The riverboat captain is a storyteller. Captain Don Sanders shares the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life. This a part of a long and continuing story.
By Capt. Don SandersSpecial to NKyTribune
October 2025 may go into the astronomical archives as the “Month of Comets.” Astronomers say at least a record number of seven celestial visitors are swarming our Solar System this month. But down on Planet Earth, residents of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, from New Orleans to Cincinnati, witnessed a fluvial visitation of the “Crescent City Comet,” the Steamboat NATCHEZ, as she raced to and from the recent River Roots festival in the Queen City.
Last week’s column described the excitement generated along the inland waterways, from Natchez to Cairo, Metropolis, Paducah, Cannelton, Louisville, and past Rising Sun and Aurora, as the steam-powered Comet thrilled thousands of well-wishers along the shores with whistle salutes and old-timey calliope tunes.
At Roots, over 13,000 festive voyagers flocked aboard the NATCHEZ for a memorable ride of a lifetime along a river route long accustomed to steamboat visitors. As I write, the “Crescent Comet Comet” streaks past Helena, Arkansas, some 566 miles above New Orleans. By the time you read these words, the NATCHEZ should be dozing at her moorings at the Foot of Toulouse Street in the French Quarter. The River: Taking in the sights, sounds as riverboats make their way to America’s River Roots festival – NKyTribune…