Frosty Beaver Full Moon
Thursday Nov 18 is the longest lunar eclipse in a millennia
Monday, Nov 15, 2021
Quapaw Canoe Company LMRD #850
Clarksdale, MS ~ Memphis, TN ~ Vicksburg, MS
Update:
Sorry about the gap in newsletters. We have been very busy on the river this past month, and then my trusty ol’ laptop died. I think i’ve got it together now — as much as a person can do in this strange year of surprising twists & turns. One thing unchanged — our dedication to our sweet Mother Earth, and her glorious overflowing of creation as found along the Lower Mississippi River.
Upcoming Fall Treats:
Even though our season is calming down now into the cool simmering Sienna, cinnamon, and cyan-colorings of an amazing array in the fall foliage in the forests Mississippi Delta, we have a few special treats coming up to share with you:
Frosty Beaver Full Moon 2-10pm, Thursday Nov 18th
Community Canoe 1-5pm, Saturday Nov 27th
Thursday Full Moon
Join us in one of our voyageur canoes for a special experience. We will head out to the river after lunch (2pm) and cross over to one of our favorite islands — one with a spectacular view upstream and down, with great views towards sunset and also towards moonrise. There we will get a fire going, enjoy the evening and eat dinner together, and watch the rising of the full moon. Around 8pm we will start paddling back, the light of the moon guiding our way. It’s going to be a typically cold fall night, low down in the 30s. Dress appropriately! ALSO — Feel free to bring a sketchbook, camera, or musical instrument - you may feel inspired!
Date: Thursday Nov 18th
Location: Meet at Quapaw Canoe Company, 291 Sunflower Ave, Clarksdale, MS. We will drive in personal vehicles from there to the launch point on the Mississippi River. (~25min drive)
Meet Time: 2pm
End Time: 9-10pm back in town
What to bring: Water bottle, warm clothes, hat, head lamp, flashlight.
Food: Potluck Pack whatever you want share! Quapaw will provide tables, stools, enamel plates, silverware, and hot water for coffee or tea.
Price: $115 per person. We accept cash, check, PayPal, or Venmo. Payment required in advance to secure a spot.
Covid-19: All outdoor event. Drive your own vehicle to landing. Handwashing station available. At base, mask up indoors and no handshakes, hugs, etc.
Full Moon Eclipse
On your own, you can wake up in the early morning hours on Thursday, Nov 18th, and you will witness the longest eclipse in 1,000 years. The last partial lunar eclipse this long was February 18, 1440, when the Incas were building Machu Picchu in Peru. Viewers in North America and the Pacific Ocean, Alaska, eastern Australia, New Zealand and Japan will be able to see the entire partial lunar eclipse. Observers in western Asia, Australia, and New Zealand miss the early stages of the eclipse because they occur before moonrise. Similarly, South America and Western Europe experience moonset before the eclipse ends. None of the eclipse is visible from Africa, the Middle East, or western Asia. (From Earth & Sky. Go to earthsky.org for more info!)
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 06:02:09 UTC on November 19
Partial Eclipse Begins: 07:18:43 UTC (2:19 a.m. EST in North America)
Greatest Eclipse: 09:02:56 UTC (4:03 a.m. EST)
Partial Eclipse Ends: 10:47:07 UTC (5:47 a.m. EST)
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 12:03:44 UTC (7:04 a.m. EST)
To sign up for trips, please contact:
Solange Fraser 612-390-1503, kefraser2@gmail.com, John Ruskey 662-902-7841, john@island63.com, Mark River 662-902-1885, mark@1mississippi.org, or Jean-Canot Walker 651-895-0115, spiffwalker@gmail.com
Who Are We?
We are a team of river guides and river lovers who build canoes and paddle them on guided wilderness trips down remote wild places of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Â We guide people into the vast wilderness that is created by the floodplain of the biggest river in North America -- from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico. Â We make explorations of the many biotas encompassed by the big river from the broad & deep main channel of the river to its back channels, to its wetlands, from its steep ravined bluffs to its oxbow lakes, its bottomland hardwood forests, its giant islands, caney breaks, giant sandbars, and its open fields and willow woods. Â Each biota created by the river is favored by different species of creation. Our mission is to share and protect what remains of the wild Lower Mississippi. Our work creates unique opportunities for experiencing and witnessing the wonders of wildlife in their natural habitat.
What is our Region?
Floodplain of the Lower (and Middle) Mississippi River. We cover a huge region, almost 1200 miles, from St. Louis to the Gulf, add on 159 miles of the Atchafalaya, and dozens more miles down all of the various passes to the Gulf of Mexico, and even more into the Mississippi Sound. Call or email to arrange an adventure into the greatest wild place in the center of the continent!
These are wonderful trips. The Mississippi is one of the natural wonders of the Earth, and there's no one more qualified to show it to you than John and company. The memory will stay with you for a long, long time. You don't have to be a great paddler or an experienced outdoorsman. Did one of these trips on the Winter Solstice several years ago with my grandkids. They loved it.
Thank you for passing along the trivia about this eclipse. I hope that the river event goes really well, and what better place to view that rising moon than reflected on the waters of the Mississippi. After the challenges of Covid, what better place to be to 'just be' and feel one with the earth, kindred spirits and the universe. Keep your ears open for nocturnal birds - and maybe you can squeeze in an eBird checklist!
The art is lovely!