On the River, with Paintbrush and Paddle

Watercolors by Sara Dykman
​ASC Microplastics Adventurer

The Missouri River Breaks is home to rock formations made by time, water and wind. We stretched our legs and enjoyed the view from Hole in the Wall.

In July, six paddlers set off to follow the water for 3,500 miles. The group began their adventure at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, following snowmelt, small creeks and cold water springs to the Missouri River. From the Missouri, they will continue to the Mississippi and then on to the Gulf of Mexico. 

On the water every single day, the gang from On the River feels a deep connection to these water systems and an added sense of urgency to protect them. Their mission is to raise awareness for river conservation, connecting with schools and collecting water samples for the ASC Microplastics Project along the way.

Paddler, educator and artist Sara Dykman has brought along her watercolors, and is sharing her experience in brushstrokes.

It wasn’t until we hit the Marias River that we were able to actually CANOE our canoes. Until this point we had pulled our canoes by bike and walked our canoes down small creeks avoiding rocks in the shallows.

The Marias River brought us to the Missouri River, just upstream of the Missouri River Breaks. These tall cliffs have not changed since the time of Lewis and Clark. We paddled slowly to enjoy the wildness and beauty of the river.

A haze settled over the river upstream from Bismarck, leaving us with a beautiful sunset that helped us paddle well into the evening. We arrived in town in time to share our story with one of the local elementary schools.

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Find On the River on the web at www.ontheriver.org. Learn more about the Microplastics Project and other ASC projects on our website, the Field Notes blog, and our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ pages.