Stern Wheeler

Today's picture shows a fine stern wheeler riverboat. This picture was taken in New Orleans. I have to admit that I am really sad to see Riverboat Week come to an end. I must say that the old riverboat pictures really put me in a Dixie state of mind.

Loading Riverboats

Today's picture shows a Riverboat being loaded in Vicksburg, Mississippi. I do believe I see a few bales of cotton being readied for loading. Now, as a professional courtesy, I tend to shy away from criticizing the riverboat captaintry of others, but I do feel like the captain of the middle riverboat brought her in a wee bit close to the riverboat on the right. If I were the riverboat captain, I would always try and leave at least three feet between me and the next riverboat when parking. I have always felt that such a courtesy tends to help avoid conflict and harsh words between the crews of the two vessels.

Loading Cotton

Finally, the picture I have been looking for . . . a scene showing cotton being unloaded from a Mississippi Riverboat. The picture was taken at a landing near Memphis, Tennessee. I am concluding that one of the most interesting things that you could have done in history was being a Riverboat Captain on the Mississippi River. If you look at the picture above, the cotton and other cargo is on the lower level. What is on the second and third decks? Are those passenger cabins?

Riverboat Landing

Good Tuesday Morning to you all. I hope you are having a good week. I have come down with a cold, so I am pretty miserable this week. Hopefully I will get it cleared up soon. In the mean time, I will keep posting pictures. Today's picture shows two riverboats making a landing in Memphis, Tennessee. I keep looking for a picture that would show cotton being loaded or unloaded, but I have been unable to find one. I feel that ht ideal riverboat picture would need to show some bales of cotton.

Riverboat

Riverboat Week continues here at OPOD, with this fine picture of two riverboats landing in Mississippi. They look to be loading hay onto them. I like how the riverboats carried their loading dock along with them, and could land and load/unload anywhere that there was a flat spot on the riverbank. On the sidewheel of the boat it says "Vicksburg and Greenville Packet Co.". You can click on the picture to get a better look.

I am happy to see by reading the comments yesterday that I was not the only one that had been bothered by the fakery going on in modern Riverboat Tours. I say before taking one, you first determine that the boat is actually powered BY the paddle wheel.

Riverboat Week

Good Sunday Morning to you all, and welcome to Mississippi Riverboat Week here at OPOD. We start with this marvelous picture of riverboats, taken near Cincinnati, Ohio. The picture was taken around 1900, and has two, count them, two riverboats. Most of you know that I have always secretly dreamed of being a Gentleman Farmer. My other secret dream is to be a Mississippi Riverboat Captain. With my keen sense of direction, steady nerves, and calm under fire, I feel I have what it would take to captain one of these majestic vehicles. OK, I really don't have a very good sense of direction, but none-the-less, I still feel I could make it in the high flying world of Riverboat Captaintry. 

On many occasions, I have been somewhere that offered a "Mississippi Riverboat Tour". Since I aspire to be a captain, I have always signed up for the ride, as there are still some of these riverboats around. However, on all that I have been on, which have been many, they have all been fakes. By fake I mean that while they have a smoke stack and a paddle wheel, they are just for show . . . there is no steam, and the paddle wheel is not connected to an engine, it just turns in the water as the boat moves. If you ever go on one of these boats, go back and stand by the paddle wheel . . . is it connected to a drive mechanism? . . . usually not, it is just for show, and turns in the water as the boat moves. There is a normal propeller and rudder down under the waterline moving the boat forward. What I have found is that when I take such boat rides, and stand back by the paddle wheel and point out to other people on the boat that the paddle wheel is fake, that there is no steam engine, and it it really just a normal boat dressed out to look like a river boat . . . when I do that, people get mad, and say I "ruined" it for them. It never stops amazing me how people would prefer to believe the lie, rather than know the truth, and have the fantasy they are living in "ruined".