This view of the Bevill lock and dam was taken from the balcony of the historic victorian mansion on site at the visitors center.

Hours before, Nial and I and the HUCK were lifted about 20 feet in the lock chamber on the left side of the photo. The dam is on the other side of the lock, on the West side of the river.

This was the day we arrived in Columbus, where Nial was to be returned by car to St. Paul. John drove down and met us the next day. He and Nial elected to spend that first night in a hotel rather than try to cram all three of us on the HUCK. It was a very mixed bag of experiences for Nial: many days of oppressive heat, several trips ashore in strange places where he always noticed "weird" people. (Not everyone is from Minnesota!). A few unpleasant tasks--hauling trash, tugging on stubborn anchor lines, fighting off ants, mosquitoes,horseflies, wasps and other assorted pests. One day of boredom waiting for Coffeeville Lock repairs to be completed. There were also many sightings of dolphins, osprey, herons, egrets, eagles, frogs, turtles, even a cottonmouth snake crossing the river and crawling up onto the bank. Oh, I almost forgot the cat-with-no-tail at the Columbus marina.

Nial provided captain Brion many needed hours of relief at the wheel, and traced the path of the HUCK over countless pages of navigation charts. I never heard him complain and he never threatened to jump ship and go home early. I'd say it was much more of an adventure than a vacation. So thanks Nial! Now you can one-up your friends at home who sat around and went nowhere all summer!

Here's HUCK tied to the transient dock at Columbus Marina. I left alone on Tuesday morning after a quick trip to the post office and to the ICW Development Center to get some charts.