The Mississippi River is completely beautiful from downtown Memphis. It meets with the Wolf River on the Southern tip of Mud Island to form a big, brown, fast-moving expanse. An expanse that today, was also incredibly cold. I reached into the muddy water with a mason jar in order to meet one of the requirements of the Memphis scavenger hunt. The easiest place to collect was on the cobblestones just West of Riverside Dr. Be careful, though - the Mississippi is the 7th strongest river in the world, and it's currents are wicked. I'm not sure why I expected my little jar of water to be completely brown, but it's just cloudy and sort of dingy. There are a few tiny bits of twigs and what have you floating in it. Contrary to what most people outside of Memphis think, we don't get our drinking water from the Mississippi. Memphis's delicious drinking water comes from underground artesian wells that are fed by the Wolf River. Get out and enjoy the Mississippi. It's the best place in town to watch the sun set. You can also take a riverboat ride, kayak or use a motorboat on the river. Just promise me you won't go swimming without lots of training and a safety team, ok?