TV Report on Student’s Mississippi River Adventure
Bangor TV station WABI reported on UMaine student Benton Purnell, who recently completed a 67-day canoe trip that took him the entire 2,500-mile length of the Mississippi River. Purnell said in an interview the trip came about when his father encouraged him to do something interesting this summer. He started in northern Minnesota, where he struggled with cold and wildlife, and faced leeches, bug bites, fallen trees and impassible marshes en route to Louisiana. Purnell, who said the trip was a lesson in self-reliance, donated his canoe and camping supplies to a Boy Scout troop in New Orleans.
Contact: Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777