Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Word is Out! Overnight Cruise boats returning to the Mississippi

Monday, June 28th, 2010

The Spirit of Glacier Bay will be renamed the Spirit of America and sale the Mississippi River, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes... starting in 2011.Starting to hear that two well-known cruise lines are preparing to offer river boat cruises on the Mississippi River next year!

Cruise West is renaming 100-passenger Spirit of Glacier Bay to Spirit of America and starting Mississippi cruises in 2011.

Most Mississippi cruises will go from New Orleans to Memphis or from Memphis to Nashville, with the first cruise being New Orleans to Memphis March 19, 2011. Other introductory cruises are in April and May.

Published fares: $3,499, $3,799, $4,299, and $5,099 per person double occupancy. Discounts may be as high as $600/person.

Cruise West suggests that the Spirit of America may also be found on the East Coast, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Great Lakes. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

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Posted in Boating the Mississippi, General, Lower Mississippi, Ramblin', Tourism Announcements | 1 Comment »

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Imperial Moth in Vernon County, Wisconsin

IMPERIAL MOTH SIGHTING

A first sighting of an Imperial Moth has been recorded in Vernon County, Wisconsin, along the Mississippi River.  According to our source, the moths appear to be making a slow progression northward up the river.  It had previously been found in southern Crawford County, the county below Vernon.

 
Have you found a moth or butterfly you’d like to report to someone? The USGS has a link where you can do just that…    Please see http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/faq/report for reporting instructions.
USGS National Biological Information Infrastructure
Big Sky Institute, Montana State University

Posted in General, Questions Questions, Ramblin', Uncategorized, Upper Mississippi, white phase | No Comments »

River tie to Yosemite Nat’l Park

Monday, September 28th, 2009

 Riverbuffs watching Ken Burn’s THE NATIONAL PARKS Sunday evening might be interested to know that the Upper River has a tie to Lafayette Bunnell, who named Yosemite Nat’l Park. From DISCOVER! AMERICA’s GREAT RIVER ROAD, Volume 1, p. 78 . . .

“Five miles south of Winona, in the tiny village of HOMER, MINNESOTA, is the historic “Bunnell  House.” This gothic gem was the home of Willard Bunnell, the first permanent settler and last Indian trader in the area. Bunnell’s brother, Lafayette, was among the men who discovered and gave the name Yosemite to the National Park in California.”

Posted in General, Ramblin', Upper Mississippi, travel | No Comments »

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Here’s the scoop on the Delta Queen.

Delta Queen Steamboat to be Floating Hotel in Chattanooga

Updated: Jan 27, 2009 06:43 PM CST

 

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) – The historic Delta Queen riverboat will call Chattanooga home for a while, as a floating hotel. The leader of a grassroots organization to save the Delta Queen, Vicki Webster, emailed the Channel 3 Eyewitness Newsroom on Tuesday afternoon.

Ambassadors International, Inc. has announced that they have chartered the boat to a company in Chattanooga for use as a hotel.

In a message sent to the boat’s supporters, Webster said, “Our mission is to make sure that indeed, this is a temporary move and the Delta Queen will soon be back in operation, plying the entire Mississippi River system as she has done proudly and safely for 60 years.””

The Delta Queen has been nominated for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2009 list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America. The final selections will be announced in April.

Webster said, “There is only one remaining example of the hundreds of steamboats that once traversed our heartland, weaving our nation together in the process. There is only one example of the steamboats that inspired the work of creative giants like Mark Twain, Jerome Kern, Louis Armstrong, Edna Ferber, and Walker Evans. To stand idly by and watch the destruction of the Delta Queen would not only be a betrayal of the Trust’s mission. It would also be an act of pure treachery to our culture, to the pioneers who came before us, and to future generations who deserve the chance to travel on this quintessentially American treasure.””

 

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Posted in Boating the Mississippi, General, Tourism Announcements, Uncategorized, travel | No Comments »

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

                      The “Rarest and Cutest” Creature on Earth!
A White Phase Lion cub with siblings!

Do I love this? A white phase lion cub with siblings!!!!

You may know that I have a special interest in “white phase” critters on this earth. On a recent trip south, the airline magazine featured the “cutest and rarest creature on earth.” Guess what? It was a white phase LION cub. The article noted that it was not an albino, but a “white phase” LION due to a recessive gene.To recap, it takes TWO parents with recessive “white phase” genes to produce a “white phase” cub. Why a recessive gene in an African lion???

On a recent birding trip to Panama in December, I was priviledged to sit next to a Smithsonian scientist who had been studying tropical Panama for 30 years. He spoke of the difference between cold weather creatures and tropical creatures. The key word for mammals that must survive in temperate climates is ADAPTABILITY. Tropical plants and animals are experts in finding SPECIALIZED NICHES. Lions have not always been confined to Africa! More about that to come!

Meanwhile, visit our new TRAVEL PHOTO site at www.greatriver.smugmug.com to see photos from the Panama Trip!

Posted in General, Ramblin', birding, travel, white phase | No Comments »

“White Buck” harvested in Waukesha County

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Here is another WHITE PHASE story from the deer hunt this weekend. In Western Waukesha County, Wis., a hunter snagged a “rare prize”… a white buck. Today’s newspaper notes that the buck was “white” not “albino” as it had brown eyes and some light brown areas. The story notes that white deer are seen sporadically throughout the western regions of Waukesha County. Also note that while white deer are fair game in Waukesha County, it is normally illegal to take a white buck and can result in a steep fine and up to a three year loss of hunting license.  Scroll down or click on GENERAL to see photos of white bear and white sparrows. If you have a photo of a white buck, please email it to info@greatriver.com

Posted in General, Upper Mississippi | No Comments »

On Tundra Swans, Pelicans, Golden Eagles!

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

We don’t talk a lot about Golden Eagles on www.greatriver.com, because they really are few and far between! But I’ve heard twice now since duck hunting started on the Upper River that they’ve been seen by hunters. They are not black and white like adult Bald Eagles, and they are not mottled as many juvenile bald eagles are… look for the Golden ruff on and below the neck. Let us know if you see them.

Tundra swans are being seen in very small numbers, mostly passing by north of Genoa, Wis. and Brownsville, Mn. These are largely the bachelor swans. Family groups will arrive some time in November, just ahead of ice formation on the river.  More at www.greatriver.com/swan.htm

American White Pelicans are still clustering in quiet backwaters. Last year we had an overlap of pelicans and tundra swans in November. More at www.greatriver.com/pelican.htm

Posted in General, Upper Mississippi, birding | No Comments »

Travel on the River is FINE

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

With all the talk about flooding in June, and continued above average rainfall in July, we are still getting queries about whether it is safe to travel on the upper river.

Yes, travel is fine. Bridges are open.

Posted in Flooding, General, Tourism Announcements, Upper Mississippi, travel | No Comments »

Pelicans and Wabasha Eagle Counts

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

March 23, 08 and the American White Pelicans are back in Pool 8.  Read our feature story on the return of the AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS to the Upper Mississippi River.

Also got a count for the March 08 eagle count from Wabasha. Note that Golden Eagles are included in the count! I, too, have seen Goldens, but they have been so few and far between we haven’t even mentioned them. I guess the word is now out! The bulletin board at www.greatriver.com/pbb/ shows a huge increase in eagle counts for Iowa.Eagles have been especially abundant on Pool 8 for the past two weeks as “winter” eagles wait for the waters further north to open and “summer” eagles start arriving for nesting. I counted 9 adults in two trees near open water on March 23.

Eagle Sightings Winter 2007-2008

The NEC’s 2008 Annual Golden Eagle Survey Count was on Jan. 19, 2008. The 2007 count was 41 golden eagles for the day and 51 for the week, up from 2006’s 23 for the day and 29 for the week. 
2008 results are being tallied now!

Eagles Counted On or around March 14:

  • Red Wing (Colville Park) 15
  • Reads Landing 63
  • Wabasha 24
  • Alma 15
  • Buffalo City 16
  • Lock and Dam 5A 5

Some eagles are flying, however most are roosting.

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Posted in General, birding | No Comments »

Save the Delta Queen – An American Treasure

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Ways to help. | Contact talk radio and Presidential candidates

My Goodness, I am a fan of the Delta Queen and all the cruising steamboats.  Enjoy the U-tube video then have a look at the Blog entry below. There’s lots more to the tug of war over the DQ than is commonly known. 

The Delta Queen is equipped with the latest in modern fire monitoring devices and a powerful sprinkler system, and includes 3 onboard crew dedicated to safety monitoring on a 24 hour basis. The steamboat has had an 82 year spotless record of safety on the river, and is popular with tourists who want a one-of-a-kind experience. So why is so-called fire safety being noted to force it out of operation? Read the full story.

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Posted in General, Ramblin', Uncategorized, travel | No Comments »

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