Canoeing

Flying Asian carp, river barge traffic, and dangerous eddies all awaited Steve Kueny as he floated his massive fruit, called "Huckle Berry," from Kansas City, Kansas, to Napoleon, Missouri. But after 11 hours, Kueny completed his journey — squashing the world record.

Despite its ever-present vastness along the Missouri-Illinois border, the Mississippi River is easy for locals to take for granted. And all too often,…