John Ruskey News Today

>> anthony: some time ago something crawled, or slithered, or grew like a fungus. something that started small, got bigger, lurched like a swamp thing out of the mud and moist earth and humid nights of the delta. then, it took over the world. so next time some smart ass foreigner, horrified by our latest ham-fisted foreign policy blunder wonders out loud, "what good is america?" well, you can always pipe up that the blues, rock n roll, r&b, and soul all came out of this place -- one st...

This place one state mississippi. I took a walk through this beautiful world felt the cool rain on my shoulder found something good in this beautiful world i felt the rain getting colder sha la la la la sha la la la la la sha la la la la sha la la la la la la geno right now were in the middle of downtown jackson. Farish street. Anthony it is a street with a lot of history. What did it used to be like back in the day . Geno the street was packed with folks. Folks all over, they had their own rest...

John Ruskey estimates he has safely guided more than 30,000 people on canoes in the Mississippi River.

I have a friend who grew up the son of sharecroppers in Mississippi County. He likes to talk about the culture shock that would occur decades ago when traveling down U.S. 61, also known as the Blues Highway. After passing dozens of sharecropper shacks, motorists would enter the company town of Wilson, shaded by majestic cottonwood trees. Its downtown businesses were housed in buildings designed in the English Tudor style.

>> john ruskey: nice paddling, tony. you got the feather down. >> anthony: thank you. ill be feeling that tomorrow. >> anthony: buck island. most of the island could be under 45 to 50 feet of flowing river water from april to june, with a spring ice melt and rain storms. >> john ruskey: we do a lot of cooking with dutch ovens out here. >> anthony: multipurpose and indestructible. >> john ruskey: mm-hmm. and the next step on this thing is that here are the greens and we should stuff as many green...

Other people, the other paddlers and of course the clients. and then the third thing is taking care of the river. and you know theyve been told by their parents, dont get on the mississippi river. maybe they dont even know how to swim. and you know for a young man or woman, overcoming a fear like that and getting in the canoe and then to have people come and appreciate what youre doing is a life-changing experience. but within that is this incredible great and beautiful spirit that is intact in ...

Back into it if youre crazy enough to wanna paddle a canoe around in its fast-moving waters. whats the source of the mississippi? >> john ruskey: well, anywhere a raindrop falls in 44% of america. and its furthest reach is three forks, montana. if you follow the volume of water, two-thirds comes down the ohio river. but most people say lake itasca, minnesota. >> anthony: john ruskey is what i guess youd call a river rat. in 1998, he started the quapaw canoe company, a custom outfit that leads gu...

And yes, there is too much food for two people. and yes, that is a whole helluva lot of meat. and i know it would be awful to waste all that extra. but dont worry. >> john ruskey: woo-hoo. woo-hoo. >> man: woo. >> john ruskey: woo-woo. >> anthony: cause these gentlemen are tired and hungry. welcome, gentlemen. >> john ruskey: right on, quapaws. come on, theres corn on the cob here, greens. >> anthony: oh, ill be cookie. yeah. cut a little more of this. oh lookin good. i dont wanna say im good, b...

If the Magnolia State isn't on your radar for outdoor recreation, you're missing out.

Two years, 22 rivers, 7,500 miles. Crossing America by canoe