Last spring, our boys were learning about the Mississippi River in science. We were headed to Florida anyway, so we decided to leave a few days early and check out Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi, the place where the river meets the gulf.
It’s not easy to pinpoint the exact location of the Mississippi Delta as the land there is marshy and continuously shifting. Leveeing of the river in the early part of the 20th century cut the river off from its surrounding wetlands, where sediment carried from all along the Mississippi formerly built up the land.
Now, every 100 minutes, a football field of land in the delta washes away into the ocean. We figured if we wanted to see it, now was the time.
Gulf Islands National Seashore is a unique park that is comprised of very long and skinny barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico that stretch from Mississippi to Florida. I placed a bookmark in “Huckleberry Finn” as we pulled into the parking lot. I’d been reading it aloud to the boys because it’s the quintessential river tale and I couldn’t think of a better book to read on a visit to the river’s delta.
We headed into the Visitor’s Center to pick up a Junior Ranger booklet. Junior Ranger booklets are awesome! They help you notice interesting things about the park you’re in AND you get to earn a badge for completing them.
At this point, I have to cajole the boys into doing these booklets with me, because they are over them. They humor me because they know I still want to be a Junior Ranger.
Booklets in hand, we headed out to a boardwalk trail. The trees opened up as we walked along the trail, and we found ourselves on a pier in a marshy wetland with sun glinting off the water. Dolphins swam not far off from where we stood, and the boys pointed at them exclaiming that it was our lucky day. It was beautiful!
A man was fishing nearby, and he said, “Don’t you know dolphins are bad luck for fishermen? They scare all the fish away!”
We got to talking and learned that he and his grandkids (who were also fishing that day) come there all the time to escape into nature. He said he finds peace there. He asked us where we were from and what brought us there, and even though we’d driven from much farther away, I supposed at the end of the day that it was the same reason his family was there.
Fishermen love to talk about their catch, and just before we’d arrived, the grandkids had caught a large drum fish. They thought it was amusing that we didn’t know what a drum fish looked like and opened up their cooler to show us.
What a monster! They told us they’d be having it for dinner later. Their grandfather shared some tips for catching big ones with our boys.
On every trip we take, we meet people like this: kind, everyday people who share stories, smiles, and sometimes even fishing tips. It never fails to restore my faith in the world.
Abby Schwent is a homeschooling mom and travel writer. She lives in Edwardsville with her husband and three boys. She has her doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Louis University. Abby can be reached at abbyschwent@yahoo.com.
