Sunset Beneath and Between the Bridges

The John Anderson White is a recently refurbished sternwheeler riverboat that leisurely cruises the downtown portion of the Des Moines river. The "refurbishing" hadn't been required because of age or neglect but because close to a decade ago some vandal cut it loose one night and it crashed on a bridge down river. Then a local restaurateur with, it might have seemed, more imagination and money than sense, bought the crippled hulk and went to work. Slowly, as it turned out.

Earlier in the summer we learned that the sternwheeler was back on its feet -- so to speak. While chartered dinner cruises were a bit out of our reach, my ears pricked up when an email announced sunset cruises for we unwashed multitudes. It sounded like an opportunity.

The evening arrived and, without really knowing what to expect, we stepped aboard along with the other six passengers (it can carry up to 75). The ad had promised appetizers and music, and sure enough, a table was invitingly spread and both a guitar and banjo leaned promisingly in one corner. After a few perfunctory announcements and instructions, the paddle began to turn and we were underway.

The river, that time of the evening, was still and, for the most part, quiet. Along the way, the Captain noted points of interest; the musician -- who doubled as a deck hand -- strummed and sang. A white pelican floated leisurely at a safe distance from our path, and the sun gently settled behind the trees. The river, almost hypnotic, slid glass-like beneath us. As the Captain had previously announced, the 2nd street bridge -- too low for us to sail under -- marked the end of our forward progress and the John Anderson White gently turned itself around and began its journey home. A scant hour after we had shoved off, we were nudging our way back against the dock and stepping back onto solid ground, nourished as much by the orange sky and the placid river as by the pizza.

I could go again.