Where the River Ends
What if Playing it Safe is the Riskiest Choice of All?
Dean Klinkenberg's new book: Better Safe Than Sorry?
~~~Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 1038~~~ Since 1995 ~ “Voice of the Lower Mississippi River” ~Quapaw Canoe Company, Clarksdale, Mississippi~
~~~Photos from one chapter in new book by "the Mississippi Traveller," Dean Klinkenberg~~~
It's funny how the circles of life come around. A decade ago, in 2015, author Dean Klinkenberg left his normal comfort zone, and joined Mark River and I for one of our Rivergator exploration expeditions, this one from Baton Rouge to Gulf of Mexico. (Rivergator: Paddler's Guide to the Lower Mississippi River. Website recently rebuilt by Scott Shirey).
Along the way he honed his paddling and camping skills, and learned to poop in the wild. Our route below mile -0- Head of Passes was down Southeast Pass. Dean describes the journey:
"We paused for a quick swim, then paddled across smooth water with a noticeably slower flow. The sky was clear and blue, the sun sinking toward the horizon..."
"As we progressed toward the sea, herons, white and brown pelicans, red-winged blackbirds, osprey, and bald eagles flew around us. Large gar -- shiny-scaled fish, whose lineage goes back to the age of the dinosaurs -- surfaced and rolled over. Oil and gas wells, battered and abandoned, bobbed precariously in the marsh. And the smell of salt in the air grew stronger..."
"After gliding around a bend in the channel we got our first view of open water, of the Gulf of Mexico. We cheered! We followed a shortcut through a narrow path of roseau cane, then emerged to face the full expanse of the sea. After paddling a short bit out into the Gulf, we raised our paddles in celebration, then turned around to beach on a barrier Island, where a coyote stood watch but then loped away as we approached."
Because the real danger may not be what happens when you go... it may be what never happens if you don't! -Dean Klinkenberg
~~~Kickstarter Campaign~~~
In Better Safe Than Sorry?, Klinkenberg blends vivid travel stories with sharp reflections on media-fueled anxiety, personal insecurity, and the hidden cost of staying inside our comfort zones. With humor, candor, and hard-earned wisdom from travel to forty-five countries and every U.S. state, he challenges the belief that safety should always come first. This is not a reckless call to adventure, though. It’s a thoughtful invitation to live more expansively — to recognize that while travel carries risk, so does shrinking your world. Ultimately, this is a book that asks: What happens when you stop asking “What if something goes wrong?” and start asking “What if everything goes right?"
Visit Dean's Podcasts about life along the Mississippi River on Patreon!
~~~Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 1038~~~ Since 1995 ~ “Voice of the Lower Mississippi River” ~Quapaw Canoe Company, Clarksdale, Mississippi~