Omaha, Nebraska to Pittsburgh, and this boat called the Avalon would go on eight different rivers in 17 states. During their heyday, from 1811 until the early 1900s, thousands of steam paddle wheelers ferried passengers and cargo along the Mississippi. Many carried a calliope, which takes its name from the Greek muse of epic poetry. This loud instrument was popularized in circuses by showman P.T. Barnum. And its songs once heralded the arrival steamboats at towns up and down the Mississippi.
Every trip is different.
For a modest fee, visitors to the Crescent City can hear the nostalgic sounds of the calliope on daily cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez, which leaves from the city dock near the French Quarter. In New Orleans, I'm Lex Gillespie for the Savvy Traveler.