The River

The Mississippi has humble origins, beginning as it does with an un-navigable trickle from Minnesota's Lake Itasca, a short way south of the Canadian border. Over the next 250 miles or so, it gradually widens into a rolling and fully-navigable waterway near the twin cities of Minneapolis/St Paul.

The river acts as a natural border between Minnesota & Wisconsin, Iowa & Illinois, Missouri & Kentucky, Arkansas & Tennessee, Louisiana & Mississippi. The ride will zig-zag from east and west banks, since each state has plenty to offer in the way of good, solid stories. To this end, relevant tourist boards (which are already aware of the project) are assisting with suitable editorial suggestions and personal introductions. Mostly they will involve small, little-known towns and riverports, because the only sizeable places between Minneapolis and New Orleans are St Louis and Memphis.

Mark Twain once said, "Whenever I draw a character, he is already familiar to me. For the likelihood is that I have met him before on the river." I shall doubtless meet many such worthy characters along the way with enriching tales to tell. However, I stress that the emphasis will be on the eco-importance of the river itself - representing as it does a national drainage system like no other, discharging 338 times more water than the River Thames. The Mississippi draws its supply from Delaware in the east, to as far as Idaho in the west, with a drainage basin that covers an area larger than Western Europe, including Turkey.

It also alleviates unbelievable road congestion. According to official figures, one lone Mississippi tugboat hauling 18 fully-laden barges reduces highway traffic by the equivalent of eighty miles of bumper-to-bumper trucks.

It is a meandering waterway. In one part it winds 1,300 miles to cover 675 miles as the crow flies, and in a number of sections there are no roads running alongside. But I've planned the route to remain as true as possible to waters edge.

By the way, if the Missisippi River was ever to dry up, the world as we know it would cease to exist. The river is truly this important.