey is detailed in a forthcoming book, Paddle Pilgrim: An Adventure of Spirit and Learning Kayaking the Mississippi River. The book, expanded from Ellingson?s real-time PaddlePilgrim blog, chronicles his ?adventure of a lifetime? and recounts experiences from basking in a sublime sunset in Minnesota to dancing with a snake on an Arkansas sandbar. In addition to painting a kaleidoscope of vivid word pictures of river scenery, Ellingson writes movingly about the ?interior landscapes? of solitude, silence, prayer, and communion with creation. ?What began as an adventure led to learning and ultimately to spiritual pilgrimage!? he says. Ellingson teaches courses in spirituality, environmental ethics, human development, and youth ministry at Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, Wash. He is a Lutheran pastor, Master Gardner, former distance runner, and father of five grown children. He resides in Edmonds, Wash.