Bill Belleville has been my mentor throughout this process. His book " River of Lakes" intrigued me when I first read it, and introduced me to a part of Florida that I knew so little about. It was natural, a bit wild, and altogether different than what the average tourist (or resident) thinks when they see the river. Bill’s book had received rave national reviews, and the Miami Herald called it the "definitive book on the St. Johns."
 

Bill has a writing style that is at once gentle, humorous, and very informed. Most importantly, it made me curious about this strange and very diverse St. Johns River system. I wanted to know more about it. A few years after I read Bill's book, I was motivated to go have a solo adventure.
 

I had worked with Bill on some other conservation projects, and felt comfortable talking with him about my river dream. He was very forthcoming and supportive. He explained that while he had seen much of the river, it had been by research boat, air boat, houseboat---even scuba tanks. While he was an avid paddler, he had never intended to paddle the entire river. In fact, he said he knew of only a few who had done the river system by motorboat. And none had tried it from the true headwaters. I was motivated even further by the thought of being the first.
 

Bill continues his work as a nature writer and educator, helping others see the "unknown" in the so-called known natural world all around us. Whether he's writing from the Amazon or the Great Barrier Reef, the Everglades, the Florida Keys---or the local Wekiva River---Bill always seems to find new ways to find wonder in the world around him. He's one of the few men I know who, one minute will find joy in a tiny wildflower---and the next, he's l00 feet deep on a night dive on an offshore reef. He's an anomaly in that way.  He doesn’t fit into any mold.
 

When " River of Lakes" first came out, he was introduced to an audience as the "Sage of the St. Johns." Bill said that startled him at the time since he figured a "sage ought to be wise and old." Bill says he's growing into at least one of those roles.