Travelling solo again, I made it to the tiny bluff town of Fountain City, WI, just aftewr dark. I had to use my spotlight to navigate safely out of the channel and ease up to the city dock for an overnight tie. My spirits had been deflated by the sudden departure of all my company in LaCrosse, so it was uplifting to be greeted by a bright sunny morning. This little town looked inviting for a walk so I strolled up a steep bluff town road and wandered into the Catholic cemetary high above the river.

I thought it a majestic, though serene view loking over the headstones, with the town below and the Mississippi in the background. The bright morning sunrise cast long shadows behind the stones, foretelling a clear and sunny day ahead.


This wall mural intrigued me to the point of studying it for several minutes, looking for meaning in the odd images. There were lots of pre-civil war era buildings in town, some restored and converted to small touristy businesses--a New Age crystals, candles and sandals shop, an organic bakery, and the River City Kayak "factory", consisting of a single artisan making custom beautiful kayaks for clients from all over the U.S. There were also three small but elegant churches in town, each well over 100 years old.

I couldn't argue with the claim of this litle sign down by the river not far from where the HUCK was tied. Heading back south, Fountain City is on my list of places to return to for a second look

My brother Roger Joined me in Dubuque and hopped off here in LaCrosse. It was only for 3 days but was a very welcome and enjoyable visit. He brought fresh peaches from WA state and baked a peach pie on board. He also was a welcome relief at the helm, especially after the autopilot took a dive the day after he arrived (broken belt and no replacement). During his part of the cruise we had several bald eagle sightings and cranked the stereo with Delbert McClinton, Bob Seeger, Paul Simon and Pavorrati.

We tied for a night at a rickety dock in Clayton (population 55) that had my favorite restaurant of the entire trip. It's near some silica mines dug into the river bluffs, that, according to our waitress, penetrate 24 miles into the interior. We saw the caves from the water, and barges being loaded as we passed. Also in LaCrosse, I was greeted by two lifelong friends, Doug and Lyn, from the Madison, WI area. Doug is a middle school teacher and professional juggler/entertainer. Lyn is in the midst of a lifelong personal growth project which consists right now of learning to play bagpipes. Perhaps that will culminate her quest! I devoured their company after weeks of solitude. When they took me and Roger to the "Huck Finn's" restaurant, I was overwhelmed to find a restaurant named after my boat. I left there with Huck Finn napkins, pens, matchboxes, a hat and hooded sweatshirt--all neatly monogrammed with the name of my boat! Nirvanah!

Here's proof that I wasn't just making all that up. I'll definitely be stopping by there again on the way south, this time insisting on two free dinners (one for my new wife, JO) because of all the free publicity I've given them.

Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? By the way, they also have a marina behind the restaurant, so guess where we'll be staying that night!

Here is the HUCK and Captain Brion at ease on the transient dock at Dubuque Marina, just below Lock and Dam 11 (m. 583 above Cairo).

I have completed about 1760 miles since St. Pete, and have 257.7 miles to go to the St. Paul Yacht Club, final destination!!

I'm quite certain I'm the only person on the rivers making this trip. There are a handful of pleasure boaters taking there yachts or trawlers South, toward warmer climes. As they frequently point out to me on the radio: I'M GOING THE WRONG WAY! Ducks and Geese and Cormorants are all headed South down the river. Even the Monarch butterflies are laughing at me as they float leisurely by on their way to Mexico or South America.

The first night in Dubuque the temp. sunk to 46 degrees. I was shivering under two sleeping bags. They're busy hauling out boats here in the marina, before the winter freeze.

Scariest thing of all: I saw a few leaves today tumbling down in the light cool breeze. I haven't seen a leaf fall for the past ten years in Florida. So now it's on in to "the belly of the beast"...Minnesota in the Fall.

I'm trying to got into, or on to, the Oct. 14 Prairie Home Companion show in St. Paul. I'm trying to get through to Garrison Keillor and/or his staff. ANYBODY WHO TRAVELS THE WRONG WAY UP THE RIVERS FOR 2000 MILES AT 4 MPH SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO BUY A TICKET! Technically, the show is sold out, though scalpers have them on the internet for $120!

So any of you who are willing to help me get on the show, perhaps as a 30 second walk-on celebrity, or at least a "mentionable" during the show, here's what you can do:

Go to the Prairie Home Companion website. They have 2 or 3 options there for contacting them. I've sent a note to "Post the Host" which could get to Garrison Keillor directly, if it gets by the screeners. There's also a place for Messages--questions, comments,suggestions for the show.

Just tell them how great it would be to hear about your weird friend on the radio, and how he'll be in St. Paul, on the HUCK FINN from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15, JUST IN TIME FOR THE OCT. 14 SHOW!!!

My bro. Roger arrived in Dubuque yesterday from Washington. He'll cruise with me for a few days until somewhere in the LaCrosse area. I'll also be meeting my Wisconsin pals soon, Doug and Lyn, if they can meet me by car on the weekend.

Thanks so much to all of you who are following the trip, and I really enjoy the many comments and e-mails I get. Makes it a little less lonely out here on the big river! Kind regards. Captain Brion

This fog bank rolled up on HUCK on the morning of the 12 th and soon reduced visibility to zero. I steered HUCK carefully out of the channel and dropped the anchor to wait it out. Tugboats, with radar will run in the fog, so the channel is the last place you want to be when you can't see what's coming at you. Soon after the fog lifted, I approached lock 16 near Muscatine, to be told: "We're shut down for the whole day. Maintenance on the mitre gates." I was very happily surprised when the lockmaster came back on the radio only two hours later to announce that the work was completed and I could lock through.

Earlier that same morning, right after hauling the anchor on the South end of Jonas Johnson Island, I was treated to yet another spectacular sunrise. The mist you can see being lifted by the sun's heat is what later formed the fog bank above. In fact, that's the island, just to the left of the fog bank, where I was anchored for the night. Little did I know I would be putting that anchor down again less than 1/2 hour after I raised it!

two unlikely images: this full size authentic windmill is in Fulton IL across the river from Clinton, IA. They have a Dutch Days celebration there every Fall. I haven't noticed any other windmills so far this trip. Or unicorns.

I stayed at he marina in Clinton, situated next to a 3-story casino boat. For staying at the marina, you get a certificate for a free buffet dinner at he casino. I guess they think if they can just get people in there, they'll spend some bucks and their ''free" dinner will get paid for.


I was feeling pretty smug about the free dinner, which was quite tasty and enjoyable. So I thought I'd just test my luck a bit on the way out, before heading back to the boat. Final tally: Captain Brion's free dinner cost $40. Just the way they planned it!


For the past hundred or more miles I've seen scores of huge flocks of these white pelicans. In fact, they're here on the river in Dubuque as I write. They summer mostly in British Columbia, but migrate down the river to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter, They are quite beautiful in flight, with black wingtips and huge orange bills. They don't dive into the water like Florida pelicans. They just swim around and stab at their prey from the water. Some of the flocks I saw on shore or on sandbars contained at least one thousand birds. This one I snapped in the morning mist near Keokuk IA.

I left Hannibal, MO at 6:40 AM, barely enough light to see, and discovered later that I had left my telescoping boat hook there on the dock. I expected to lose at least one on the way to St. Paul; fortunately I have two remaing on HUCK. I transited Locks 21 and 20 that day, and was interviewed inside the latter (while the boat was rising in the chamber) by a reporter from the Canton, IA newspaper. He took several pictures and got the skinny on my trip and assured me a story would follow. Ah, FAME!
This first night shot is of the main highway bridge at Burlington, IA, where I tied for the night nearby at "Big Muddy's" restaurant. The grilled catfish there hit the spot, and the dockage was free. No anchor to hassle with. A group of nine interesting ladies in a sport boat pulled alongside the HUCK and tried to flirt with me, but when I told them I was getting married in St. Paul they disappeared pretty quick. They might not tell it that way, but my account is at least plausible, sort of...maybe.

Bet you never heard of Oquawka, IL, but I did go by there after leaving Burlington the next AM.

This photo is a flashback to Cape Girardeau...I'm adding it as a partner to the above night shot. The view is from the river side of the decorated levee wall protecting Cape Girardeau. The light on the benches and the rocks is from the setting sun behind the wall. (You're looking to the East across the river.) The contrast and the vivid glow of the light was almost magical. The city has installed dozens of these little scenic overlooks with benches all along their levee, and it is well attended by the locals. Visit Cape Girardeau if you get a chance!

Well, I was surprised when I left Alton Marina at 6:30 AM to find the Delta Queen docked just on the other side of the marina breakwater. She's the oldest, and the "grande damme" of the 3 contemporary paddlewheelers. It's only by an act of Congress that she's allowed to still operate commercially--a modern vessel built like the Queen would not meet marine safety standards. The Queen has been modified to make her safe.

The next view is of the stern and giant paddlewheel of the Delta Queen. At one time, more than 1,200 paddlewheelers were operating on midwestern rivers.

Today I'm in Hannibal, MO, home of numerous Mark Twain memorabilia. I'm in the city marina, which has some unattended boats, but I've seen no people there all day. The whole town is rather unpopulated compared to summer-tourist times. The 2 days from Alton to Hannibal have been at the breakneck speed of 4.5 to 5 mph! So I'm now travelling nearly twice as fast as I did from Cairo to Alton.

All this change in current, of course, a result of the 29 locks and dams between Alto and St. Paul. They compress the Mississippi into "pools" where the current is minimal, about 1/2 mph this time of year. I've been through three locks, without benefit of the floating bollards used farther South. Now when I enter the lock, an attendant drops a line to me, which I wrap around a cleat on the top of my boat, about half way from bow to stern. As the water rises in the locks, I have to continually take up the slack in this line, or the HUCK will drift away from the wall, and come slamming back in. It's a little tricky with only myself on board, but so far, no problem.
Here's a shot of the helm station of the HUCK, where I've spent nearly 40 continuous days. Just some of the basic equipment I use: GPS (for speed over ground), depth sounder, VHF radio (mostly for talking to tug captains), radar (for emergency use in dark or fog), autopilot--the HUCK can "steer herself" on a compass course. But the captain has to provide continuous corrections due to bends in the river which the compass can't see. Still, the autopilot gives me short breaks to take care of numerous brief tasks on board.
Also on board there's hot and cold water, a shower, stereo for CD's and radio, stovetop and oven, microwave, refrigerator and 100 gallons capacity fresh water. The engine is a Perkins 3 cylinder diesel providing a maximum of 20 horsepower. I consume between 5 to 10 gallons of fuel per day, depending on how hard I'm pushing the boat.

Tomorrow AM, at first light, I head for Lock 21. I plan to meet my brother, Roger, in Dubuque on Sept. 20. He'll probably hop off at LaCrosse. After that I have no applications for crew, but I'm accepting them gladly. It looks like I should be able to make it to St. Paul by or on the last day of September. Everybody I talk to about the trip says I'm "going the wrong way". Most long haul pleasure boaters are heading south, escaping the northern frost.


Well, I have just a couple of hours left to buy some mementos from the gift shops. I'm definitely interested in Huck Finn stuff for the boat!

Regards and so long till the next Wi-Fi connection. Captain Brion

My last entries from Alton Marina (mile 202 Miss. R.) before I resume journey to St. Paul Sunday morning. Pictured here are Steve and Ryan, two very brave and venturesom souls from Michigan, who are canoeing the entire Mississippi from the headwaters in Itasca, MN to New Orleans. That is a daunting trip, somewhat perilous, but by now they have accumulated considerable skill and wisdom about the river. Unfortunately (as they know) the most difficult stretch is yet to come, as they face the untamed, unlocked waters of the lower Mississippi below St. Louis. They are in an 18 foot Grumman aluminum canoe, with a plastic tarp for a sail, a cooler, camping gear, and a few charts. Recent college grads who found there first jobs unfulfilling and decided to do something "meaningful." My hat is off to them. We talked for quite a while and I imparted what little knowledge I have about the lower Mississippi. I don't know much about it, other than what I've read, but I have deliberately avoided it as too barren and too treacherous. Large tows, ever increasing current, and few places to stop for help or for supplies. I think they'll be O.K. but I'm a little worried for them. Best wishes Steve and Ryan!

Saving the best for last! The high point of my trip, the entire 1250 miles, was a surprise visit today from my daughter Emily, and grandchildren Fia and Kelby. By coincidence, they needed to be in St. Louis for a medical procedure for my son-in-law Neils. He came out of it O.K. and they're headed back home tomorrow. Unfortunately, he has more medical followup and assessment to be done, but he feels well and is eager to get back to work.

I will take tomorrow to clean and organize the HUCK, double check all the equipment, study charts and head for the high country. I have only(!) about 670 miles to go and 20 days to get there by the end of the month. That's just a little more than 30 miles per day average, which shouldn't be difficult now that I'm in the "pools" between the locks from here to St. Paul.

No complaints so far. Life is good. I've met a lot of good people. I have a lot of wonderful friends. If only my sweetie Jo were with me! Alas, St. Paul looms on the near horizon!

I think I promised you earlier that when I found the perfect sunrise shot to match one of my favorite passages from Twain's "Life on the Mississippi", I would seize the moment. Here are the shots; here is Twain: "I had myself called with the 4 0'clock watch, mornings, for one cannot see too many summer sunrises on the Mississippi. They are enchanting. First, there is the eloquence of silence; for a deep hush broods everywhere. Next, there is the haunting sense of lonliness, isolation, remoteness from the worry and the bustle of the world. The dawn creeps in stealthily; the solid walls of black forest soften to gray, and vast stretches of the river open up and reveal themselves; the water is glass smooth, gives off spectral little wreaths of white-mist, there is not the faintest breath of wind, nor stir of leaf; the tranquility is profound and infinitely satisfying....Well, that is all beautiful; soft and rich and beautiful; and when the sun gets well up, and distributes a pink flush here and a powder of gold yonder and a purple haze where it will yield the best effect, you grant that you have seen something that is worth remembering."

Were Twain still alive and a tug captain today, perhaps he would be at the wheel of this modern tug plying southbound in the mist and the sunrise on the mighty Mississippi.

About 20 miles south of St. Louis we met this tow and noticed the large number of pigeons on deck. We had not seen pigeons before on the trip, so were curious where they came from.

I called the captain of the tow, who explained that the pigeons "hopped on" in St. Louis, where the barges were loaded with grain, and he said: "They'll all drop off of here later this afternoon and head back to town." Sure enough, several hours later, Dannel and I noticed multiple flocks of pigeons (bellies apparently full!) flying right down the middle of the channel back toward St. Louis. I wondered if the deckhands on the tow had to hose down the decks after the exodus.
I guess this qualifies as proof that we made it to St. Louis! We made it to the center of town about mid-day. After miles of forested riverbanks, the busy shorelines and bridges of the city kept us busy gawking and pondering the sights.

Incredibly, there is no public facility for boating in all of St. Louis. Not even a place to tie your boat. No place to purchase fuel. Another major American city, spawned by the riverboat and steam paddleboat era, now inaccessible to boaters.

























































































There are only three large pasenger hauling paddlewheelers remaining on the mid-American rivers. Here, docked in St. Louis for repairs, is the American Queen, 4 decks tall, and sister ship to the Missippi Queen I featured in a previous entry from Paducah.

The third, and the oldest and grandest of the fleet, the Delta Queen, I saw passing Alton today, headed upriver, perhaps to St. Paul, or perhaps diverting up the Illinois River. I'm thrilled to have seen all three this trip!

You're sitting in the captain's chair at the helm of the HUCK FINN. You're looking North preparing to meet a 25 barge (5 across X 5 long) tow laden with coal. Thousands of tons of coal. Radio transmissions: "Downbound tow at mile 56, this is upbound pleasure vessel HUCK FINN."..."This is the Alice Hooker. Come back HUCK FINN"..."Good morning ,captain, what is your preference for a meeting?"..."Well, I think a one whistle would work fine, you keep the red side."..."Roger that. One whistle. HUCK FINN standing by channel 13."

So I make sure to meet this floating football field port to port, keeping it to my left side. There is no room for ambiguities or uncertainties in these brief but necessary exchanges. The massive tow can do almost nothing to change course in the brief time it will take for us to meet. This was an easy one--the river here was wide and straight. Sometimes the initial contact occurs at a bend when I cannot even see the tugboat, only the lead barges nosing around the bend. If it's a narrow bend, the choice of which side the vessels meet on can be critical. That's when you can rely on the great skill and experience of these tug captains to give you the best advice. It's good to know the rules of the river and to use all available resources to make the wisest decisions.
About 2AM at Hoppe's marina (I do suffer from insomnia). A sizeable tow is pushing upstream, North, its searchlight picking out familiar landmarks for the pilot. You can see the lights at the head of the tow, more than 600 feet ahead of the tug.

The miniscule HUCK is safely tied to one of the barges at Hoppe's, well out of the channel in which the tug navigates. Occasionally, briefly, the searchlight lands on the HUCK. Perhaps the captain is commenting to his mate what a strange looking little boat that is over there. But the light swings quickly back to more important targets--reflective buoys in the water, and charted markers on shore that most captains have memorized from repeated runs for years over the same stretches of river.
An uncanny bit of luck brought me to the same anchorage in Establishment Creek that I had used on a boat delivery just a few months earlier in April. The creek is on the Missouri side of the river just above St. Genevive. We got into the creek just at sundown and I shot this picture looking up the creek in the fading light. Dannel and I played Johnny Cash on the stereo system and sipped a rum and coke to celebrate a great run (37 miles against a 3mph current) and a great anchorage.

Topping it all off, a near full moon was rising over the big river on the other side of the boat. We both thought "it doesn't get any better than that." Moments to savor.

Dannel was the perfect crew for the slow haul from Paducah to Alton. An avid historian, geographer, and veteran river traveler, he was avidly interested in all the river sights, towns, and landmarks we passed. He was also a fervent journalist, constantly noting every item of interest, including every commercial tug we passed or met along the way. We documented more than 125 tug/tow units, many pushing empty barges north to receive the Fall grain harvest. We also saw many bringing down last years harvest recently unloaded from grain elevators after a season's storage and drying.

Dannel also enjoyed cooking, and treated me to hot oatmeal every morning and brewed the coffee. He much preferred cooking and journalling to steering, so I stayed mostly at the helm. Friends since the sixties, we enjoyed a reunion after nearly twenty years of little contact. He also prepared some kind of hot stewy concoction every evening, which always tasted good, though I never asked him what was in it. Some things are better not known.
Amajor highlight of our trip together was an overnight tie at Hoppe's "marina", which is a length of 3 barges tied to the shore by cables and anchored at the head to the sunken remnants of a civil war gunboat. Fern and her husband have been running the operation since 1973. His parents started it in 1936. It has survived more than 8 floods, including the great flood of '93. They are an unexhaustible source of river information, and answered a list of questions we had prepared for them. They are the first source of fuel after Kidde's at Cape Girardeau, 100 miles South. It took us 3 long days to get there. On the way we anchored behind wing dams, which provided slack water, and safety from the traffic in the main channel.

This bit of local graffitti was on the river side of the seawall in Cape Girardeau, MO. , not far from the fuel dock where we were tied for the night. It sounded like good enough advice to pass along. Whomever the artist, his or hers message is now available on the world wide web. I must say, there's not much "noisy confusion of life"out here on the river. To the contrary, as Huckleberry Finn observed, everything seems to make sense on the river. We made it to Kidde's fuel dock after one anchorage behind a wing dam (outcroppings of stone piled from the bank to divert and speed up the water into the main river channel) and a long slow haul the next day.





This is my friend Dannel from Champaign, IL, whose wife drove him to Paducah to join the trip. We are at the Kidde's fuel dock in Cape Girardeau, having just refilled 4 empty diesel fuel jugs. After our dinner and a sampling of the microbrews, we turned in to prepare for another long, slow uphill run

Tapping this out from the "Buckner Ragsdale Co." microbrewery bar and grill in downtown Cape Girardeau. There's a live band that is so loud it's shaking this table and my laptop and I've got to go soon. Dannel, in his wisdom (and 9 years my senior) left before the music started. We're tied to Kiddes fuel dock, owned and run by Charlie Brown, from whom I have special permission to tie for the night. It's the only place to tie to access Cape Girardeau. This photo was shot not long after we turned right to go up the Mississippi toward St. Paul. It took us two days to make the 50 miles to Cape Girardeau. We're running 2.5-3 mph, pushing against a 3-4 mph Miss. R. current. Tomorrow at sunup, we'll leave for Hoppe's marina and fuel dock, the next available fuel spot, about 100 miles upstream. There is virtually no pleasure boat traffic on the Ohio or the Mississippi, but the commercial barge traffic is heavy. We have listed over 100 tug/tow vessels since Paducah. Some have been 5 barges wide by 7 long--35 barges in all. The river is low, and the channel is narrow, so communications with the barge captains is critical and the margin for error is sometimes rather small. It's a little tense at times but it's what I love to do. We've had some wonderful anchorages behind wing dams, very quiet and serene evenings after a long days run. We're running so slow we've been passed by large tows. Sometimes we have to run outside the prescribed channel to make room for the meeting or passing. But the tug captains are very wise and very helpful and tell us just where to be to be safe.

This is a shot of the HUCK on the barge dock on the waterfront of downtown Paducah. I got permission from the mayor to stay there for 2 nights while I waited for Dannel. A sign on the barge says "Dockage for 15 minutes only". We were very lucky at Ohio lock 52, just 3 miles west of Paducah. there was an 80 hour backup for tows because one of the locks was shut down for repairs. When we got to the lock, the lockmaster said: "You guys are lucky--I've got a Coast Guard buoy tender locking through, and you'll just fit behind them, so I'll get you right through" Very good luck indeed! The next lock, lock 53, we got to bypass, running right over the wing dam to the side because the water was high enough. Now we're making the slog up the Mississippi, trying to get to Alton, where the lock and dam system, controls the water levels and slows the current. That's also past the Missouri River confluence, which adds substantially to the Miss. R. current. So hopefully by Sept. 8 or 9 we'll be in slacker water and back to a roaring 5mph cruising speed.

This band is incredibly loud. It's a miracle I'm able to type this. Thanks for all your attention and support. We may be in a phone and internet blackout for a few days. Wish us well. Our very kindest regards to all...........Captain Brion and Dannel.