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 Appearing
from behind a thick scrub brush with a line that once connected the steamboat
to a sturdy oak tree, the deckhand jumped onto the gangway suspended over the
riverbank just as the American Queen started backing into the river. Waving goodbye
to us from the shore was a small crowd of little kids seeing a steamboat for the
first time and grandparents who have seen it numerous times before. As we started
slowly churning up the Mississippi River, our steam calliope began festively serenading
them and the retreating town as we journeyed upriver.
Sailing
through the vast interior waterways of the United States, the American Queen is
one of the last three steamboats offering overnight passenger service to a little-seen
side of America as well as a taste of the days of Mark Twain. Looking at the steamboat
towering over the river, I felt as if the history books had come alive with an
old steamer still carrying on commerce along the river, unaware that the 21st
century had already arrived.  Cruising
from Memphis to Cincinnati on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, it didn't take
me long to realize that river cruising was different from ocean cruising. At most
ports, there were no docks to tie up to; rather, the boat nestled up against the
muddy riverbank while a crew member jumped ashore to find a tree to tie the boat
up to. Instead of gambling or the beach, the entire trip was based around the
river, which leads further and further into the country while cutting through
vast expanses of open land and forests along with small towns perched on the riverbank.
So mystical and alluring is the river that many of the crew consider it a living,
constantly changing entity.
Going
upriver, we delighted in watching the river change each day. At first, it was
wide and thickly forested with huge sets of towboats and barges several hundred
feet long sharing the channel. As we went up the Ohio River, it turned green and
hilly, with sleepy villages peeking out from the trees and kids who ran down their
lawn to wave at us as we sailed by, while their mothers slowly trailed behind.
(CONTINUE...)
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