"Ka-Ka-Ska-Ska: Headwaters to the Gulf - in a Kayak"
Jim Lewis, Retired Grand Rapids Businessman

When: Thursday, January 7, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Grand Rapids Area Library Community Room
Cost: Free and open to the Public

Jim Lewis describes highlights of his kayak adventure from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, paddling every direction on the compass in temperatures from the mid-teens to the upper nineties, winds to 35 mph, and waves up to five feet on the Mississippi River. Experience the laziness of the river at the Headwaters where the average flow rate is a mere 6 cubic feet per second and excitement closer to the gulf where the average flow rate is 600,000 cubic feet per second!

Jim has logged over 4,200 kayak miles on lakes and rivers across thirteen states and Canada. He is active in Itasca Kayakers, a local club of kayak enthusiasts who have collectively paddled over 25,000 miles (the distance around the earth at the equator.) Lewis will talk about shared experiences with the club which usually paddles short outings during summer evenings on local lakes, but have had such extreme adventures as paddling in sub-zero weather and taking on rivers clogged with fallen trees.

Lewis, an avid photographer, documents his experiences in pictures and story, which has recently been published in a book by the same title, "Ka-Ka-Ska-Ska" ("Headwaters to the Gulf - in a kayak").