Paddling the Mississippi River

Layne Logue, left, of Vicksburg, Miss., helped Paul Meincke and his friends get a three-person canoe when one of the original four paddlers ended his trip. Logue, another “river angel,” poses with Tom Lobacz with the ceremonial paddle the angels signed along the way.  (Paul Meincke / Chicago Tribune)

One of many spectacular sunsets — this one in Buffalo City, Wis. — witnessed on a canoe trip along the Mississippi River.

On the final day of a 70-day canoe trip, Tim Clark jumps into Louisiana’s Atchafalaya River at mile marker zero where the distributary of the Mississippi joins the Gulf of Mexico, while Tom Lobacz continues to paddle.

The writer, Paul Meincke, takes a self-portrait with a GoPro while paddling along the Mississippi River.

Bill Baar, left, of Highland Park, and Tim Clark, of Des Plaines, wait in a Missouri lock during their canoe trip on the Mississippi River.

Vietnam veteran Dan White holds a star given to him by fellow vet Tom Lobacz, of Galena. Lobacz was Meincke’s canoe mate on their epic journey down the river.

From left: Paul Meincke, of Des Plaines, takes a selfie along the river with canoe buddies Tim Clark of Des Plaines, Bill Baar, of Highland Park, and Tom Lobacz, of Galena.

The quartet of canoeists take a break outside a store: Tim Clark, from left, Paul Meincke, Bill Baar and Tom Lobacz.

On the banks of the Mississippi: Paul Meincke, from left, Tom Lobacz, Tim Clark and Bill Baar.