CANOE TRIP ON MISSISSIPPI RIVER BENEFITS GIPSON CENTER

Before the era of Mark Twain and the paddle wheel riverboats, canoes were a major tool in conquering swift flowing rivers. And even though huge, dinosaur-like barges rule the waters of the Mississippi now, the canoe still has a place on the river.

Robert Antill hopes to find that place for canoes again this year. He is the chairman of Mississippi River Canoe Trek. This `trek' will start from Ste. Genevieve on Aug. 9 and end up 74 miles later in Cape Girardeau Aug. 11.

"I really look forward to this every year," said Antill, who works as detox technician for Gibson Recovery Center, Inc. for drug and alcohol addiction treatment in Cape Girardeau.

Actually, the trip, that is now in its third summer, is a benefit for the support of the center.

Antill got the idea for starting the trip from a friend in St. Louis.

"This all came about," said Antill, "from Kirk Weaver, a friend of mine. He's a mountaineer and what he does is climbs and gets people to sponsor him. He then gives the money to Epworth Children's Home in St. Louis.

"I met him at a church function a few years back and he told me about this. Then I got the idea that if he could do that, I could do something similar for the recovery center."

The first two trips both made $400 for Gibson Recovery Center, said Antill. Currently, he said, the benefit has netted $350 in donations. Antill does think, though, that still not that many people know about the center.

"I really think that not that many people know about us yet," said Antill. "This event is a good chance to get some publicity. If we had a corporate sponsor, it might help us out in the future, too."

Antill has been an active participant in water activities most of his life. After moving from Pittsburgh, Penn. to West Palm Beach, Fla. at an early age, water became one of his great loves.

"We lived so close to the ocean that I was able to do all kinds of activities, like skin diving, scuba diving and surfing.

"We would also go out at night and watch the sea turtles come out of the ocean and lay their eggs in the sand. It was a great experience."

He learned to canoe at the age of 14 and now at 38, he still enjoys this activity. It was six years ago that he made his first trip down the Mississippi.

"A friend and I first tried the river from Trail of Tears Park to Cape and I had a great time.

"I really think that if a person can canoe down the Current River, they can handle the Mississippi just as well. I've had harder times on the Current than I have had on the Mississippi," he said.

"Yes, the Mississippi is bigger and more dangerous but the river is big enough that you have a lot more area and time to avoid obstacles, while in the Current you don't."

Buoys are the biggest concern while traveling on the Mississippi, said Antill.

"Buoys are more dangerous than anything else on the river because they tend to blend into the background," said Antill. "Red-colored buoys are a little better to see but there are some green colored ones that are harder to pick out."

Last year, Antill said, the current on the Mississippi was a swift 6 mph due to the river level at 33 feet. He expects the current to be somewhere around 3 to 4 mph for this trip.

"It's really a blast," said Antill, in reference to the trip. "It's a very leisurely trip and we're not in a hurry to get anywhere. We'll camp two nights on both the Illinois side and the Missouri side of the river."

The trip is full of adventure and surprises. Antill had two memorable occurrences that happened on last years trip.

"The first thing I recall that was actually kind of scary," said Antill, "was when two of the guys in our party were screaming and carrying on behind us in their canoe. We didn't know what was going on so we went back to look at them.

"What was going on was that they were caught in a whirlpool that started off the size of a saucer and eventually grew to be 12 feet wide. They got out of it with no problem but it really made us more cautious the rest of the trip."

The second occurrence was less of a risk to personal health.

"We had just set up camp for the night and it was getting pretty dark," said Antill. "We were are real comfortable and we had a nice fire going. Then all of a sudden this huge light hit us and we all felt like we were in New York City.

"All it turned out to be was a barge. I think they saw the fire and thought that maybe a forest fire was starting so they shined their overhead light on us. It was really strange, though."

Antill also said it is worth going on the trip to see the countryside and animals.

He is still looking for experienced canoeists to make the three-day journey with him. Also, the Gibson Recovery Center would still appreciate any donations for the center.

Those interested in going on the trip or in making a donation to the center should write to: Gibson Recovery Center, Inc. c/o Hugh Stone, Executive Director, 1112 Linden Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.