We all went for a ride along the beautiful Mississippi river aboard the Jonathon Padelford. The  temp was in the 80’sF. the sun was shining and we were blessed with a cooling balmy breeze coming from the West. My two Chinese guest wanted to know how the Mississippi compared to the Yangtze River. I could only tll them that the Mississippi rises from a spring in Lake Itasca, Minnesota and travels 1, 800 miles or so to new Orleans where it enters the Gulf of Mexico.  St. Paul is located at about the 835 mile marker and at that point is about 780 feet above sea level.