Overview
The Big Getter Voyage Map
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In the summer of 2008 I will be taking a pontoon houseboat down the Mississippi River from Minneapolis St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico. It will be my home and vessel as I descend the mighty Mississip. This will be a healthy and relaxing trip, an adventure worth experiencing, and a good-livin-hell-of-a-time. For six years this trip has been living as a fantastical goal within me. I know the beginning is around the bend, and that makes me smile like I just lost my training wheels.
The boat is not traditional in many ways except for that it floats. It is a unique HPB (human powered boat) that in basic appearance looks like a hybrid between a cataraft on steroids and a traditional houseboat. There are four different systems of propulsion that can be operated individually or in conjunction with one another. Its primary form of power comes from two pedal-driven-propeller stations located at the stern on both sides of the boat. They resemble recumbent bicycles with a propeller instead of wheels. In addition, there is a set of oars for rowing on the front deck. The boat also has, for those occasions when the current is strong, sweeps that can be operated from the top of the cabin. Sweeps are long oars that resemble gigantic hockey sticks. They protrude fore and aft of the boat and are used for steering and lateral movement but not necessarily to gain downstream momentum. Lastly there is an outboard motor that can be used in emergencies, for safety and to make up lost time.
The 3-foot diameter inflatable pontoons are 22 feet long and are attached to a frame constructed from 2” Aluminum pipe. The frame also doubles as the skeletal structure, which supports a hanging floor, two side decks, a front deck and a cabin. Plywood that is cut to the right dimensions and fastened to the aluminum pipe forms the floor and decks. As for the cabin, it is waterproof nylon, canvas and mesh all sewn together and fitted around the aluminum pipe. Inside the cabin there are four berths, a living area, a kitchen and storage. Oh yeah there is a bathroom too, outfitted with all the amenities a camping king would expect.
From June through August I’ll weave approximately 1800 miles through 10 states to the ever-nearing Gulf Coast. Geographically speaking the Mississippi River is separated into two sections, the upper and lower, with the dividing point lying at the confluence with the Ohio River. Both section are as unique as they are long and will offer a river front glimpse at Middle America. One major difference of the Upper Mississippi is that it is a series of pools created by channel dams, while the lower half is free flowing. Due to this, the average current will be much faster downstream of the Ohio River. Along the way I will ‘lock through’ 27 locks, visit the homes of Mark Twain and Elvis, dodge barge traffic, and do some fishing and sunbathing. I intend to explore as much as possible, learn what I can and enjoy life to brim.
If you’d like to come, believe me, I want you to. In fact, I want as much company as possible. The cabin will sleep four, so I hope to have three others with me at all times. The invitation is open to everyone and anyone, family, friends, friends of friends, and especially to characters I meet along the way. There is an itinerary in the blog archive that will help you choose when, where and for how long you would like to join the adventure. Don't worry; I expect the trip will take me 100 days, so you'll have all summer to fit in a Mississippi get-a-way.
Navigation Tips
Once you have selected a blog from the blog archive you will have to scroll down to view it. ;)
Blog Archive
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2008
(131)
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July
(37)
- Day 29, 25 Miles - Moline to Fairport
- Day 30, 5 Miles - Below Fairport to Muscatine
- Day 31 - Lay Over Muscatine
- Day 32 - Lay over Muscatine
- Day 33, 30 Miles - Muscatine to Mile Marker 426
- Day 34, 25 Miles - M.M. 426 to Burlington
- Fireworks and fictitious characters
- Day 35, 20 Miles -Burlington to Dutchman Island
- Day 36, 19 Miles - Dutchman Island to Keokuk
- Shad Flies for a Quarter
- Day 37, 10 Miles - Keokuk to Below the Dam
- Day 38, 20 Miles - Keokuk dam to Canton Dam
- Day 39, 20 Miles - below Lock 20 to Goose Island
- Quincy Interview with NBC
- Day 40, 12 Miles - Goose Island to Hannibal
- Hyfte
- Day 41, 23 Miles - Hannibal to Louisiana
- Day 42, 28 Miles - Louisiana to MM 255
- There are more than a few of us out here
- Day 43, 25 Miles - MM 255 to the Illinois river co...
- Day 44, 17 Miles - MM 220 to Alton
- Day 45, Lay over in alton
- Day 46, 27 Miles - Alton to St. Louis
- Day 47, 22 Miles - St. Louis to Hoppies MM158
- Hoppies
- Day 48, 37 Miles - Hoppies to St. Genevive
- Day 49, 31 miles - St Genevive to MM 89
- Day 50, 36 Miles - MM 89 to Cape Girardeau
- Day 51, 56 Miles - Cape to 3 Miles below Ohio Rive...
- If you are my mom don't read this
- Day 52, 56 Miles - Below Cairo to MM 894, near New...
- Day 53, 5 Miles - Lay over in New Madrid
- Day 54, 43 Miles - New Madrid to Caruthersville
- Day 55, 40 Miles - Caruthersville to MM 806
- Day 56, 30 Miles - MM 806 to MM 776
- Day 57, 40 Miles - MM 776 to Memphis
- Day 58-60, Lay over in Memphis
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July
(37)
If you are my mom don't read this
I found a spot out of the channel about 3 miles downstream from the Ohio confluence to drop anchor. The current wasn’t too quick and would make for an easy departure in the morning. I fell asleep in the heat out on the front deck to enjoy what little breeze there was. I was on the same latitude with a green buoy, but a good 200 hundred feet outside of it. The Missouri side of the river was about a hundred feet away and after two mornings in a row of hell I was glad to have found such a fine spot. Around midnight a rumbling engine in the distance woke me up. I looked downstream and could make out a bright light. “It must be a train,” I thought to myself. Something didn’t feel right so I scrambled into the cabin and opened up the navigation charts. To my horror there was no train track near the river at this point. I rubbed my eyes, grabbed my glasses and realized that what I had seen was a 42 barge tow barreling down on me. It was way out of the channel and I knew that with two anchors out I didn’t have time to do much of anything except pray. The front barge passed me close enough to skip a rock into as I put on my life jacket. I scrambled up to the cabin in order to leap onto the barge as it smacked into me. The barges continued to pass by at a distance of no more than 50 feet away. That pilot must be asleep. He was definitely driving right over the top of the buoy. The tug finally passed by me and I imagined all the crew inside playing cards, oblivious to the life they nearly took. The wake shook my floating abode and things inside came crashing down. Before I picked anything up I reeled in the anchors in a dancing fashion to help combat the mosquitoes and got as close to the bank as I could in the dark. I dropped anchor and decided I would put the cabin back together in the morning’s light.
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3 comments:
Well thanks for the warning. Of course I didn't read about the barge running you down, or getting stuck in mud with no help in sight, or the motor breaking, or the skin burning off your shoulders!
I hope you have someone with you the rest of the trip - no more solo!
YIKES!! Lauren
Yes, Alice, you are right! Two is for sure a safer number and gave me a great excuse to stay on board the rest of the trip. Thanks!!
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