This beautiful COTTONWOOD found me in Littleton, Colorado, in 2011. Blind from a wreck, I carved her out, and paddled across Nebraska on the big, flat Platte River. At 600lbs (or so), she paddled nicely! I had her filled to the brim with two of us and our gear! I decided to cut her in half, roughly. Still blind, I chopped her down to about 250-300lbs (roughly)! After a year in the Yellowstone Gateway Museum in Livingston, Montana, I prepared her for another journey. We had to paddle the Mighty Mo'!
    Knotty and I have completed our journey from Twin Bridges, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri! The entire tip was documented at 
https://www.facebook.com/knottythedugoutcanoeonthemightymo?fref=ts
     Canoe! Canoe!

We started with a 19-ft section of very green cottonwood... VERY heavy! (about 3000 lbs!)

This was Knotty, as I paddled her down the big, flat Platte... at about 600 pounds!

After paddling the Platte, I carved 'er down from about 600 lbs (top photo), to about 250 lbs (above)...

Sailing Knotty on Lake Sakakawea...

Floating through The White Cliffs...

A remote camp on Lake Sakakawea... or, "The Mighty Mo'"...

Lake Oahe, North Dakota, fully loaded!