"River Angels," by Rod Wellington
Channel: kcdigitalvideo
Date: 2016-11-13

Download Transcript: 
http://kcdv.tv/big-muddy-speakers-series/pdf/rod-wellington.pdf

“River Angels,"
by Rod Wellington, Tuesday, August 23, 2016.

Rod Wellington on the Jefferson River in 2013.

In 2013, Rod Wellington, owner of his own publishing company
(Crow Books), paddled his way past Kansas City as the first North
American to travel “Source to Sea” from Brower Spring near the
Montana Continental Divide to the Gulf of Mexico. Inspired by
that trip and others, he has self-published a book called “River
Angels”. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the simultaneous
organization of three separate self-propelled expeditions and the
dynamic individuals who took part in those expeditions.

The book, “River Angels,” also introduces the world to a
burgeoning network of altruistic “river angels”-riverside
citizens who not only assist long-distance paddlers, but also
help preserve and promote the rivers they love.

Rod Wellington spent eight unfulfilling years frowning his way
through a landscaping job he despised. In 2011, he parked his
lawnmower for the last time and enthusiastically began pursuing
his true passion: adventure. Now he smiles every day.

On April 2, 2013, Rod became the first Canadian (and first North
American) to kayak the Missouri-Mississippi river system from
source to sea, a distance of 3800 miles/6100km. The solo journey
took 256 days to complete. Rod’s triumphant arrival at the Gulf
of Mexico marked the completion of Stage One of his Magnificent
Seven Expedition, a personal quest to descend the longest river
system on each continent from source to sea using only
human-powered transportation (on foot, kayak and raft). He
estimates it will take 15 years to complete the project. Rod
plans to write a book about each of the seven journeys.

Big Muddy Speakers Series (Kansas City) hosted by Healthy Rivers
Partnership (http://www.healthyriverspartnership.com/), Lakeside
Nature Center (http://www.lakesidenaturecenter.org/), and
RiverRelief (http://www.riverrelief.org/) at the Westport
Coffeehouse Theater (http://www.westportcoffeehouse.com)

Musical Credits:

"Tennessee Hayride" by Audionautix (http://audionautix.com/)
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

"Supas Stand Up Against Slavery Wolf River" by Steve Selvidge

Live broadcast of Big Muddy Speaker Series by:
Kansas City Digital Video (http://www.kcdv.tv)

Index of the Big Muddy Speaker Series:
http://www.kcdv.tv/big-muddy-speakers-series

For information about upcoming presentations visit:
http://bigmuddyspeakers.org/kansascity/