Page 75 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

We have seen

Farming (milk, wheat, barley, alfalfa, sunflowers, corn, cattle,
berries, & beans)

Modern mining (silver, gold, iron ore, copper, and coal)

Fishing

Forestry

Basic manufacturing (steel, lumbar, paper, and taconite)

All this work is done by hardworking men and women in

sometimes-harsh climate and sometimes dangerous, dirty, dusty,

damp, deafeningly loud conditions.

The final common element of these products is water. We now
have a real sense and profound appreciation for the

overwhelmingly powerful place the waters of the Great Lakes, the
Mississippi and all her sister, mighty rivers have played in the

fortunes of our great country. The volume of these basic goods
that add to the fabric of our rich lives could not be transported in

such vast quantities by any rail or highway system alone. The

rivers are and always will be the true highways of our midland
goods. The captains and ship hands of all the vessels that ply

these often-dangerous waters carrying those goods have our
deepest admiration.

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