Banking over a long spit of land jutting into the Eleven Point River, a bald eagle streaked above our kayaks, cocking its head to eye the paddlers below.
Zooming at treetop level, it suddenly powered up to join a flock of vultures corkscrewing in a rising thermal of warm air high above the river.
An excited shout came from a gravel bar adorned with canoes.
"That's why we love this river!"
About 2.5 hours east of Springfield, there's a lot to love about the Eleven Point. The river gets its name from early French fur trappers who marked their distances by the number of "pointes" — like the one the eagle flew past — protruding into the river.