HOUSEBOATING: Where the Twain Does Meet

Timelessness and comfort meld when you rent a houseboat on a wildlife-rich stretch of the Upper Mississippi.

PHOTOS & STORY BY KIM SCHNEIDER

Ablanket of mist hovers over the Mississippi River beyond this weathered marina deck. As first light inches toward dawn, the sky of gold transforms the rising steam from slate to a glowing coral that floats in wisps up the bluffs.

A distant pleasureboat zips through the scene, vanishing behind a treecovered island. A fish jumps, then another, the surprising splash the only sound on the docks of S&S Boat Rentals.

We don’t expect to hear anytime soon from the neighbors of our Party Top Sharpe II. They were last heard belting out the “Frozen” theme song “Let it Go” while offering shared beverages and navigation tips, since they’ve made this trip before.

But our crew of six is up before sunrise, anxious to start exploring Mark Twain-style with a decidedly modern twist. That would be the way we’ll take with our roomy four-bedroom home with full kitchen, showers, entertainment system and upper party deck. And the first step is a kick-off lesson in driving a 60-foot floating house in a way that hits no wing dams, damages no propellers and crashes into no cruise liners, tows or island beaches.

Pool 9

Blake and Amanda Schoh run S&S Boat Rentals, founded in 1960 in the classic river town of Lansing, Iowa. They offer a choice of roomy pontoons and decked-out houseboats. The live-aboard models are the most fun for Blake, he says, for the way they bring back memories growing up on houseboats his grandfather owned and a river history that goes back way further.

“Initially a houseboat was just a floating cabin on a boat hull lucky to be powered by an engine,” he says. “Cooking over a fire or grill was luxurious. Where we are today is unfathomable.”

Unfathomable, too, for those early navigators would be the Mississippi River itself. When one-time riverboat captain Mark Twain navigated these waters, he’d have to memorize some 1,000 miles of river, every depth, hazard, wreck, in every river stage. We are fortunate that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cleared the river of navigation hazards here in what’s known as Pool 9; we also learn that we still have to pay close attention. This is no cruise around a lake.

The biggest risk to propellers — and our deposit — is the rock dams located near the shore to help direct water flow and keep sediment from filling in the channel, due to today’s river conditions hidden under just 3 feet of water. Captain Scott Schoh, Blake’s father and an experienced boater, doesn’t just tell. He shows us how to navigate the Party Top Sharpe II, coaching our group’s appointed captain, Karl, as they jointly back the boat into the Mississippi and head north.

“You see how quickly it turns,” he notes, as Karl barely touches the wheel and the boat turns toward shore. “You’re running about 1,000 RPMs, there’s a little south wind. There’s a wing dam there. See the ripple effect in the water. You’ll want to hit reverse so you can stop your momentum. Hit neutral, and put that one motor into forward...”

While our captain absorbs these finer points, the rest of us try to remember at least the key commands to be the support crew: “If a barge is coming, get out of the way. Stay in the main channel. Don’t rush. Don’t panic.” Good advice, those later rules, for both boating and life.

Hakuna Matata

Our long weekend playground is the 32 miles between Lock and Dam 8 to our north and 9 to our south, Genoa Wisconsin down to Harpers Ferry, Iowa — a stunning bluff-lined region within the Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Within the stretch lies 30 sandbar campsites all maintained by the group Friends of Pool 9, of which owner Blake is vice president. The volunteer group keeps the beaches cleaned, puts out fire rings and supports agencies that keep the ecosystem pristine. Blake notes there are 200 active eagle nests making this stretch one of the top three most concentrated spots in the U.S. (including Alaska) for spotting the impressive raptor that has become synonymous not just with America but with America’s river.

Fish splash and fishermen pass as we head to a nearby sandbar to learn how to anchor, then navigate north on our own through what’s known as the Driftless Region. This part of Wisconsin and Iowa was untouched by glaciers, leaving an original landscape of undulating hills, lush bluffs, even ancient sites like the National Park Service-run Effigy Mounds; the culture known today as the Effigy Moundbuilders lived in these bluffs, buried their dead in mounds shaped like bears, birds, bison and panthers.

The panic of operating on our own eventually subsides as we master the technique onboard friend Bob McClintick dubs micro-steering and begin to (quite literally) go with the flow.

“You’re on a beautiful stretch of water, you have an expansive view, even while in the captain’s chair, and the stress of workaday life is behind you,” he says. “You can just enjoy the moment.”

Come time to think about dinner, onboard charts and our own spotting help find us a roomy sandbar far from the lights of any town; sandbars and the docks of S&S are the only dockage options within the pool, and we’re not complaining. The stocked kitchen makes it easy to open our wine, craft a feast of butter-tender steaks picked up from the Lansing area’s City Meat Market, salad greens and potatoes from the town’s Farmer’s Market. A few in the group build a fire, others explore to spot a beaver swimming past, the shells of rare mussels, even the winding path of a snake that slithered before. Dusk brings a star show to mesmerize even this group of experienced nature travelers.

Wonders continue in a sky dawning in shades of coral and bright orange, so pretty we dub it worthy of a 21-gun salute. Unfortunately, we hear way more gunshots than that. You’ll want to time your rental to perhaps avoid our mistake of camping on opening day of duck hunting season. But we’ve dubbed this day Hakuna Matata — no worries.

In The Heart Of It

Come time to start brewing the coffee, we couldn’t restart the generator, even with Amanda coaching us by phone. Potential complications like this are why houseboaters are limited to the space between locks; S&S Rentals can get to you quickly to make any needed repairs — and they do.

On our way, we find the river wider on this southern stretch, opening into backwaters that have us motoring past migrating white pelicans, trees dark with cormorants. We’re sharing the river with boaters, some hunting, some fishing, and (for our biggest navigational challenge) the barge Raymond Grant Eckstein. As it approaches closer, it gives us a single blast of the horn, telling us to move to our right. We make it to Lock and Dam 9, and for fun, we call the lockmaster to ask about “locking through.” No problem, he says, once the Eckstein and a barge coming from the other direction pass through. We opt instead to just watch as the barge heads in, the water sparkles, eagles dive. No worries.

We have snacks, we have friends, and we have a view of all the life of the Mississippi from the center of it. As our travel companion Lisa McClintick notes: “It’s so relaxing to feel part of this hub, knowing the river is making a 2,300 mile journey and you’re kind of along for part of it.” ★

For rental inquiries and information, visit SSBOATRENTALS.COM.