I know you said your in San Francisco. But if you really want a wild
adventure on a shoe string... you should hop a bus to St. Louis, MO.
and cross the river to the Illinois side. Follow the river bank down to
where you can build your own raft in a Huck Finn kind of way, and then
ride the Mississippi down to Louisiana.

It is a perfect opportunitiy if your into Eagles, bird and wildlfe
digital photography and camping on the river's edge at night
for a great summer time get away on a low budget.

Once you get back down to Louisiana again you just hop a bus
back to San Francisco. An entire summer vacation for around
4 or 5 hundred bucks. You can't really beat it. For the amount
of fun and adventure you'll have, just don't forget a metal detector.

You never know what you will find on the banks of the Mississippi
River in areas where you might set up camp in the evenings and
on sand bars that you may encounter along the way.

I would read up on building wooden rafts from scratch as well.

I'm not going to lie to you. It takes some work, about a week to
build a decent raft from downed logs tied together. But anything
worth doing is going to take some amount of effort.

What could be more adventurous than building your own raft from
materials on the river bank and using it to travel down a river.

When you see a town, go to the nearest store to replentish your
pack with canned goods, food, first aid, you get the idea.

Kind of like a high tech hobo with a metal detector and a camera.
It might sound crazy... but it's acually quite fun, and it gives one
an appreciation for what they have back at home.

Especially when you encounter other people that live on the river
Full-time as drifters fishing for their food. It's a humbling experience.

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