♪♪ ♪♪ [Steve Lawless] I think there's the things you see, but there's also the things you feel.

♪♪ [Steve Lawless] And I think that is very much a part of why we go into the backwaters.

There are these intimate spaces, these kind of labyrinths.

And when you get out there you just have this feeling of being in this cathedral of nature.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] The wide and mighty Mississippi might not seem like a good place to launch a kayak.

But tucked between the bluffs of Iowa and Wisconsin's Driftless Area, the river's backwaters create an inviting stretch of calm water for eager adventurers to explore.

[Steve Lawless] The backwaters are this amazing braid, if you will, of land and water that come together here.

And it really begins a bit up in Minnesota and comes down into Iowa.

By the time you're down into Missouri you're not finding these islands as much.

And so, these kind of tranquil, easy waters to paddle are very different than the main channel of the river.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] With Steve Lawless at the helm, kayakers navigate the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge situated on the shores of Lansing, Iowa and De Soto, Wisconsin.

[Steve Lawless] This is not a horse race.

So, just go out, enjoy the flow of the river, let it take you where it wants to take you.

♪♪ [Steve Lawless] We're open to anyone.

In fact, that's very much a part of our mission is to make kayaking accessible for anyone that has any inclination of trying.

♪♪ Just follow me, we're going to duck into this little backwater here.

♪♪ [Steve Lawless] There's this thought that in wilderness, civilization is saved.

But I think thanks to many people who have had the foresight to preserve these areas, to keep them wild, to keep them green, to keep out development, we have this chance to be in these sanctuaries, to be in these cathedrals of nature, to have these experiences of peace, to find ourselves.

♪♪