LETTERS ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI
Houseboats on the Mississippi?
Thank you for sharing your
story on your river trip. We are also planning a trip in a
year so we're starting early in our research so we can be totally prepared
haha. oh yea right, it'll happen haha. Anyway,
we were wondering if you guys saw any kind of motor boats or small house
boats doing a trip like this or is it just canoe friendly??
I can't get the rest of the crew to entertain the thought of a canoe trip
but they are open to a small house boat type thing?? What do you
think? Any advice
would be appreciated.
Barb
Alaska
30 November 2000
Our Response:
Barb,
Your trip sounds great.
We didn't happen to see any house boats during our trip, but we know they're
used widely on the river. The only problem would be getting them through
locks. You could have a perfectly enjoyable houseboat vacation between
two locks; or you could try what we saw a few guys do: use a fishing boat
with an awning.
Let us know how it goes!
Increible!
I just went through five
panty liners reading you guys' fun story!!
Whomever the scribbler is (Joan - R U a professional writer?) you have enormous talent as a witty and *thought-provoking writer! (*made me think: No canoe trips down world's most insane river!) If you had read Rising Tide by John M Barry, I hazard (clue) a guess you might not have chosen such a dangerous trip. But I'm glad you made it, I'm glad you're home safe & sound, and THANK YOU for such a fun, hilarious read!
What Gary Keillor book did your trip-mate loose?
You just ignore ol Buzz Greene's comments. He wouldn't have had the intestinal fortitude to do what you did! As witty as he is - all he could come up with, for an opening salvo was "ericandjoan - funny name". What a wus adversary!
When you move to northern Italy, and try to have a home built or just remodeled - I'd love to read what you write! I hear that's a gas also. ;o)
Best to you & Eric-
Nanette
Fallbrook, CA
6 September 2000
Our Response:
Nanette!
Merci or your magnifique
note! We are so slow responding to letters these days. Our working lives
have sucked us in. this is joan writing. Yes I am a professional writer--worked
for the Wall Street Journal for many years, and am now an editor for a
business magazine. I wish I had time to read again. When I do I'll check
out John M. Barry! Glad you liked the site. We would like to plan another
Mississippi trip.
To answer your question:
the Keillor book was The Book of Guys. Now there's an hilarious read. Chef
Mark was last spotted in Texas--though I think he is teaching these days.
Leo has quit his Genentech job to follow his first love: welding. Our crewmate
Bob is still! talking about taking a year off; closest he got was going
part-time for a few months. Katy has morphed from waitress to digital artist.
And Eric and I are wondering why I only have three weeks of vacation a
year. Ouch.
Someday this week i'll update
the letters page.
happy travels!
Carrying
Canoes on Bayou Pierre.
I just found your website
about your trip down Bayou Pierre to the Mississippi River. My friends
and I are planing a similar trip and we plan to leave on Thursday, August
10. I read in your story that you had to paddle all the way down
Bayou Pierre and that there was no current. I was wondering if the
Mississippi River was at a high or low water period during
this time. Right now
the river is very low and we are not sure that there is even enough water
in the bayou for a trip. Please write me back and let me know about
the water level.
Thank You, Matt Hendrix
Vicksburg, MS friend Jim
Our Response:
We advised Matt and Jim
that Ole Miss was flooding when we did the paddle. And of course, we widhed
them luck. Later, we heard back from from them about their paddle:
Dear Joan and Eric,
Sorry it took so long to write you back (I have been pretty busy getting
ready for school). My friends and I canoed 22 miles down Bayou Pierre
ending at the Hwy 61 bridge. The bayou was very low and we had to
carry the canoes several times. It took us a little over a day to
complete the trip. We all decided that the water level needed to
be much
higher next time we planned
a trip. Thanks for the info and I just wanted to let you know how
the trip went.
Thanks again.
Matt Hendrix
Somewhat
endearing letter from fan who hasn't read our pages.
Dear Eric and Joan,
My friend Jim and I have
a tradition of challenging each other to adventure. (E.G. Bicycled
from Oregon to Tiajuana; rode
Harleys the circumference
of the U.S.) It's my turn to come up with an adventure. Is
it possible to take a raft trip from, lets say Michigan/Wisconsin border
to Louisiana?? Any infor you might have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Tom Glasser
P.S. I haven't had time yet to read the info on your website so forgive me if then answers lie therein.
Our Response:
Tom, we forgive you. Not
only is it possible, but it has been done many many times before, both
upstream and down, by people on all kinds of craft, ranging from fiberglass
kyaks to water wings taped to their feet! We did a portion of the river
by canoe, and as you have guessed, our advice lies within our pages.
The
Whole Way on Ole Miss
Hey there!
I just came from your stellar
website! What a blast! I have just taken a cursory glance,
with many more visits planned.
The reason I am writing is
because we are planning a trip down the full length of the Mississippi
for next year (possibly).
I have had very little luck
finding any helpful info to prep us. You site has been the best so
far, which I'd like to thank you
for, but any more info would
be great? Any ideas? Suggestions? Let me know!
Well, I hope to hear from you soon. Later!
Jamie Arpin-Ricciead
22 June 2000
Our Response:
Jamie, what fun to plan
a whole river trip! Since we haven't done the whole river ourselves, we
are not a great source for you. But several of our fans plan to do the
same thing, and some of their thinking is in letters on this page. But
for some general advice: don't start so early that you end up on the source
river, Lake Itasca, at the end of winter; two our fans drowned that way.
And if at all possible, travel with two canoes; it's much easier to right
a canoe with the help of another one. Otherwise, don't believe what they
tell you about how you'll die if you swim in Ole Miss; she is a great way
to cool off.
Have an excellent adventure.
Folks,
I will reiterate what your web page finders have already said...Great writing. I could hardly put it down and found myself finishing the last two chapters first thing this morning at work. I live in Natchez, Mississippi and paddle some of the smaller wild and scenic rivers in the state, so I can appreciate all that you went through as well as congratulate on your survival. I see about one paddler a year come down the river. But I have not been curious enough to have a go at it myself, for all of the bad reasons you discovered.
Being a transplant from the north, your descriptions of "bubba" and "life with Bubba" are real and funny. I took the liberty of informing a few of my friends who have either lived here or who paddle, your web page for them to enjoy.
I have heard or read of other experiences and met some folks as well. One New Zealander landed in October on his way to New Orleans after leaving the Canadian prairies in July which meant he floated the entire length of the river. Another couple about two years ago had a disastrous experience and I think swore they would never do it again. Of all things, they floated in a small power boat with canopy. Talk about hard to manage. They were techno folks and used a daily report via the web from their laptop. They reported many of the same events, Mud, storms, mud, barges, mud, barges wakes in the middle of the night, mud, barges almost running over them and when they finally got to Natchez at night, more mud which caused then to fall on a broken beer bottle. When they reached the security guard at the Lady Luck casino (fake) boat, they looked so bad he told them to move on...I even had the Mayor write the folks and apology for being treated so bad.
My last story is about a couple of guys seen walking down the sidewalk an incredibly hot day last July. I was outside my office and they asked if they were headed in the direction of a K-Mart. I then found out they were paddling and had to give them a lift. Would have done the same for. Maybe next time when you come through town.
Bob
24 Jan. 2000
Our Response:
Bob!
Thanks for your note. It's good to hear from someone who gets to see all the paddler traffic float by. I heard about the other guys who were going down the river in the power boat. It didn't sound like a lot of fun. I have to say, we had a lot of mud and barges, too, but overall, it was an excellent time! I would like to do another part of the river sometime, maybe up North.
Thanks on behalf of all us paddlers for giving those guys a lift to K-Mart.
A Southerner's advice for Ignorant Yankees
Dear ericandjoan (what a
funny name),
If you don't like the food,
weather, people of the Great Southern States, then just keep your
ill mannered, inconsiderate, ignorant yankee asses home and we'll all be
happy.
Fondly,
Buzz Greene
22 February 2000
Our Response:
Hi Buzz,
Sorry you didn't like our
Mississippi
Adventure. Actually, we loved the food (New Orleans is probably the
best eating city in the U.S.), the people (especially that friendly convict;
and let's not forget Shirley, the anti-swearing man who rented us the canoes)
and ... Well OK, so we didn't like the weather. Two out of three ain't
bad.
Thanks for your edifying
opinion.
Re: from the Mississippi River to Antarctica!
Hello there, I wrote you before my canoe trip down the entire Miss. river. Thanx for the advice, my friend and I canoed from the river's origin at lake Itasca, Minn. to 50 miles upriver from New Orleans. We did this trip totally self-supported and had 57 days of adventure and solitude. We ended before Nawlins' because the pollution was making us sick...literally.
Anyway your site is the best out there and your tales of adventure are humorous and inspiring. My friend and I are leaving next week (Oct 3rd, 1999) for Antarctica. We are working for a contractor for the National Science Foundation for 13 months. This is probably the only place you two haven't been! Then we will trek around South Island of New Zealand. Are there any ferries that travel from North Island to Austalia? How much was your airfare from N.Z. to Australia? We're looking forward to the green in N.Z. after spending 13 months on the coldest, windiest, highest, driest, and loneliest continent on earth.
Christian L.
Our Response:
Hey Christian! wow, you guys are adventurers. We'd love to hear any details on your 57-day paddle down my favorite river in the world! We're honored that you did the whole thing and you still like our site.
And then Antarctica! Amazing. Will you have e-contact?
As for NZ North Island to Australia--We didn't see any ferries when we were down there. I bet it's possible to get some kind of boating passage, but it could take a lot of effort. I think flights are pretty cheap. We had round-the-world tix from LA to Hawaii to NZ to Australia to Bali, so we don't know how much just one leg of it costs. I would guess US$150?
Re: Mississippi Trip
My Uncle and I are thinking about going down the mississippi much like it sounds like you did... we are thinking a Minneapolis to New Orleans... I was wondering how many miles you usually paddled a day... and if you have any other advice.... Neither of us has done or thought of doing anything like this before! Thanks JON, May 1999
Our Response:
We didn't go so far every day, just 20 miles, but then again, we hardly paddled. We mostly just tied the boats together and floated, while drinking beer. It was a great vacation. You can go 100 miles or more if you really want to get exercise. We preferred the slow way.
We have no new advice to add to what's already on the page, but if you have more specific questions, just shoot them over. Have a great trip!
Hello there! My friend and I plan to kayak the entire length of the river in May. We plan on raising money for various charities. I would like to know about any permits needed for camping or river use in the area you paddled. Also would like to know about the availability of fresh foods at markets along the river. I liked your story and would appreciate any info you could give me. thanx
Jan. 10, 1999
Our response:
Sounds like you have a great trip planned. The only thing is, be careful about starting too early. It can be very cold up north in May, and we already heard from, and later about, two canoeists who died at the start of their Mississippi trip, after their boat dumped in freezing water. So be careful.
Anyway, to answer your questions: No, we didn't need any permits to camp on the section or river that we paddled. We hear that when the river isn't flooding, it's quite easy to find space. At the time we went, the river was high, so most of the obvious campsites were flooded. However, we did manage to find places every night.
Markets: We think the northern
part of the river is way different from the part we paddled. In our section,
from Pt. Gibson, Miss. to St. Francisville, La., aside from the put-in
and the take-out, we only found one town accessible from the river, and
that was Natchez. Natchez had alot of restaurants within easy walking distance
of the docks, but our crew had to hire a taxi to get to the supermarket.
They also had to get the taxi to wait for them while they did their shopping.
Up North, there are more towns right on the river, so provisioning shouldn't
bee too hard. I would generally plan on bringng a full-sized cooler and
enough fresh food for two
or three days at a time,
plus a few weeks' worth of dry rations (instant noodles, oatmeal, etc.)
just in case. Good luck, and please send us an e-postcard from your trip!
.
Re: Mississippi Trip
We, too, canoed the Mississippi.
Tremendously enjoyed your story of canoe trip on the Mississippi. We did a similar trip (Greenville to Vicksburg) in 1991; only difference, it was late in the year (early November) and weather was very cold and rainy. No bugs, however.
If you get a chance, check out my web site:http://members.aol.com/Mmcbs
This is a compendium of the best places for long canoe camping trips in the US. Didn't include the lower Mississippi, but might in the future.
--Regards, Mark M., November 18, 1998
Jonathan Hoare and Mark Huckabay
We were very sad to learn that two Mississippi paddlers, who started their voyage in April, were found dead in Lake Winnibigoshish in May 1997. Apparently their boat tipped and they were unable to get back in. The water was about 42 degrees. They died of hypothermia. Their bodies were found after a two-week search. Before they left, they wrote us this note:
Hi! I'm enjoying your site. I came across it doing research for my own Mississippi canoe trip. Two of us, Mark Huckabay and Jonathan Hoare are departing from Lake Itaska Minn. by canoe this April 18th (blizzards permitting!) We plan to arrive in New Orleans by the end of July. Look for a web site in progress by April 20th. We don't yet have the URL address but it will be something like: www.Mississippi River Canoe@M and J's.com. Maybe we can link up! thanks,
--Jonathan, April 7, 1997
Re: Mississippi Trip Chapter X, ghost town
Hi! Pointe Coupee Parish is the parish I grew up in on the other side of the river on the Louisiana side. It's much more French. The river's path has changed drastically over the years. Pointe Coupee is one of the original parishes and first settlements. It's entirely possible that what once was part of Pointe Coupee parish on the west side of the river is now West Feliciana parish on the east bank. I know this is true of Raccourci Island just north of the spill way and Old River. (Remember the locks? You could have had great fried catfish!) If you really want to know the story you could call the court house in New Roads Louisiana (Pointe Coupee) and they would find out if they didn't know. Now I'm curious.--Darrel L., San Francisco, March 17, 1997
Hi, I recently read your web-site describing your trip down the Mississippi. Both your narration and photos indicate you had a truly wonderful experience. A few friends and I are planning on going from St. Paul, MN to Dubuque, Iowa in late June. We have two concerns, one is we don't know approx.. how long it will take. We are in our mid-20s and in pretty good shape (used to Canoeing in Boundary Waters etc.). Our second concern is that one of the fellows is getting married in Dubuque and we have to make sure he gets there on time and gets there alive. Any advice/suggestions for us?
Thanks for your time and regards, Patrick
Our response:
We told Patrick to call lock masters to get the speed of the river, and to try not to paddle too much to preserve that vacation feeling. The current was moving at 5mph when we went, and we only went about 30 miles a day, mostly just floating. Patrick later wrote back to say he and his buddies had a great time and managed to get the groom to his wedding unscathed.
I just wanted you to know I really enjoyed your web site on Mississippi Adventure.
My wife and I are about to buy our first canoe. We are thinking about Old Town brand of canoe. I know they are a little expensive but I hear they are well built. Have you ever heard of them, and do you think they are worth it?
We are from South Mississippi, and I understand fully some of the things you came across in Mississippi! LOL
Our response:
Old Town is a great brand. Eric has a 17-foot one that we have taken on lots of trips on rivers and lakes. It's not the lightest canoe around, but it's sturdy and carries lots of luggage. We love it.
last updated 20 January 2001