Ole Man River

The Father Of Waters has changed big time. As a boy growing up, in St Paul, on the bluffs overlooking the Missippippi, the view of the river was wonderous indeed. From Daytons Bluff you could see the city skyline, dominated by the 1st National Bank, where my father worked. Directly across the river was the airport and to the left, the river disappeared into the unfathomable distance. Reading the adventures of Tom and Huck only added to the fascination. We played on those bluffs and often visited the river below. Reality set in then, with the smells, the garbage floating by and the sense that we were looking at an open sewer. Later, in the seventies, the passage of the Clean Air and Water Act seemed a hopeless gesture towards something better. It wasn't. Today the river, while by no means perfect, is much cleaner. A few years ago, I had to temporarily give up flyfishing due to a bad knee. Not willing to leave fishing entirely, I bought a fishing boat and began visiting the river again. Discovering the backwaters, I found solitude and good fishing. You could almost forget you were on a vital transportation artery and be reminded of canoe country in the Boundary Waters wilderness.On the main channel we passed the Corps of Engineers operating a dredge. This is neccesary to keep the river open to barge traffic. Huge mountains of muck and sand are sucked out each summer. Recently we went for a pleasure cruise up the length of Lake Pepin. The lake is actually a widening in the river. A fun outing often ends with a picnic or a lunch at one of the many riverside restaurants. Sunset and heading home....