Canoeing the Mississippi - Part 10

Chapter 10: Modern Dams & Locks A highpoint of our whole trip, a lock and dam, Originally St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis - St. Paul. Can you imagine how Spanish explorers felt Entering California’s Golden Gate for the first time? It lay undiscovered for over two hundred years Of coastal exploration by the Spanish, Seen first by hunters on a land expedition in 1769! First completed in 1963, this amazing lock, 56 X 400 feet long, drops your boat over 49 feet. When we pulled the chain signal above the lock, Two men came out to look over a concrete wall Because they could not see us from the control room. When they saw our tiny canoe, they had hysterics, And then let us go through the lock by ourselves. The heavy upstream gates closed and then The water underneath us started churning As valves were opened that let out the water On the downstream side, and sky above us Disappeared as if we were descending to hell. Normally one would have to wait until the lock Was full of small boats, once again we were royalty. Brian Johnston October 28, 2014