BIG BARGE OFFERS TASTE OF LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI

Byron Sides, left, and Terry Sides of Atlanta, Ga., waved to the passing River Explorer from Cape Rock Park Tuesday afternoon. The 734-foot vessel was headed for St. Louis.

Eddie Conrad thought everyone should know what life on a river barge is like, so he and Jeffrey D. Kriday built the River Explorer for that purpose.

The River Explorer is an excursion boat built atop two 295-foot river barges, the DeSoto and the LaSalle. The boat docked in Cape Girardeau Tuesday before heading north up the Mississippi River to St. Louis about 1:30 p.m.

"Most people haven't ever had the chance to see what it is like to live on the barges, and we are doing our best to share that with them," Conrad said.

As a former deckhand, Conrad knows all the ups and downs of river life. He makes his home in a famous river city: New Orleans.

The idea of creating an excursion boat from river barges wasn't just something that happened overnight. he said. Much of the inspiration came from his days as a deckhand on towboats and barges.

Without the experience of life on the river, people are missing out on history and culture, he said.

Every river town has a different personality, and every river is different. Because people haven't seen the Mississippi or Ohio up close, they don't have any concept of what it is like until they board the barge, said Conrad.

Things like flood stages and levels are incomprehensible to them until they learn more aboard the barge, he said.

"It's like discovering something new," Conrad said.

Because rivers can be so unpredictable, the crew tries to build enough time into its schedule that tours aren't affected by delays. "You have to adjust because it's the river," Conrad said.

The River Explorer will dock in St. Louis this afternoon and then leave for Cincinnati Thursday.

In all, the barge travels seven river regions of the country: the South Delta from Memphis to New Orleans; the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya basin; the Ohio River into West Virginia; the Missouri River from St. Louis to Kansas City; the Mississippi from Memphis to St. Louis; the Cumberland River and New Orleans to the Mexico coast.

Conrad is always asked which excursion he prefers and always gives the same answer: "Every region is different."

Every river looks different and the towns are all different, he said. The excursion trips depend on the scenery and events happening along their scheduled stops.

Ali Lefebvre, public relations manger for the company, agreed.

"You think it's just water and trees, but this is not what I've seen before," she said as she gazed out a window to see the Mississippi River.

Taking a trip aboard the River Explorer isn't like taking a cruise. People need to keep an open mind so their eyes can see, Conrad said.

Cruises are full of dressing up and dancing, and casinos operate around the clock, Conrad said. The River Explorer offers a more informal atmosphere with unlimited foods including a "perpetual" cookie jar, frequent stops in river towns and lectures and discussions about the rivers.

The trips, which run from four to 10 days, include all tourist sites and museums when the group docks in a city. Packages range from $700 to $2,800.

"It's an opportunity to see America from a totally different perspective," Conrad said.

Plenty of the 164 passengers agreed.

Gailya Chapin and her friend Maxine Woodley were part of a tour group from Morristown, Ill. They agreed the trip was fantastic.

"I grew up in northern Illinois with the paddlewheelers and have seen boats going through the locks," Chapin said. "I didn't realize there was so much to see on the Mississippi."

Information about the barge and excursion trips is available on the Internet at www.riverbarge.com