Three weeks in St. Paul was both a climax and a turning point for the St. Pete./St. Paul adventure. St. Paul is an easy city to fall in love with...if you don't mind 6 months of real winter. But it does have the river (my good friend!), beautiful architecture, and a sufficient array of cultural activities. This view easat from the Wabasha bridge shows the southbound Amtrak passenger train leaving town. Next to it, a main highway artery, then the Mississippi. Downstream is the Robert St. Bridge and a railroad lift bridge. The roadside treeline has turned color from the shortening days and some Oct. frosts.

Much of the old neglected waterfront downtown has been revitalized with small parks, scenic walkways and creative landscaping. The city is beginning to reclaim its past identity as a true river town.

While in St. Paul, the HUCK FINN was tied in the yacht basin next to Raspberry Island at the southern end of the Wabasha bridge. It was an easy walk to town. Coffeeshops and internet cafes were not far. While I was there, most of the boats in the marina were being hauled out for the winter, but there was a hard core fleet of 25 boats, mostly houseboats, that stayed in the water with their liveaboard owners all year.

Soon after my arrival, I was written up as a feature story in the Pioneer Press. That led to a call from the Prairie Home Companion staff inviting me and my fiancee to attend the show as guests, sitting on stage during the live broadcast. We also got to see the rehearsal, ate with the cast and crew before the show, and met briefly with Garrison Keillor..


Here is a view from downtown St. Paul southward along the Wabasha Bridge. It is used regularly by walkers and cyclers, as well as motor traffic. Staged staircases on either side of the bridge drop down to Rasperry Island, home of the local rowing club and a small clubhouse for special events.

This is near the northern endpoint of commercial tug and tow traffic. The river becomes too small and small waterfalls and rapids occur a few miles upstream. The bridge is at mile 839.6 (miles above Cairo, IL, where the Ohio meets the Mississippi.)

While in St. Paul I met lots of boaters, and many strangers sought me out after seeing the story in the Pioneer Press. The notoriety was great fun while it lasted, but it was also nice to settle back into relative obscurity.

So far, the trip has been a grand success, peppered with just enough adventure, but no disasters. A year of planning seems to be paying off, as the HUCK has held together beautifully, with the exception of a failed autopilot. When I contacted the company (Simrad) they offered to repair it and upgrade its dated parts for free. So I shipped it to their technicians in WA state and had it back in a week, now workingly perfectly.




Behold the St. Paul skyline from the South end of the Robert St. Bridge. Not exactly NYC, but cosmopolitan enough for a River Rat.