Heavy Rainstorm in a BOAT CAMPER on the Mississippi River!

We are on the Mississippi River on the border of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. This area is a part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which protects more than 261 river miles and over 240,000 acres of land. We're expecting some significant rain tomorrow morning, so the plan today is to explore some of these back channels and then find a nice island to camp out on, make a fire, and eat some good food before those storms roll in first thing in the morning. What I really love about being out on rivers is that they feel like a highway, you know. It's not just a big open body of water. It has twists and turns and you really don't know what you're going to get around every single bend. Oh my gosh, in fact, we've got a huge bald eagle right in front of us. Holy cow. My hope is that by the end of the day, at least, we can find some sort of an island that has some solid ground and some trees on it because we're going to need a place for Ellie to be able to get off and stretch her legs. What we're in right now looks like a big mud pit. We could definitely get off if we needed to, but it is far from ideal. So you can see this island coming up that has a few trees on it. I think what I want to do is drop anchor up there, check out the map, see if we can figure out somewhere that we want to go tonight, and maybe we'll try to do a little bit of fishing before moving on as well. Well, this is absolutely incredible, you guys. We've got a bald eagle just out the back of the boat here, and then if we look out the window from this side, we not only have a nest, but another bald eagle perched up on a tree just down here at the bend of the river. Oh my gosh, there's another one. We have four bald eagles that I can see right now. They're all looking at me. I wonder if we're too close to their nest or something. All right, so if we look at the map here, you can see that we are just headed deeper into a maze of islands, which is good because that's what we want. I'm hoping we can find something with somewhat of a beach. At least not as muddy as this, but that might be a tall order. It's really shallow here. We're hitting the bottom like big time. Oh, I think we're gonna have to try to use the trolling motor and see if it gets a little bit deeper up this channel. Otherwise, we're stuck here. Not stuck like permanently, but I mean, we're not getting any further. Well, the water depth did not seem to improve much as we made our way further up the river. So I decided to save the battery on our trolling motor and instead head to shore and find a place to set up camp. Oh, okay. No, no, we're not gonna break you today. As you can see by the footprints in the mud, somebody has been here fairly recently. Well, it's mucky down here, but I bet we can find some solid ground up top to hopefully hang out and have a fire. And that might be an affirmation that this truly is the end of the line right now. It is really thick up on this island. Kind of hard to walk around in, honestly. This vegetation is like up over my head. It's incredible. Can't even see Ellie. Where are you? There you are. Okay, let's get out of this. Yeah, this is a no-go. I think we're gonna have to have our fire right there on the beach. Thankfully, there's a little bit of hard ground once you get away from the water. So that's gonna have to do. Well, it's definitely different than being out on the lake, I'll tell you what. Very different. I feel like a fish out of water out here because I'm just not used to the terrain and navigating such shallow water. That's what life's about, you know? Trying new things. Getting out of your comfort zone every once in a while. I've got some steak to grill for dinner. I don't really know yet where I'm gonna do that. I might see if it's possible to set it up on the bow of the boat, but that could be risky. We shall see. So it turns out I was able to set up the grill on the bow of the boat. I just secured it with this utility strap and it was good to go. So for dinner tonight, I am whipping up some bacon-wrapped steaks. They're really good. I've had them once before. And again, it's just super easy to make this stuff, especially with this awesome little camp grill. I've really been loving it. Dear God, thank you for this food. Thank you for a beautiful place to spend the night. Well, of course, we got our bacon-wrapped steak here. And I've got a nice little Caesar salad as well. It's not much. It's definitely not fancy, but it's gonna taste good and fill me up. And that's all that really matters right now. That is delicious. The bacon flavor almost like seeps into the steak because that piece didn't have any bacon on it, but you could taste it. And man, is it delicious. I gotta say, guys, I am proud of how much I have stepped up my cooking game out here. In fact, I cannot remember the last time that I had burritos. It's definitely been a while. The salad's good too. Definitely can't go wrong with the Caesar. It is incredibly peaceful. And man, there's just wildlife everywhere. Now, beavers historically are not the biggest fans of mine. They're always slapping their tails at me and trying to get me to leave. Wait a minute. Oh man, we've got two beavers. There are two right by each other. Oh man, that's beautiful. It's pretty dark, but you can see that one of them has climbed up out of the at least a little bit. And it looks like he's eating something. Wow. Just a show going on right outside the window. Well, guys, there are a lot of mosquitoes out there. And so far, they're staying out there. Oh my gosh. Oh, that is creepy. Jeez, Louise. I told you beavers do not like me. Now, also, I usually turn off my lanterns before going to bed, but there's no way I'm doing that right now with all those bugs. I'm just going to let them go all night. Anyway, the river, certainly a unique experience. That is for sure. Towing my boat cabin down the highway used to be a little nerve wracking because I didn't feel like I could see what was going on behind me. Well, today I'm using the Wolfbox G900 Pro Mirror Dash Cam and just watch how much peace of mind I have now. I get such a better view out the back of my truck with the camera here, as opposed to my rear view mirror. It eliminates all the blind spots and lets me really keep an eye on the boat back there with the wide angle rear camera on the big 12 inch touch screen. I get a crystal clear real time view right there in my mirror. You could mount this camera to be your reverse camera as well. However, I already have that in my truck. And so I wanted this to be higher up so that I could get a better view of my boat or any other cabin or trailer that I'm pulling behind the truck. Something that I really appreciate is how streamlined the setup is. You've got all your cords up here out of the way and I was easily able to run them through the paneling of my truck. It's a true two in one as well. You've got 4K footage in the front as well as 2.5K in the back rolling simultaneously while you're driving down the highway. And both cameras have upgraded sensors as well as noise reduction to stay sharp both day and night. I can easily swipe between a front view, rear view, or I can do a split screen as well. And you can actually use voice commands to do all of this so you can keep your hands on the wheel. Show front camera. So if you want one of the clearest, smartest mirror dash cams for trucks and trailers in 2026, check out the exclusive promo link and discount code in the description below. And with that, let's get back out on the water. Well, good morning everyone. It is absolutely beautiful out. It's much cooler this morning and man does that feel good. I slept pretty well. There were a couple times in the middle of the night that I woke up to some crazy noises. Mainly just things splashing around in the water. But all in all, I got great sleep and the bug situation was totally under control. That's all you can really ask for. Forecast is showing that we might get a little bit of rain early this morning. But if not, it's certainly coming later on. So whether or not we see any of that before taking off, who knows. But I think very shortly here I'm going to get Ellie out, let her run around a little bit, and then we'll start thinking about shoving off and making our way back down the river. Well, it's officially starting to rain a little bit. You can see a few sprinkles out on the water and I'm starting to hear it a little bit on the roof as well. Oh guys, this is the place to fish. We've got some lily pads. It's kind of nice too the rain coming down the fish like that too. I think I have one. Yep. Oh yeah baby, we got a pike I think. This is a type of fish that I have personally never seen before. I found out later that it's called a bowfin and it's one of the most prehistoric looking fish that you can encounter in the backwaters of the upper Mississippi. They have a long cylindrical body with a broad head and sharp teeth and an enormous dorsal fin running along much of their back. But the most bizarre thing about the bowfin is the fact that they can actually breathe air. Bowfin come up to the surface and gulp air, which gives them a huge advantage in water like this, which is often warm, shallow, and poor in oxygen level. He got off the hook. Man, that was a nice size fish. And don't worry, he did not steal the lure. He just got off the hook. The rain's picking up, but I think we'll try one more time. I think I got one. Yep. Little pike. Got one. This guy feels maybe a little bit bigger. Is it the same pike? Man, if that's not the same pike, it's one of his brothers. No, he's different. He's a little bigger. Just barely. They are beautiful fish, I'll tell you what. Well, that was a lot of fun. Bummer that the big one got away. That's how it always goes, isn't it? But I'm really glad we didn't get skunked this trip. Definitely found a nice little spot to fish, that's for sure. Beautiful. And with all these lily pads and vegetation, it was just the perfect spot. So very, very cool. Well, this right here is what I built this cabin for. So nice and cozy in here. And man, just hearing the rain fall, not only on the roof, but out there on the water. It's heavenly. We've really only had one true rainstorm in this cabin before. And the reason for that is usually the rain brings thunder and lightning. But this morning, we're just getting a nice, peaceful rainstorm. And that's all it's supposed to be. And so it feels good to be able to just kind of sit back and enjoy it. This is so cool, you guys. The river is just gorgeous. And the rain is making that vegetation just pop with most vibrant color. But my favorite thing here is the view of these bluffs. They truly look like mountains right now, especially when they're blanketed in that cloud cover and fog. It is just stunning. So I actually think I did just hear a little bit of thunder. I'm going to check the forecast quick. But I think regardless, I'm going to put the big motor in the water and start to make our way back to the landing a little bit quicker. Well, the forecast is just saying rain. But still, I think I'm going to put the big motor in just so we don't kill the battery on the trolling motor in case we need it to get out of, you know, some sort of sticky situation where it gets too shallow. All right, well, there's the landing. I think I'm going to switch back to the trolling motor and we'll get this thing back up on dry land. Well, guys, we made it. And I think with that, I'm going to wrap up this adventure. Thank you all so much for coming along. This turned out to be one of my favorite trips that we've taken in a very long time. Not just seeing something new like getting out on the Mississippi River, but being able to experience a rainstorm in this cabin was such a treat. Again, it's what I built this thing for. And I'm so grateful that things turned out the way they did and that we are back now safe and sound. I want to give a special shout out as always to our patrons who generously donate to this channel. Thank you all so much. But again, to all of you who watch, comment, subscribe, you're all the reason that I get to do this on a weekly basis and share with you. And for that, I am very, very grateful. But with that, it's time for me to get this thing up on the trailer so I can get home and see the girls. We'll see you next week. God bless. you