[Capt. Mark Hunter]

What draws certain people to the water?.......Adventures?........Challenges?

it's the "adventure" it brings..........something new around every bend of a river. Wondering if it's just like Tom and Huck would've seen it?

it's the orange and turquiose sunsets in the "oil-patch" a hundred miles out of Port Fourchon.

it's the challenge of cooking a meal in 12-14 footers in the Gulf!

it's the adventure of wondering what the H--L I'm doing out here after an eight-footer washes me across the cargo deck?

it's the challenge of dragging 1200 feet of dredge pipe out of Algiers lock and up to the Industrial lock without getting run over or killed!

it's the adventure of dragging said pipe across the Miss. Sound at 2.5 mph as the wind gets up and you wonder how the refrigerator missed your head as it flew so gallantly to the other side of the pilothouse!

it's watching the alligators watch me as I go up the Port Allen route and the Alabama river.

it's the Challenge of getting the Arkansas Queen thru six bridges with a full load of passengers and a heckuva current when the fog is so thick you can't see 'em till you're already there.

it's the Adventure you see in a kids eyes as you let them sit in the AQ's captain's chair and hold the wheel for a few minutes.........knowing you would've given your right arm to do the same at 6 years old.

it's the fun of being on TV in uniform!

it's knowing that the child I let drive the boat for a couple of minutes will remember it for the rest of their life then go tell their friends they drove the Arkansas Queen.

it's knowing that my Grandaddy Boone is watching from heaven and he knows that I love the river as much as he did.

Challenges..........and Adventures...........that's what life is for.