Some seasons just end up with a theme to them. This summer was for the riverboats. They started cruising the Mississippi again, and for many, I think they were a welcome sight. It turned out to be hard to get the type of photograph I wanted…this one is pretty close, but I wish the sky had popped with a little more color (but don’t we always wish for that?). Still, so much has to go right to get some decent shots, and I’m very happy with this one.
These boats are not fast as you might expect. You hurry up and get to a spot, only to wait for what seems like forever for the ship to come by. Watching sloth racing is about as exciting. Sometimes it gets dark on you and you see little to nothing but for a few lights that are still on. Or it’s too cloudy, or a storm comes along, and interrupts the entire afternoon and evening.
But then, the day comes with the ship on time, and the light is good, and you see her coming around a far bend in the river, and it’s almost magical. You can’t help but feel transported back 150 years, with likely the same feeling of exhilaration, that passengers and onlookers felt upon seeing the approach of the first great riverboats on the Mississippi.