The Route 66 Bridges Across the Piney River

Four bridges cross the Big Piney River at a spot so rugged it was damn near the last section of Route 66 to be completed. We floated downriver into the shadow of each bridge, close together, from oldest to newest. … Read More

River Art

Sycamores mostly, some a hundred years old, peeled off the banks and sent like torpedoes downriver to collect together as Mother Nature’s art.

Tenacity

Hang on. In 150 years you’ll look like this. Eventually somebody will come by and admire your grip.

The Seven Wonders of Shannon County

Judge Pegleg Shannon would have a blast in this neck of the woods, assuming he wasn’t sick of rivers and caves and general exploring. As a pup, this youngest member of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery had a propensity … Read More

Winter Water

Winter Campfire Coffee

The air was cold, a few degrees above freezing. A north wind tried to aggravate us, but Cora blocked its best gusts. Cora is the island on our port side. We’d survived the toughest part of the trip: launching a … Read More

Gusher

Alley Spring mill race. 84 million gallons of water per day.

Rafting the Mississippi

The days were getting warmer when I got a call from a good friend alerting me that an adventurous soul was about to experience the dream of every American river rat. He’d built a raft, and was looking for crew … Read More

Riverset

It was a good day on the river. Sun thought so, too.