Uncover the currents of memory

The water carries stories—of resilience, loss, and survival, of those who live at its edges. Like the river, we are shaped by what we carry.

Recent Quick Dispatches

Short dispatches from the river and beyond

  • A Sitdown with George Marks in Arnaudville, Louisiana

    A Sitdown with George Marks in Arnaudville, Louisiana

    We sat down with George Marks in Arnaudville—artist, organizer, instigator of the offbeat and unexpected. George helped launch the NUNU Collective, an arts and culture space tucked in rural Louisiana that somehow radiates like a beacon. Every time we meet someone here who knows George, they light up. Then they tell us how he changed…

    Quick Peek

  • Paddlers Welcome!

    Paddlers Welcome!

    All along Bayou Teche there are a series of kayak and canoe launch sites (more than 16!) from way up at Point Barre all the way down to Morgan City, providing paddlers with an easy and convenient way to hop off the water and access services. This is a continuation of the network of waterways…

    Quick Peek

  • A Fourth of July Salvage Operation

    A Fourth of July Salvage Operation

    I took a walk this morning and scouted out the bridges across Bayou Teche. Okay, so maybe some of the bridges on the bayou are less passable for the shantyboat. Later we connected with some folks in Arnaudville—the weirdos and freaks, as George affectionately described them—and soon found ourselves invited to a neighborly gathering at…

    Quick Peek

  • The Reality of Piloting

    The Reality of Piloting

    Somewhere between careful piloting and gentle persuasion, we keep this shantyboat pointed downstream. Sure, there’s an engine back there doing about 30% of the work—but mostly it’s sheer charisma holding us on course. That gets tougher on long afternoons when the humidity is high and the moods get grumbly. But we do our best.

    Quick Peek

  • Trip Angels Just As We Needed It

    Trip Angels Just As We Needed It

    Sometimes, right when you think the river’s turned against you—people indifferent, hospitality scarce—you land somewhere that feels immediately like home. That’s exactly what happened when we drifted ashore at Riverview RV Park, just outside Krotz Springs. Blake and Alexa welcomed us without hesitation. Within minutes, we had rusted tin charm, reclaimed wood aesthetics, and genuine…

    Quick Peek

  • A Freight Train Running Through the Middle of my Head

    A Freight Train Running Through the Middle of my Head

    Shantyboat Dotty posted up under the Krotz Springs RR bridge with raucous freight trains rolling over our heads by just a few feet all night. Both jarring and surprisingly comforting.

    Quick Peek

Read more Quick Dispatches →

Recent Field Reports

Longer reports from the field

  • The Cats of Krotz (Katz?) Springs

    The Cats of Krotz (Katz?) Springs

    We didn’t see many people in Krotz Springs. But we did see cats. On porches, in tall grass, under trailers. Lounging in the shade or darting behind cars. For every cat we photographed, another vanished the moment we made eye contact—like shadows with whiskers. They weren’t strays. They belonged here. Not to anyone, necessarily, but…

    Quick Peek

  • A Night in Simmesport

    A Night in Simmesport

    Why are we sitting in a police station at nearly midnight after two white young men kitted out in military garb pulled rifles on us for allegedly trespassing? Welcome to our small town in southern Louisiana, where tying up to an unmarked riverbank can get you met by armed young men in tactical vests, backed…

    Quick Peek

  • A Day in Simmesport

    A Day in Simmesport

    Just after breakfast, we passed a spot where geography and history tangle like roots underwater. This is where the Red River becomes the Atchafalaya—where a meander of the Mississippi once captured the Red, and later, human hands sliced it back open, inserting control structures to keep the rivers separated, but not disconnected. A crossroads of…

    Quick Peek

  • First miles, first mishaps

    First miles, first mishaps

    We launched. Not on water yet, but we hit the road—and that’s no small thing. The past week was a blur of last-minute repairs, packing lists, untested gear, late-night epoxy sessions, and frantic repainting. There was preventative maintenance and finishing touches, but also some real “hold-your-breath-and-hope” fixes. You know: the fun stuff. We never got…

    Quick Peek

  • Every River Has a Story. Tell Us Yours.

    Every River Has a Story. Tell Us Yours.

    Peoples River Stories is a participatory new media project, a web-based map where anyone can drop a pin and share a memory, confession, observation, dream, or historical fragment about a river they know. It expands the world of Secret History beyond our shantyboat and beyond U.S. borders—inviting people everywhere to claim space for their own…

    Quick Peek

  • Shantyboat Dotty Fleeing Fires

    Shantyboat Dotty Fleeing Fires

    During the California fires we had to flee our home with the Shantyboat Dotty in tow. We made safe camp in a field with neighbors where we created a temporary compound for four adults, one toddler, two dogs, and two kittens.

    Quick Peek

Read more Field Reports →

Follow the River to Its Deeper Currents

What draws us back to the river, year after year? How does the project challenge dominant history? How do river communities respond to change? Explore the deeper ideas that shape our journey.

Meet Our Interviewees

Conversations with people who live and work on the river

Meet more river people →

Join 2000+ subscribers

Stay in the loop about our river journeys.