Today I met some interesting folks. They came into our Harbor and of course after a few phone calls and Dan telling me I just had to go down, I went to check it out (part of my job you know as local Harbor Master:)(actually I spent my lunch hour there-one of my more memorable lunch hours for sure!) As you can see from the pictures, they lead a very interesting life. I would have loved to sit and chat with them for hours. I am sure they had many interesting tales to tell. I did get to talk to "Moss" for a bit, and I asked a few questions.
Living aboard this raft are 5 people-3 male and 2 female ranging in age from 23-32. I only got to meet one (Moss) as the others had taken their bikes to get some supplies to continue on their journey. I did get to see another guy as he was making his way back to the boat, but I didn't get to talk to him much. Moss was glad to talk and seemed to enjoy getting his picture taken. He said it happens quite a bit!
These people set out on this homemade raft on July 11th leaving from Minneapolis and traveling to New Orleans. The raft has no power, no toilet, no running water and no motor. They are literally floating down the Mississippi by the power of the current. It is decorated with flags, mannequin heads and other various interesting items.
They do have a little Coleman camping stove on board to cook meals. They said that they had saved some money in order to do this. So they stop at towns like Muscatine along the way and buy a few things to eat and ice, etc. But he also said, "fish are free". So it sounds like they eat fish when they have to. When dan arrived they were washing dishes in the river.
A boating neighbor came over while I was there and offered Moss a beer. He said "no, I better not. I've still got my chores to do". Each person was responsible for various tasks associated with the boat and gathering food, supplies, etc. Moss seemed to be tidying up, and getting ready to shove off again. The others were off-site doing whatever it is that they were supposed to do.
Moss said that they do stop in libraries and email their friends and family to let everyone know how they are doing.
They get about 15 miles a day and expect to be in New Orleans by November 1st. What a journey they are experiencing.
Apparently these people just met on random occassions and are from various locations across the United States. When talking to Moss he said they all liked to "train" meaning they hopped trains and traveled the country. I think this is how they got together.
Before going to Minneapolis to start this water journey, Moss had traveled Europe for 11 months by train only. He said that he will stop somewhere and work for a couple of months until he has saved enough money to take off again.
After arriving in New Orleans, Moss will be catching his plane to Maui where he is going to spend the winter. Some of the others will be continuing their raft travels through the Gulf and hope to land in Mexico for the winter.
Very nice, interesting person to talk to. Some insensitve person called the police on them for absolutely no other reason than the way they and their boat looked. Thankfully, the officers were kind and just let them be.
Moss said I was welcome to come along. All I needed was a sleeping bag. Thanks for the offer, but not exactly my idea of a grand trip, albeit fun I'm sure....
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