I went to the Casino Queen on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis. I didn't win any money, but it was fun anyway. The river is fairly wide at this juncture. Wider than I would want to try swimming. When I was in Memphis last year, there was an in-ground exhibit on Mud Island. It traced the river from its beginnings up north, all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. The exhibit was outside and several hundred yards long, so you can kind of pretend that you're Paul Bunyan and walk the length of the river. Towns and landmarks are marked along the way. There were a lot of young kids playing in the water. They had paddleboats to rent at the Gulf. It's amazing how many twists and turns that the Mississippi takes. It is not a straight route like you might expect. I think it would be fun to take a riverboat ride down the river sometime from St. Louis to New Orleans. I don't think that I would want to be like Huckleberry Finn and take a raft, though. Like I said, it can be a long swim to the banks of the river.