What to Bring

As little as possible. Space on the boat is limited so please pack lightly. You will need a sheet or sleeping bag and a pillow if you'd like. I have thermarests. If you could also bring two pairs of foot wear so that you can help keep the Big Getter clean, almost a feudal effort but I'm trying. Sun protection and bug spray have come in useful and I imagine will be a must for everyone. Other than that I can't say. I look forward to seeing you.

Day 6 - Lay Over in Red Wing

Kyle and Emily left on Amtrak last night. It was a bit lonesome on the boat by myself but I got some organizing out of the way and everything has a secure dry home now. John Loveless joined me this morning and is helping me wait this storm out. I hope the wind dies down soon. The weathermen are forecasting calmer skies late this afternoon. Maybe will shove off then, maybe not till the morning. 

Day 5, 1 Mile - 1 Mile Above Red Wing to Red Wing

In Wabasha, (the locals pronounce it with an R in there somewhere) about thirty miles south of us, they are clearing golf ball sized hail of the roads with snow plows. There are 50-60 mile an hour gusts and tornado warnings from Red Wing (where we are) to WaRbaRshaR. We have decided to lay over here until the storm blows through. To use our down time efficiently we went shopping, resupplied on water and fuel and made some much needed adjustments to the boat. About the time we set in to raising our transom a Mercury engine mechanic happened by and gave us some pointers. Good fortune comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. We also painstakingly and cautiously cut three holes in the port deck to allow access to the pontoon's valves. Not doing that ahead of time was a major over sight on my part. I was dripping sweat by the time we were 23/24ths of the way through our cutting when I heard "hey Big Getter," it was Bill and Max who are pod-casting their journey at www.bigrivershow.com, check it out. Emily, Kyle and I visited their boat and enjoyed seeing such a different design. I expect to hop-scotch with them the entire length of the river so if you are joining me at any time you will probably meet them.

Projecting, thanks Kyle. Duct tape and trash wouldn't do it this time

Bill and Max's boat

Shanty boat town - Red Wing

Day 4, 20 Miles - Prescott Island to 1 mile above Red Wing

The weather is unexpectedly cold and hot here in Minnesota. Four layers and a life jacket were only enough when I'm rowing. Some three hours later however, we had to cool off in the river. We passed through lock 3 today which was our second "locking through" experience. After a close call with a tow and two locks under my belt I am feeling much more confident about the two aspects of this odyssey in which I had no experience. Emily radioed ahead of time to alert the lock master of our approach. She was a pro on the VHF and sounded like a seasoned trucker. Only about a mile away from the lock we were in plain sight and told them we'd be there in about half an hour. We laughed at our ideas of what the lock master was thinking, "Half an hour my ass. It'll take 'em two days to get here." We imagined all sorts of sarcastic remarks and enjoyed the half truth of them. Half an hour later we were there and holding on to the ropes that an employe lowered over the railing for us to hold onto. The sun parted the clouds and we began to shed layers as the water level fell. Not far down stream we enjoyed some jugging and basked in the sun as we let the current move us along. The sun shined into the night and we anchored out of the shipping channel and away from the mosquitoey banks. The trip is amazing.

I thought this was summer

Lock and Dam 3

Jugging, (slow mans waterskiing) imported from the Grand Canyon

Back on the roof with confidence

Where to Mail Goodies.

If you happen to mail me anything please let me know in advance so we can agree on a location. Please send all packages to Justus Mclarty
C/O general delivery at the following addresses.

67 W 5th St
.
Winona, MN 55987

425 State St.

La Crosse, WI 54601

120 S Beaumont Rd
Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821
(608) 326-6914‎
(less than a mile inland from Hwy 18 bridge)

350 W 6th St
Dubuque, IA 52001
(563) 582-3674

300 S 1st St.
Clinton, IA 52732
(563) 242-6214
(100 meters inland when you are next to Willow Island)

300 N Main St.
Burlington, IA 52601
(319) 754-7581
(300 meters south of MacArthur Bridge and 200 meters in)

214 S 2nd St.
Keokuk, IA 52632
(319) 524-9923‎
(roughly 500 meters due east from where the railroad tracks touch land on the Iowa side. Just north of the Interstate 136 bridge)

200 N 8th St.
Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 224-8570
(1 km inland when you are directly between the 2 bridges (Quincy Memorial Bridge and I-24 bridge)

801 Broadway
Hannibal, MO 63401
(573) 221-0957
(you’ll have time to find this one I presume)

309 S 1st St.
Clarksville, MO 63336
(573) 242-3960

1624 Main St.
Alton, IL 62002
(618) 462-6014‎

320 N Frederick St.
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
(573) 335-5501‎

1500 Washington Ave.
Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-2062‎

300 Carleton Ave.
Caruthersville, MO 63830
(573) 333-2548‎

101 E Johnson Ave.
Osceola, AR 72370
(870) 563-6272‎

3415 Pemberton Square Blv.
Vicksburg, MS 39180
(601) 636-1022‎

214 N Canal St.
Natchez, MS 39120
(601) 442-4361‎

900 N 3rd St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
(225) 343-6951‎

610 S Maestri Pl.
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 581-1039‎

42558 Highway 23
Venice, LA 70091
(985) 534-7420‎

The Comments are Great

Thanks for all the Comments. I enjoy reading them and knowing that you are reading along. I am also taking the suggestions into consideration and acting on them.

Availability as of June 5th

Day 3, 18 miles - Willies Hidden Marina to Prescott Island

If the roofs a rockin'.... 

"That wake has White caps," Kyle exclaimed. We were all relaxing on the roof of the cabin when the small tsunami hit. I was working on my laptop, Emily was on the phone receiving the news of an engagement of one of her friends and thankfully Kyle was paying attention to our surroundings. The warning came just seconds before the first wave hit us broadside. We were all on our knees immediately and involuntarily. The bucking of the boat was amplified on top of the cabin and we felt as though we might be thrown overboard as we shifted our weight from side to side. Luckily the only thing we lost was a chair so I went diving for lost treasure. Six feet down I scored.

Day 2, 15.5 Miles - 1 Mile above Confluence to Willies Hidden Harbor below St. Paul

The flag flies proud

St. Paul

The first close call

Thank you Uncle Ben. You may have saved four lives today. We were negotiating the currents and barge traffic very well as we passed through downtown St. Paul. That is until we came to a bridge that spanned the river and created a very narrow channel between a Pillar and a retaining wall on the left. There were several pillars to the right where the bridge was too low to allow tows to pass beneath so we headed in that direction but the upstream current that circled around from behind the bridge was too strong to row against. Stealthily, we peered around the pillar scouting for north-bound traffic and found the coast to be clear so we went for it. Kyle and I each had an oar to maximize speed and quench the vulnerable situation as quickly as possible. We couldn't of had more than 20 yards to the other side of the passage but it was still nerve racking. Directly under the bridge we encountered what seemed to be an artificial bore tide. We theorized about what could be creating the anomaly and were deep in discussion when a 15 barge tow pulled out of dock directly in-front of us. Kyle and I sprung into action like we were paddling class V. I furiously pulled on both oars trying to negotiate the Big Getter as close to the pillar as possible. With all the agility of a gymnast and the speed of a superhero Kyle bound through the cabin to the stern of the boat. He dropped the outboard and yanked the starter. He yanked again, and then with urgency commanded "get down here Hyfte" I panted and pulled and yelled to Kyle "get it going." I had my sights trained on the tow, pillar and current like a three eyed chameleon. The tow had halved the distance between us and although it was still a hundred yards away it was less than two minutes away from crushing us with ease. My tension grew black. I felt desperate. The short distance between us and safety seemed to be a never ending hallway from some horror flick. Hyfte flew down the ladder and immediately went through his mental check list of engine knowledge. Being a Minnesotan he had considerably more experience with motor sports than the rest of us. He quickly found the problem and yanked hard like a stage coach driver cracking his whip. The engine roared, my heart took a calming breath and we glided to safety. I don't think the tow captain ever saw us.

Second night's camp site

Day 1, 10 Miles - Rigging / Minnesota river 11 Miles Above Confluence to 1 Mile above Confluence

It took us the better part of two days to assemble the boat. I couldn't have done it without all the help. Thanks everyone. Russell A. Sorenson Landing proved to be a great put-in. Although it's not on the Mississippi it is only eleven short miles up the Minnesota River. There wasn't too much boat traffic, which was good considering we took up half the landing. All the weekend warriors were out and very curious about the Big Getter. Everyone stared, either in an I'm-jealous sorta way or because they thought we were crazy. One man walked up and said, "well you ain't gonna sink are you"? It was nice to have someone appreciate the seaworthiness of the craft. Everyone took photos, asked questions or offered to help. All the attention was fun, but we weren't the only spectacle at the boat ramp this weekend. At one point a young couple backed the trailer down to the river to off-load their boat. The woman stayed in the boat to keep it out of harms way while the guy drove the truck up the ramp to park it. Unfortunately for the boat, the bowline had come unwound and tangled around the tow hitch so as the pick-up was driven at a speed expected from a drunk teenager the young woman was helplessly pulled behind, too scared even to scream. We all yelled for him to stop but the boat had slid fifteen feet up the ramp before it came to rest and the color had returned to the lady's face. We shoved off without a hitch and waved good by to the half dazen people who had come to see us off. Although we tested out the oars, sweeps and the outboard we mostly just drifted. I felt fortunate to have such good friends with me and as the banks passed by us we reveled in the uniqueness of building a boat and setting sail.