Trip Log of Robert Youens

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 63: Memphis Tennessee is known as the birthplace of the Blues. Known for musicians such as W.C. Handy ("Memphis Blues.") and B.B. King. Memphis is called “Home of Rock & Roll” thanks to Elvis Prersley and many others. Close to 20 percent of the earliest inductees (24 of the 97) in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame have come from within a 100-mile radius of Memphis.
Historically the Memphis Harbor is known for shipping “White Gold” - Cotton

[river_joe]

Hi All,

Memphis is smack dab in the lower corner of TN and the sub-burbs south of the city actually spill over into the sate of Mississippi. Highway 61 follows the river south out of town on the way to Clarksdale MS. Memphis has a long history with the Blues (Delta Blues as the Mississippi Delta reaches from New Orleans to Memphis). In a general sense you can call Memphis the birthplace of the Blues but to be more specific the birthplace of the Blues is south of Memphis just above Clarksdale MS. Right here as a matter of fact:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UT ... 18697&z=12

at the intersection of highways 49 and 61. The Blues was born when Robert Johnson made a rather infamous deal at this crossroads. There is some debate as to the exact location of the crossroads but most agree it's the spot on the map above. Here's a youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4s ... re=related

Robert is paddling into Blues country for sure. Maybe he can write us the Ibuprophen Blues. He'll be passing Helena Arkansas in the next day or two and then a paradox of sorts: From Helena to Greenville he'll pass through the most uninhabited section of the entire river. You'd think the real river wilderness would be in northern Minnesota but its not, It's here. For 120 miles (at least three days) Bob will have Arkansas swamp on one side and Mississippi levee on the other. At most he'll see an occasional grain elevator along the shore until he reaches Greenville.

At Helena Bob will meet the southern end of Crowley's Ridge. He passed the northern end just after he left Cape in Missouri at the little town of Commerce. Crowley's Ridge is worth learning about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowley%27s_Ridge

River_Joe

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-18, Day 65
Robert called last night to promise that he would hit the river early this morning - clean, refreshed and ready to paddle.. “Thank You” goes out to John. His wife is a good friend of Robert’s wife and they teach together. John is a pilot for FED EX. I learned one more tidbit. He mentioned “crash pad” - a house or apartment shared by a number of pilots for their use between flights.

Check out Joe’s pictures of the River Walk. It is a replica of the Mississippi River and Robert was disappointed to find out that they close from October to April. At least we can see Joe’s picture

Hi Joe, Thanks for all your information and pictures. As you have great knowledge of Missouri and the Mississippi River – we will forgive you for your lack of knowledge where TEXAS B B Q is concerned. You may need to come visit, so we can educate you.

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 64: Memphis is home of historic Beale Street, whose musical offerings - as lively today as ever - have helped it to be voted the second most popular entertainment district in America following Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 65: The origin of Arkansas's name: French interpretation of a Sioux word acansa, meaning downstream place.

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-19. Day 66
Robert had a bad phone connection, but briefly: Early this morning, I was coming into a straightaway, the high headwinds were standing the waves straight up. It was not safe to paddle – so here I am again waiting for the wind to die down.

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 66: The largest city on the Mississippi River is Memphis, Tennessee.

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-20 Day 67
After a day of no paddling (I did make 1 mile), I had to listen to Coyotes, wild dogs or something most of the night. I had done my “security routine”. Before I get in my tent for the night, I urinate all the way around. Theoretically the human smell keeps things away. - Don’t know if it works, but no strange critters have gotten into my tent yet.
I was up and ready to go this morning at 6:30 am. As I was leaving, some local Arkansas commercial fishermen came up to say “hello”. They had seen me trying to set up my tent in the wind – got a good chuckle. They asked “We saw your flag on your canoe – are you really from Russia?” Now it was my turn to chuckle (not out loud) – when I told them I was from Texas.

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-21 Day 68
Robert called in early today – said he may not be able to get a call through further down the river.

Just as he was getting off this morning he came upon a group of 8 or 9 from Los Angeles, on a river trip. John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company, was their guide. They offered him a cup of coffee and began talking about books on the Mississippi. One of Robert’s favorites is “Rising Tide” by John Barry. Robert has discussed the river with Mr. Barry via email and they hope to meet in New Orleans. John Ruskey wanted Robert to tell him hello - he has taken Mr. Barry on a couple of trips on the river (more small world stuff). Quapaw Canoe Company has an interesting website – island63.com.

From Judy: I left out some important information. Robert paddled 57 miles Tuesday, 11-18, 1 mile Wednesday, 11-19 and 51 miles Thursday, and today is looking good. By the end of the day Robert should be within 500 miles of New Orleans.

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 67: The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second largest national cemetery in the country. The park is 1,800 acres of earthworks, cannons, monuments and the most spectacular overlook of the River. Also displayed at the park is the "USS Cairo," a Union ironclad sunk by the Confederacy and raised after more than a century underwater.

[river_joe]

Hi All,

Bob's one day now out of the wilderness; he's past the confluence with the Arkansas river and the great swamp. You may recall news a couple years ago that some biologists think they may have encountered an Ivory Bill Woodpecker previously thought to be extinct. Well the swamp they were lookin' in was on Bob's right side the last two days. Just up the Arkansas a few miles from the confluence is DIsmal Swamp AR. http://www.placenames.com/us/p48525/

Historically this is the region in which the first Spanish invader to see the Mississippi, DeSoto, thrashed about in a vain search for gold until he died in the swamp in 1542 : http://www.floridahistory.com/arkansab.html

river_joe

P.S. Bob just passed Rosedale MS. There's a little BBQ stand right south of town on 61 that's the envy of all of Texas I promise you. Almost far enough south now for crawfish.

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-23, Day 70
From Robert: I set my alarm and woke early Saturday morning to a reading of 17 degrees inside my tent. My water bottle was frozen solid and I could see frozen moisture on the tent. I desided maybe I didn’t need to get up quite so early. I did get off shortly after 8:00 aiming for Greenville.

Today I was able to get some great pictures of Otter on the river. It was a group of 5 and I was able to get close. One looked old (grey whiskers make you look old) and was floating on his back, eating. From Judy: I checked on the otters and apparently Robert was lucky to see them. There are not a lot of otters in Arkasas and they are noctural. Usually seen in only remote areas in the daytime.

I made it to Greenville and set up camp. Sunday morning I called a Taxi to go into town. I mention one of my favorites books “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America” by John M. Barry. It takes place largely around Greenville. State Senator LeRoy Percy (November 9, 1860– December 24, 1929) was a wealthy planter in the area. He was an interesting man and prominent in the book. I wanted to see a monument to him at the local cemetery. The Taxi driver had great local stories to tell and I was finally able to get a picture of the monument.

I was back on the river before noon, only to be stopped for construction. YES, they closed the river until this evening,(Sunday) to lay cables They are going to do it again tomorrow, so I’m going to try to get out early in the morning, before they get started.

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 68: Greenville is called the Towboat Capital of the World.

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 70 At Vicksburg, the United States Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station is the world's largest hydraulic research laboratory.

[Youens-sister]

Post 11-24, Day 71:

Robert called this morning to say he had gotten out early and had passed the construction. Then he got a radio report about a front, pushing 50 MPH winds. He stopped, pulled the canoe up behind a wing dam, tied everything down and was in the process of getting the tent well secured. The report indicates the front should move through quickly, so he is hoping to be back on the river this afternoon.

From Judy: I didn’t get a call this evening, probably no cell coverage. From my maps, I can tell he’s only made about 37 miles in the last two days. Between river construction and lousy weather – it’s been bad. From the tracker, we can tell he has made it to the ”Number 10 “ state – Louisiana. Yea!

[Youens-sister]

Answer to Judy’s Question for the Day 71: Louisiana was part of the large territory that would become “The Louisiana Purchase”. It was named by the French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle in honor of his king, Louis XIV.