Maiden Voyage, Wetlands Centre partner for Tom Sawyer Adventures
Maiden Voyage boat tours and the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre in Marquette will partner in July to offer adventure days on the Mississippi River. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor
Maiden Voyage boat tours and the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre in Marquette will partner in July to offer adventure days on the Mississippi River, aptly named Tom Sawyer Adventures for Mark Twain’s notable literary character, who enjoyed exploring the Mississippi.
The day-long adventures are offered July 6-9, 13-15 and 20-23.
“The goal is to get kids connected with the river, to see it like it was years ago,” explained Maiden Voyage captain Robert Vavra.
The program will begin at 9 a.m., with the boat departing from the McGregor riverfront. The tour will last three to four hours, covering mussels and the button and cultured pearl industries associated with the mollusks, Vavra said. He will also share information about the commercial fishing industry and allow participants to view birds and other wildlife.
“We’ll also get into the backwaters,” Vavra said, noting that sandbar or marsh activities may also be included depending on the river’s height.
Vavra said the Tom Sawyer Adventures will get kids off the couch, away from their gadgets and the TV, allowing for “outdoor educational accidental learning,” a term he coined. He recalled a group where the kids began yelling out the names of the different mussels they encountered after learning about the creatures.
“They learned the names, but they didn’t know they did,” he said.
As the last small, working tour boat on the Mississippi River in Iowa, Vavra said the adventure days are an opportunity offered nowhere else. It’s a good chance for kids and families who don’t have access to the river to get a taste of its magic, he said, but it will also be a fun and unique time for those who frequent the Mississippi.
“Even if they have access to fishing or water skiing, this will be different, geared toward the history and biology of things,” he explained.
Once the Maiden Voyage tour is complete, around 1 p.m., participants will head to the Wetlands Centre, where they’ll experience a variety of nature activities. They’ll act like scientists, identifying wildflowers, taking nature photos, participating in dip-netting activities and making discoveries while looking through microscopes. These activities will last until 4 p.m.
Vavra said he’s happy to partner with the Wetlands Centre.
“The Wetlands Centre has access to things I don’t,” he said, and [Wetlands Centre director] Katrina [Moyna] is very passionate about the programs.”
Through the Tom Sawyer Adventures, he hopes youth will develop the same passion that flourished within him both as a child and as an adult working in the clamming industry and captaining his own boat.
“I want the youth of today to remember what took place, because it’s really close to disappearing,” he said.
To reserve a spot on the tour, contact the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre at (563) 873-3537 or driftlessareawetlandcentreia@gmail.com, or Facebook message the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre.”
There is a participation fee and one chaperone per four attendees is required. Participants should bring their own lunch and any other snacks or drinks they would like throughout the day, as well as bug spray or sunscreen. Wear clothes that can get wet.
