The logistics of this trip were bad. I just could not figure a better way to do it. After a couple of days in New Orleans, Lijun flew home and I flew to St Louis via Dallas. I picked up my truck and trailer that I left in storage by the airport and headed south. …
New Orleans recovery
I awoke in a comfortable bed in New Orleans but felt like I never really slept. We ate at the Ruby Slipper, a place famous for brunch. Though it had a full bar for those not recovered from the previous night's fun or those wishing to start the party early, I skipped that and just …
I’m not going to make it
Lijun flew in to New Orleans the night before and was planning to meet me in Venice. I have to finish today. Forty miles. It was pitch black as I stared out at the river, debating whether to go or not. Why wait? I stayed near the bank looking ahead more than usual since I …
81 miles (actually 71)
Eighty one miles to the official end of the Mississippi River. In Mark Twain's time I would be in the Gulf of Mexico. However, now, the river is artificially maintained with a 45 foot deep shipping channel by levees and jetties far out into the gulf. I can go all the way to the end …
New Orleans fly by
I am up and ready in the dark. An occasional barge passes as they did all night. I wait and eat pop tarts until sunrise, to give me a little better chance to see and be seen. The sun is out as I pass under the Hale Boggs bridge. There is no stopping today. I …
Maybe this was a mistake
I am dwarfed by everything around be. Big things. Moving and not moving everywhere on the river at the same time. I was anxious from the time I put in until the time I mercifully stopped after 50 miles. I was just plain afraid the rest of the time. I think I will let the …
Suicide Alley
A few miles below Natchez is the mouth to the Atchafalaya River. It runs parallel to the Mississippi to the gulf and has no commercial traffic. I've heard kayakers and canoeists use it as an alternative rather than trying to get by Baton Rouge and New Orleans in a tiny boat. I passed it two …
Baton Rouge
Passing under a bridge I see Baton Rouge on the other side of the river. I have to get over there now but a barge is coming up river. I stop and wait to cross 75 yards in front of a barge anchored in the river. A deckhand comes walking the length of the barge …
It’s October Louisiana didn’t get the memo
It's October 1st and 92 degrees by mid afternoon. Apparently Mississippi and Louisiana are unaware it's been Fall now for 10 days now. I made 50 miles for the day and I'm just 50 miles from Baton Rouge. 50 miles seems to be my makeable milage per day without completely exhausting myself. I'm thinking of …
My day
6:25 - On the water with enough light to see. Eat two Pop Tarts. Pop Tarts? I lost all that weight and feel better not eating sugar. That stuff is crack. 7:05 - Sunrise. Dodge and dance with barge close enough to wave to the deckhands. Then not another barge or any boat for hours. …
Natchez
"Are they European?" I ask the bartender after he served a young couple cold beer. "Yeah", he said with a smile "You can tell by their shoes." The woman next to them has a sleeveless denim jacket on with a patch across the back saying Scottie's Wife. We sit together along with a few other …
Back out there
The boat ramp is packed with maybe 15 truckes and trailers as I set off on a Saturday morning. Some people come by and talk, a few say nice boat and others just give me a look of amusement as they put in their bass boats with twin outboard engines. Little Joy feels heavy and …
Vicksburg on the river
At 6:30 in the morning, going down to check on my boat, I was greeted by a big, stern wheel paddle boat. It made me smile. Then I see Little Joy and I can see the tarp covering my gear is torn back. Crap. A plastic bin with all the food plus my Jetboil stove, …
Vicksburg Mississippi
Sitting in the cool of the Cottonwood Public house, a new, comfortable pub on Washington St, the main street of old Vicksburg, I enjoy my first beer in seven days. In the six and a half days it took to get from Memphis to Vicksburg I traveled 300 river miles, drank seven gallons of water, …
Another 50 miles
Pelicans! Finally. Since I started the trip I have only seen one single Pelican. Today a flock flew over for several minutes before landing along the shore. There must have been a hundred of them. In Minnesota I saw flocks almost every day. I love the large white wings against the blue sky. They may …
Just keep rowing
Two guys in a small metal boat came over from fishing near the shore to talk. I must be a curious sight to some people. They both had gray beards and were wearing PFDs. (I was not wearing mine) In a slow southern drawl they asked questions. Yesterday two other guys came over to check …
Big Day
I ate oatmeal for breakfast which I cooked the night before. I have been feeling weak but not really hungry the past couple of days and decided to eat more and eat more often. About midday I see four barges all aimed upstream parked along the river bank. I've never seen that before and I'm …
Barges
There is a barge stopped on the inside of a bend. The river picks up speed as it is funneled into the narrow stretch of the turn. Is it stopped? Maybe it's moving. I beach on the same side as the barge and get out to try and get a better look. It's definitely stopped. …
Mississippi- Arkansas
I spent all day on the boat. The wind persisted and I only make 43 miles in 10 hours. I camp on a sandbar within site of Helena Arkansas. It doesn't get old. More wayward buoys Fitz Tunica Casino & Hotel Mississippi. There were a few casinos in MS but none really accessible from the …
Back at it
The rest seems to have done me good. I have my wits about me again and had the brainpower to ask the hotel courtesy van to drive me back to my boat. The thing was the driver did not know how to get the two miles, over the only bridge to Mud Island, which is …
Rest and Relaxation
I decide not to go to Graceland. I know its a pilgrimage for many people but it doesn't appeal to me. I'll go to Sun Studio instead. First I take a walk down 2nd street to the National Civil Rights Museum. Around the corner is the recognizable sign for the Lorraine motel. The motel is …
Memphis
"How do I get to the Mud Island Marina?" I shout to a couple of fisherman in a boat. "Under the bridge and back up the cove." They shout back. I have been seeing lots of fishing boats the past two days. I go up the cove about a mile passing more fishing boats usually …
I think I smell Barbecue
I can smell the BBQ. I start the day just 85 miles from Memphis. I got a hankering for BBQ yesterday. I decided to try for 50 miles today to match the 50 from yesterday which will leave only 35 for tomorrow where I can rest in an Air conditioned hotel room, eat cooked food, …
Caruthersville Mo 50 miles
I reach Caruthersville Missouri near noon. Nice, an accessible town two days in a row. As I approach I see cars sitting in a small shaded park facing the river. Its seems they are just there to watch the river. As I get out of the boat, a friendly, skinny man with bad teeth comes …
New Madrid Sept 15th Day 7
The morning sun is on my left shoulder. Its weird and unsettling. I've been out here a week and everyday without fail the sun rises on my right. (sitting backwards) I passed around a hairpin curve and was now heading due North entering the 20 mile New Madrid horseshoe bend. This is the only section …
It’s hot in Kentucky
I finally roll out of the tent around 7:00. I have been waking up at five and been on the river by 6:25, with sunrise just before 7:00. I didn't sleep much last night thinking about family and worrying unnecessarily that my boat would float away. It was warm already and promised to be hot. …
The Ohio River Confluence, Moon Festival
I work my way around to a sandy point of land and stop. From here there is a large expanse of water. The Mississippi River comes in from the right and the Ohio River, with a volume larger than the Mississippi, comes in from the left. Together they flow south as the Mississippi. I grab …
Popeye the Sailor 43 miles
By midday it was 91 degrees with clear skys. Hot in the boat with no shade. I reached Chester Illionois and tied up at a boat ramp. Its not always easy to tie up with towns protected by steep rocky banks. I am familiar with Chester having stayed here on my cross country bike trip. …
Cape Girardeau, MO
I reached the town of Cape Girardeau after 30 miles. I seem to be making more miles faster now than on the upper river. The town is one of the few right on the river and convenient for me to stop. Most towns now are a mile or more away from the river. I stop …
Day 2 Sainte Genevieve 47 miles
I had heard of Sainte Genevieve while researching the trip and really wanted to stop and visit. Towards the end of the day I reached a shallow, narrow inlet my map indicated went to a boat ramp. I followed it in a quarter of a mile to the ramp. A thunderstorm was rumbling and flashing …
Day 1 – 34 miles The last lock, Missouri River confluence, Chain of Rocks and Port of St Louis
The great, grey steel gates slowly swung open and a blast of a horn cleared me to go. I made made way down the long tub of the lock and past the gates. I was immediately thrown into the swift and turbulent current of the downstream flow from the dam. I was out though, passed …
Back to St Louis
Set out today for the 900 mile, 14 hour drive to St Louis. Somewhere close to Columbus Ohio I notice in the rear view mirror the boat sitting lopsided in the trailer. A bracket on the trailer had broken. At a rest stop I started to figure out how I was going to fix it …
Down the Mississippi Backwards 