Steaming south toward Lock and Dam No. 12 in Bellevue, Iowa where I await, near dusk.

[MikeNArk]

That's a good sized paddle boat and a nice shot of it approaching. How long are the river cruises on this boat? Looks like it could be fun.

[blues_hawk]

Awesome old boat. Did you see Maverick get off? :P

I like how you framed this.

[C_Jones]

Nice detail.

[Tonytee]

mroeder75, this is a very, very, very beautiful capture of true Americana. Amazing IQ and I do miss that lens a lot. Many thanks for sharing a genuine jewel.

Tony

[angkymac]

A very intriguing sight you show us here!
Looks to be a very huge boat on a minimalist hull.
Angky.

[mroeder75]

That's a good sized paddle boat and a nice shot of it approaching. How long are the river cruises on this boat? Looks like it could be fun.

I was visiting my folks at their B & B one block from the river, when I asked my 89-year old dad if he wanted to walk down by the river, to watch a barge go through the lock. As we were watching the barge go through the lock, I looked upstream and saw this cruise ship, and it looked large, and it is large for a Mississippi excursion boat. It was just launched in 2021. Here are the ship's details: https://www.icruise.com/ships/american-queen-voyages-american-countess-staterooms.html

As you noted, but it surprised me when it got to the lock, it is a paddle wheeler. But there was a tugboat pushing it from behind. One of the others who came down to watch the cruise ship said it had a mechanical problem. The men on the tug hollered down and said they were there to add an extra margin of safety.

We had watched the John M. River which you see in the background go through the lock.

It was 8:23 p.m. when I snapped this photo. There wasn't much light. This was the only serviceable image. It required some work to light up the scene, and bring out the detail in the photo.

This ship was going from Minneapolis -Red Wing to St. Louis, an 8-night cruise for $2,399 per person double occupancy.


---------- Post added 07-25-22 at 11:12 PM ----------

Awesome old boat. Did you see Maverick get off? :P

I like how you framed this.

Thanks. Didn't see Maverick, or Mark Twain. Unfortunately, Bellevue is not a Port of Call, so there was no stop. Population is just 2,200.

It is a new boat launched in 2021.

---------- Post added 07-25-22 at 11:18 PM ----------

Nice detail.

Thanks but the detail was not so good in its original form. The K-3's sensor is not as light sensitive as I would like, or I am not such a good photographer. I owe the detail to Topaz Sharpen AI, and a few other adjustments I manually made with FastStone Image Viewer.

---------- Post added 07-25-22 at 11:31 PM ----------

mroeder75, this is a very, very, very beautiful capture of true Americana. Amazing IQ and I do miss that lens a lot. Many thanks for sharing a genuine jewel.

Tony

Thank you. I enjoy your photos, as well. The Mississippi River has a special place in my heart, and memories growing up in a river town. I appreciate your comment on Americana.

Maybe not the smartest idea but as a kid I skied alongside the boiling waters near tugboats pushing huge barges as we passed the sewer plant, so I made dam sure I didn't fall. Although by the 1970s the science was that the sewerage discharge was cleaner than the river. However, the sewer plant stunk. We were enroute to a backwater area where the skiing was more friendly; it was nice to get a little more time on the water so I skied past the barges. It was a rough ride.

A common barge river tow has the same capacity as 1,050 trucks, or 216 rail cars pulled by six locomotives.

---------- Post added 07-25-22 at 11:36 PM ----------

A very intriguing sight you show us here!
Looks to be a very huge boat on a minimalist hull.
Angky.

I am in awe of the river excursion boats, like you, because the draft cannot be deep. Nevertheless, somehow they stay upright.

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Last edited by mroeder75; 07-25-2022 at 09:42 PM.