Mississippi Riverboat Cleanup

Last Wednesday I participated in the 25th annual Mississippi Riverboat Cleanup.  The cleanup is the combined effort of the DNR, the Conservation Corp of Minnesota and Iowa, and the Johnathan Paddleford Boat Company.  I had been on one of the Paddleford boats before for sightseeing but never for the purpose of trash picking.  With water bottles, gloves, and trash bags in hand, we boarded the boat by 8:30 am and set off on our adventure.

Normally, the Paddleford would head to the scenic stretch of river between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Today we were going south to the business end of the river.

I had no idea where we were going or how far when I signed up for this adventure.  We passed the small downtown airport and kept going past more and more barge traffic.

We cruised downstream for about 7 miles to South St. Paul.  We stopped just before we got to the Highway 494 bridge and our boat pulled over onto shore.

The 100 or so of us on board were divided up into six work groups.  The first three groups had come prepared with rubber boots and bug spray and were sent off into the swampy areas by the riverboat.  The upside for those folks is that it was shady and easier over there.  If I could have found a pair of cheap thrift store boots, I would have signed up for that group.  The other three groups were shuttled over by smaller DNR boats to the other side of the river.

There we are (friends and family) working the more difficult side of the river.  No shade, rocky, endless bits of Styrofoam everywhere.  I signed up for it. Backbreaking work.  Saved by a solid pair of hiking boots. Working the thigh muscles!

Also, all the snakes were on our side.  But in fairness, the other folks probably had to pull a few ticks off when they got home.

A pontoon picked us up to bring us back to the Paddleford for lunch.  I could have used a beer at this point. I'm not complaining.  The lemonade was cold and refreshing, but I'm just saying I would have paid for that beer. Lunch was provided and we all looked pretty ragged by that point.  The captain awarded prizes for various litter that folks brought back to the boat.  I should have brought back the hypodermic needle I found. I'm sure I could have won the prize for the most hazardous item found.  The prize for the oldest item found went to someone who found a set of kid's antique train cars.

I got an email this morning from the event coordinator thanking me for my participation.  This is what 3.7 tons of trash looks like.  Next year I may try the swampy side of the river.  I guess I better start looking for those rubber boots.