Kayak the Missouri

These adventuresome people were kayaking down the Missouri. The river runs about 3 miles an hour and the channel is about 20 feet deep. Submerged logs and sandbars need to keep your attention. I rarely see a pleasure boat on the Mighty MO. Almost all the land is private with few public access points.

It would be a different world out there. civilization does not intersect the river at many points. It would be a peaceful way to spend time.

Are we willing to go against the norm to spend time with God?
Habakkuk 2:1 "I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved."
Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch."
Luke 6:12 "It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God."

Lord, I seek You and look for Your answer.

Missouri River Seasons

13 Feb 08


31 March 08


April 11th 2008


June 25th 2008


3-Sep-08 Thick fog that morning.

Devotions on the River

I stopped at the Missouri on the way to work for devotions around 6:40AM. There was a little rain as I rode to work on my bicycle. Not a lot of traffic while riding in the dark.

Missouri River

Here are some shots of the Missouri river as I rode the Katy trail last September.

Sand Bar

These geese are enjoying a newly appeared sand bar as the river drops in this winter drought.

Missouri River Jetty

Here are a couple of photos I took of the Missouri river that is flowing over a rock jetty established by the Corps of Engineers. At the current time of these photos the jetty are covered by the height water of the Missouri river.




Above is a photo of the same jetty exposed by lower water. The purpose of this jetty is to slow the current at this point and cause debris in the water to settle on the river bottom. The slower the water is flowing the less volume of debris it can hold.

Over time the river will deposit enough debris to fill in the bed to become part of the bank of the river. Why?

The Corps of Engineers wants to straighten the river and narrow the channel. In part this will make it easier for barges to use the river.

This is good strategy for barges and economic development but not for wetlands. Wetlands provide habitat for wildlife. They also provide a storage area for flood water. If the river is diked there is no place for flood water to go. Therefore the floods will careen down the river channel until a dike is broken. Then with the broken dike and damaged farmland, (which depended on the dike), the flood water finds a place to store the excess water. If the river was left alone this would have happened naturally.

Man can change nature for a time but only with constant effort. The forces of nature will continue to chew away at what man has put in its way.

Do we try to set up barriers against what God has planned for us? We may succeed for a while but in the end it will fail.

To cooperate with nature seems to me to be a much better way to manage lands and to cooperate with God also makes more sense.

Matthew 11:28
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Missouri River Panarama

Riding the Katy Trail I got this video of the Missouri river.


Psalm 40:4
"How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood."

Missouri River Flood Projections

Here is a link to the Missouri river watershed flood projections.

Missouri River ice

Today Saturday there is a thaw, so I wanted to get the Missouri river ice photo's I took Wednesday and Friday on this blog.



Here is a video showing the river full of ice. It is interesting to see where the main current is and where the slow water is.



Driftwood along the south shore of the Missouri river.


These ice patties are mainly slush. I suppose if it stayed cold for a long time they would become solid.


Psalm 46:4 "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High."

The Muddy MO

Photo taken October 16th 2007 10:56 AM the day after some heavy rain.


Photo taken October 20th 2007 8:47 AM a few days after a heavy rain.

Both photos were taken from the exact same spot.

I was wondering if the settings were different on the camera because the water color in the top photo is a lot darker. But if you look at the color of the sky and trees they are close. It is not just the driftwood but the mud in the water that is interesting.

Hike along Missouri river

My dog and I started hiking along the path following the Missouri river.

When we came to the end of the trail, you can see the bridge where we started. It looks closer than we walked. The trail weaving causes a longer walk than it appears. We sat down along the river and rested. My black lab is not too friendly with water. I threw a stick in the river, she jumped into get it and went under. That was enough for her, she turned around and got out.

Hiking further into the park we left the river and headed to some bluffs. To the left was cane grass and to the right it appeared to be a planted weed for the whole field was covered with it.

Getting to a stopping point I tied up the hammock and rested. My dog was bushed and went to sleep under the hammock.

We followed the tree line as far as this photo shows on the way back.

It was a good day off.

Missouri River After High Flood water

Here, some grass is growing where flood waters killed the vegetation earlier in the summer. Cottonwood trees are in the background. They can withstand saturated soil at times.

This photo shows the cracking of the dry soil of the river bed. This area is lower than the first photo.

As always, you can click on the photo for a larger view.

Missouri River May 9th 2007 Near Flood

Ice on Missouri River

Ice is stacked up against a jetty in the Missouri river.

River Dredge

Missouri river dredge deepening the channel for river barges. We should not neglect to keep our hearts clean.








Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the LORD,
"Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool."

Lunch break on the Missouri river

Missouri River Overlook

Riding some of the trails and roads of Weston Bend State Park. This was one of the better photos I took.