A Wonder of the Mississippi

Mark Twain wrote, “It is strange how little has been written about the Upper Mississippi.”  Periodicals that have come out since Twain’s time (e.g., Big River Magazine) have somewhat corrected this shortcoming, but it does not alter the fact that when most people...

Because of Last Week’s Fish Story

I used to take lots of pictures. I almost never stepped or paddled into a natural area without a camera in hand. Then I began to wonder whether the desire for a good photograph was keeping me from encountering my experiences with an open mind. In the same way I see...

Fish Story

Thursday I took my kayak to Green Island on the Mississippi River. It is one of about a half dozen places I regularly put in to go fishing. Every other time I’ve gone there, I’ve paddled west and fished the inlets just off the main channel. On Thursday, mostly on a...

Another Roadside Attraction

Clare needed to find a flower to dissect for her online biology class.  She wanted to use one of the huge lotus flowers we’d seen the last two times we’d gone kayaking. I asked her to go online to find out if taking a lotus flower is even legal. She came...
Steven Simpson