John Camp, paddling a canoe or large kayak along the Missouri and Mississippi is on the bucket list. First I have to get good at managing a small kayak in the smaller class I and II rivers locally, the Meramec River being a jewel with gorgeous views within 15 minutes of downtown St. Louis. And I would love to get good at shooting long telephoto from a kayak, because the birds don't mind you as much - lots of chutes and sandbar islands that form extremely rich environments for migrating birds coming along the Mississippi flyway. The sizable (900 acre) city park 5 miles from downtown and two blocks from my flat has had some 230 bird species spotted - apparently the migrants see this nice green spot with water, smack in the middle of a sea of concrete and small-lot houses, and settle in for a day. Central Park in NYC (750 acres) has the same "green island" phenomenon, with over 200 species recorded.
The area around Cape Girardeau has some favorite spots too - on the Illinois side there is the Shawnee National Forest with LaRue-Pine Hills (aka "Snake Road") area, "Little Grand Canyon" slot canyon hike, the southern of the two IL Horseshoe Lake parks, among others, and of course on the MO side, the Mark Twain National Forest and associated state parks, and Mingo swamp Natl Fish and Wildlife reserve.