For the Boyceville Bulldogs! During my 3 weeks in St. Paul, I made a side trip to Boyceville Wisconsin to talk to the 5th graders about my trip and to visit with Mrs. Sweeney's reading group. It was fun meeting all the kids there and I got a great t-shirt for a gift!

These are some white pelicans, on the Mississippi River, during their annual migration south from Canada. They go all the way to the Gulf of Mexico for the winter. (Some people do that too!) This picture was taken near Dubuque IA, on Oct. 25. How much farther do these pelicans have to go?

Randy the River Rat is still doing well, though he eats a lot and is getting expensive to feed. Maybe I should release him back into the river where I found him!
This picture shows what it looks like to have 25 barges coming at your boat. Thisw tow, being pushed by the tug in back, is 5 barges across, and 5 barges long, fully loaded with coal. It is southbound, probably taking the coal to a power plant for producing electricity. I stayed to the right of this tow, making it a "one whistle" meeting, or port-to-port. I have met or passed over 400 tows now during this trip. One barge can carry as much as 15 loaded railroad cars. Some of the tugboats have more than 10,000 Horsepower!






These mineshafts dug into the bluff are near Clayton, IA. This is one of the biggest silica mining operations in the country. Do you know what is made of silica? Hint: you see through it every day. When I talked to some people who live near here, they told me these shafts go back for more than 20 miles into the bluffs. Some of the empty shafts are now used for storing grain over the winter until it is transported the next spring.
I took this picture in the late afternoon, when the sun was shining through the dust being kicked up at the mines.

Now I am about 200 miles south of St. Paul, in Dubuque, IA. We travel about 30-50 miles per day. I haven't seen any more snakes in the locks!

A special HI! to Melissa, Courtney and all the other great kids I met at the school. I've been getting lots of e-mails from some of you and they are fun to read.

You have a good school and lots of really great teachers. That means you must have a great principal too. Got to go now, will send more blogs later! Captain Brion and JO