Fit To Ride
Awareness of the outside world. As I have said elsewhere, I don’t do April Fools. I am way too gullible. I will spend today hoping I don’t make too much of an idiot of myself. [Why The Silence]
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East bank of the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans, Crescent City Bridge in the background. Photo by Michelle.
“The Crescent City Connection ranks the fifth-longest cantilever bridges in the world and the farthest downstream bridge on the Mississippi River.”
“The Crescent City Connection ranks as the fifth most traveled toll bridge in the United States, with the annual traffic volume exceeding 63 million.”
LaDOTD: Crescent City Connection
Virtual Mississippi River
I am – ever so gradually – doing a virtual trip down the Mississippi River.
[Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, Part One, Minnesota]
[Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, Table of Contents & General Info]
It’s gonna take foreeeeever.
That’s okay.
No teammates to worry about holding back.
No programs to log into &/or run out of time on.
No pressure.
Totally DIY.
As I have time among other virtual adventures.
Vicarious Mississippi River
One reason this virtual trip works is that the armchair travel is outstanding. OUTSTANDING.
Geology. History. Travel. Politics.
Did you know river traffic fought the building of bridges? National Archives: Prologue Magazine, Bridging the Mississippi, The Railroads and Steamboats Clash at the Rock Island Bridge, Pfeiffer, 2004. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
While it’s true that every place has geology, history, etc., those of the Mississippi River are exceedingly well documented. One could travel vicariously for years.
A handful, for your amusement.
Blog. The Big Trip: Paddling the Mississippi: The Plan. Starting post.
Book. Mississippi Solo by Eddy Harris (Lyons 1988, Holt reprint 1998).
Video. Mississippi By Canoe. Note, many video clips of the trip online, you want the 58-minute video on YouTube. Article on the trip. Chicago Tribune: ABC7 reporter Paul Meincke finds adventure and angels on epic Mississippi canoe trip, Meincke 2017.
IRL Mississippi River
Friend of the Blog, Michelle D. asked me to cat sit. [Archives]
My price was blog posts. I asked for a picture of the Mississippi River, the more mundane the better.
Result is above. Scenic snaps abound. This shows the river as a feature people live next to & cross over & worry about & picnic near.
The residents were not impressed with my cat-sitting skills.
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Trip so far: 185 miles
Total: 2340 miles
To go: 2155 miles
Gonna be a long time before I virtually cross under the Crescent City Connection. One advantage to virtual. I don’t have to worry about high-traffic areas.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
What a fun idea!
🙂
I don’t do April Fool’s either. But it’s interesting where it came from.
Maybe I’ll do a random trip down the Potomac. Interesting idea.
Also C&O Canal.
They invented a sleeping kitty called Chessie as mascot for the C&O freight line.