decorahnews.com feature: Luther College graduate kayaked the length of the Mississippi River

Photos courtesy of Rev. David Ellingson

As a boy, Dave Ellingson read Mark Twain's "Huck Finn" and thought to himself, "I'd like to travel down the Mississippi River, too."  But unlike the rest of us, Ellingson was able to make his childhood dream come true, taking three months of his sabbatical from Trinity Lutheran College in Washington State and spending it in a kayak traveling the entire length of the Mississippi.

"For me, traveling down the river was this amazing encounter with God," he tells decorahnews.com.  A very social person, he spent days at a time in silence, a "deeply spiritual" experience, he says.

He was cheered by how kind the people he met along the river were, helping him with food and shelter, even though he was a total stranger.

Ellingson tells decorahnews.com he embarked on the journey for three reasons--for the adventure, for the learning and for the pilgrimage.  He blogged about the journey at http://paddlepilgrim.blogspot.com, then wrote a book about his experience.  He will be signing copies of his book from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the Luther Book Shop and will also speak two other times while in Decorah.  It's part of a Midwest tour that will also take him to La Crosse and the Quad Cities

Ellingson calls himself "an environmental theologian."  He teaches classes at Trinity Lutheran College.  However, he admits his three-month journey down the Mississippi tuaght him how to become a student.  He tells decorahnews.com, "The river became my teacher."

On the river near Lansing