Mississippi River

[Susan W]

I was near downtown Memphis so took a few minutes to enjoy the park on this beautiful Dec day. This looking north, Arkansas seen in left corner.

[imafan26]

Beautiful. We don't really have wide rivers here. We have more streams and waterfalls are only turned on after heavy rains.

[gumbo2176]

I've crossed the Mississippi River in Memphis a few times on long motorcycle rides and found it is not near as wide there as down in New Orleans where I live. Not long ago I was in Natchez, Mississippi for a memorial service for a friend that passed away and it was held at a local watering hole that fronted the Miss. River and it was quite a bit narrower there too.

One of the things about the river that still amazes me is when the water is high in the late spring from all the snow melt up north and you can see ships traveling in and out of port and it looks like they are magically floating on top of the levee if seen from the inland side of it. Thank goodness for the levees too because if standing on top of it when the water is in flood stage, you look down the inland side and see a good 15 foot or more difference between the street level and water level in the river.

[HoneyBerry]

Nice picture. I hear about the Mississippi river in the news, but have never seen it in real life. I think there are alligators in that river?

I read a story in the news today about a 22 year old burglar who was hiding from the cops in a pond and was eaten by an alligator. Looks like he missed something critical during the planning stage.

[!potatoes!]

no alligators in the river in memphis or north. when I was a kid, we'd regularly camp where at wyalusing, where the wisconsin river flows into the mississippi...that river's plenty wide when you're in a canoe trying to avoid the barges!

[gumbo2176]

Over the years, I've done a lot of camping along the river banks, fishing, some boating and even a bit of swimming---which I would not recommend due to strong currents, but youth carries a certain stance against your own mortality. In all those times, I've not seen a single alligator in the river, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were a few in more remote areas away from major cities.

I do know they are lousy thick in the marshes near the river and between nutria, muskrats, rabbits, hogs and the abundance of fish, they are exploding in population. I went with my brother-in-law to the marshes last fall to fish and while we were loading up the ice chest with trout, redfish, flounder and bass, we counted several alligators just in one small canal we were fishing in------a couple of them in the 10 ft. range. There was one nutria that hit the water to swim to the other bank about 50 ft. away and you'd have thought an Olympic swimmer was in the water by the speed in which it negotiated that distance. It did attract an alligator, but was too fast to get across, otherwise it would have made a tasty treat.

[Susan W]

Fortunately alligators not common up this way! There are some in the bayous in the delta in Arkansas, especially further south. Perhaps Gumbo can ride his bike around there, fishing pole in hand, and play in the sunshine!

Just for perspective, click the pic over the bridge and roadway and see how the trucks are dwarfed by the sheer size. When the river is high, trees will be spotted floating down, looking like mere stage props.

[HoneyBerry]

That's a good size bridge for a river crossing.

[gumbo2176]

Fortunately alligators not common up this way! There are some in the bayous in the delta in Arkansas, especially further south. Perhaps Gumbo can ride his bike around there, fishing pole in hand, and play in the sunshine!

Just for perspective, click the pic over the bridge and roadway and see how the trucks are dwarfed by the sheer size. When the river is high, trees will be spotted floating down, looking like mere stage props.

I've got a tree story for you about the powers of the Mississippi River. My cousins and I were out on the levee one day fishing and it was mid spring before the river got to it's maximum flood stage for the year and there were dozens of trees floating downstream every hour. About 100 yards off the bank there was a whirlpool that formed and it looked for all intents and purposes like someone flushed a giant toilet. Well this 40 ft. or so tree enters the whirlpool, starts spinning in circles then gets upended and was sticking straight up in the river like it was growing out of the water. In about 10 seconds the entire tree was sucked underwater all the while sticking straight up. That day ended any idea of swimming ever again in that river.

[catgrass]

Malingardener-I had to laugh at your post. I live in Louisiana near the Texas border. The Calcasieu (pronounced Cal-ca-shew) River is popular for all water activities: fishing, boating, skiing, water-boarding, etc. I had a friend marry a man from Kentucky. My son and a friend were about 8-9 years old and we were pulling them on a tube behind the boat on the river, when one of the kids pointed toward the bank. There were 2 large alligators sunning there. Jerry said we were crazy pulling our kids in the river where there were alligators. Well, we told him, they know not to fall off! BTW, I don't ever recall hearing of anyone being attacked by an alligator in the river. You stay away from their dens/nests and they leave you alone.