Those of you who have followed the blog going back a few years may recall there are several blog entries that mention the Mississippi River. I have no idea why the Mississippi has such an effect on me. Perhaps it has something to do with learning of this mighty river as a kid and never in a million years thinking I would see it, and then to actually see it - a bit like Alaska and to a lesser extent, Monument Valley in Utah. But although I have seen the river over and over, it still has the same effect on me. As I said to my sister who was also a midwife, seeing the Mississippi for me is a bit like delivering babies for a living was - joyful and exciting every time.
While the Mississippi is not the longest river in the US river system (that accolade goes to the Missouri River), it is the second-longest, and it is the deepest and carries the largest volume of water of the US rivers. After the Missouri and the Mississippi, the Yukon and then the Rio Grande river systems follow next in line.
In 2008 Murray and I visited the headwaters of the River at Bemidji in north-west Minnesota. Several times we have walked by the River at its end where it flows into the Gulf of Mexico in New Orleans and we have saw it in flood in St Louis in 2007. We took a riverboat cruise on it in Memphis in 2002, and I have enjoyed every meeting with the majestic old River since we first met.
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| Bemidji, Minnesota 2008 |
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| Flooded Mississippi in St Louis, Missouri 2007 |
On this trip we were thrilled when our campground (located close to where we had booked in for an RV service) here in Minnesota happened to be right beside the River. In fact, our campsite was the closest one to the water. I was in heaven. After dinner we went for a brisk walk around the neighbourhood and noticed that the size of the Canada geese here were much bigger than those in North Dakota. Obviously born a month or so earlier. On our way home we stopped to chat to a chap who owned 2 houses on the River and one across the street. We also walked through the local cemetery (also right beside the River) and were surprised to note all the floral decorations were off the ground. Later we saw a sign that advised the florals had to be high to allow for more efficient lawn mowing. Don't see that too often! We stopped and chatted to a family who sell agates (quartz) for a living and they were in town for an Agate Show. They dig, cut and polish their own rocks. The parents home-school their 4 sons. They used to have a shop in a town in Colorado, but a change to the highway route diverted traffic so they closed up and now just work from home. They run a web site and sell at gem shows like the one they are attending in Minnesota this weekend. It was getting dark by the time we returned to our RV, and the River looked beautiful in the moonlight. The Canada geese made it an even more tranquil view.
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| Campsite next to my favourite river |
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| About to head out for our walk |
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| Canada Geese at the edge of our campground |
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| You might have to click on this to see the floral tributes above the ground at this cemetery |
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| Canada Geese on the River at the end of our walk |
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