Bet you are missing Itasca, MN, and WI river. What some people refer to as "god's country" -----the bluff area. This very lower part of the river with all of the industry/oil refinery is something I didn't know about. Got u a donated book from the library re: Life on the Mississippi An Epic American Adventure. Albeit not quite what you are doing, team started out in PA on Ohio River merging into Mississippi at Cairo. Used a flatboat. Will eventually get it to your mom.
Good evening J-C, love the photo log, in this locale it really tells the story of how we as a people have used rivers across the entire planet to our “advantage” not even realizing mostly that we’ve lost as much as we’ve gained in many ways.
Your photos make me recall the first time I was at a job site in that area, a massive grain elevator in Westwego with the dubious distinction of a well documented history being site of one of the USA’s largest grain elevator explosions, even has a statue on site to remember.
I was shown the operation including going down to waters edge to view a Panamex size ship being loaded with grain. It was registered in some African country that slips my memory now, perhaps Angola....and though size was massive, she maintained a skeleton crew I was told and you’d see glimpses of them working.
I took notice of the traps on the docks with handfuls of their newly loaded cargo to entice some birds into an untimely demise, possibly only fresh meat the crew has had in weeks maybe months. And the unnerving site of the watchful eye and automatic weapons slung over chests of a couple armed guards on deck to keep the crew from jumping ship in harbor of US and that their trips to the dock to bring aboard the trapped birds were kept to mere seconds of time off ship. I felt I was in another world indeed, the deeply industrialized nature of our massive ports.
Give me the bluffs along the MN and WI stretches any time! But thank you for conjuring up such deep experiences and memories of this mighty river from different points and perspectives as they are all a part of the same continuum.
Sounds like a harrowing day. Very draining. But you’re doing great Jean-Canot. Ever closer to your destination. Thank you for taking time to describe your experiences and share fantastic photos. Stay strong and safe☀️🛶
Did you expect this segment of the river would be this challenging?
Thank you for your posts. I look forward to them and am enjoying traveling the river with you!
Bet you are missing Itasca, MN, and WI river. What some people refer to as "god's country" -----the bluff area. This very lower part of the river with all of the industry/oil refinery is something I didn't know about. Got u a donated book from the library re: Life on the Mississippi An Epic American Adventure. Albeit not quite what you are doing, team started out in PA on Ohio River merging into Mississippi at Cairo. Used a flatboat. Will eventually get it to your mom.
Good evening J-C, love the photo log, in this locale it really tells the story of how we as a people have used rivers across the entire planet to our “advantage” not even realizing mostly that we’ve lost as much as we’ve gained in many ways.
Your photos make me recall the first time I was at a job site in that area, a massive grain elevator in Westwego with the dubious distinction of a well documented history being site of one of the USA’s largest grain elevator explosions, even has a statue on site to remember.
I was shown the operation including going down to waters edge to view a Panamex size ship being loaded with grain. It was registered in some African country that slips my memory now, perhaps Angola....and though size was massive, she maintained a skeleton crew I was told and you’d see glimpses of them working.
I took notice of the traps on the docks with handfuls of their newly loaded cargo to entice some birds into an untimely demise, possibly only fresh meat the crew has had in weeks maybe months. And the unnerving site of the watchful eye and automatic weapons slung over chests of a couple armed guards on deck to keep the crew from jumping ship in harbor of US and that their trips to the dock to bring aboard the trapped birds were kept to mere seconds of time off ship. I felt I was in another world indeed, the deeply industrialized nature of our massive ports.
Give me the bluffs along the MN and WI stretches any time! But thank you for conjuring up such deep experiences and memories of this mighty river from different points and perspectives as they are all a part of the same continuum.
Jeremy
Sounds like a harrowing day. Very draining. But you’re doing great Jean-Canot. Ever closer to your destination. Thank you for taking time to describe your experiences and share fantastic photos. Stay strong and safe☀️🛶