Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by expedition paddler Keith Lynch (www.canoevoyage.com)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 (third Tuesday this month)

• 7 p.m. presentation
• lower floor of the Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Map and Directions

If you intend on coming early to purchase an amazing dinner at Les Bourgeois Bistro before the presentation, PLEASE call to make a reservation at: 573-698-2300 and…tell them you are with the Big Muddy Speaker Series!

Presentation is FREE and open to the public!

Keith Lynch finished his epic canoe trip last year on Nov. 29, 2014, but there was one more step to his journey he was not aware of. On August 3, 2015, Keith hopped on a plane to Salt Lake City, Utah to receive the “Spirit of Adventure” award from Canoe & Kayak Magazine – a reader poll award that honors “ordinary” people doing extraordinary things.

Extraordinary is an understatement. In the spring of 2014, Keith quit his cubicle job in Dallas, TX, and traveled up to Montana where he met up with Norm Miller and Kris Walker, a couple of legendary “river angels” who helped get him started on his trip. He was going to canoe the entire Missouri River, then down the Mississippi River, then up the Red River, do a short portage then paddle up the Trinity River back to his home in Dallas.

The catch? Keith had never paddled a canoe before.

We are lucky to share the evening with this very funny, very inspiring everyman who dropped 50 pounds, gained a Grizzly Adams beard and made hundreds of friends and fans along our nation’s greatest rivers.

Here is Keith overlooking the Missouri River with his “Spirit of Adventure” award. Keith received this award in Salt Lake City, then immediately returned to Missouri to continue a paddling trip with friends he met on his first voyage. Photo courtesy of Norman Miller.

Directions

• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO
• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It’s the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in upstairs in the restaurant. The restaurant is no longer open on Tuesdays but the bar is! You are welcome to bring your own food or snacks.