A man, a plan a canal: Minnesota

Show me a state with more than 10,000 lakes and I’ll show you a state with poor drainage.

One advantage wanderers have over stuck-in-the-mud types is that we see the big picture.

OK, I’m being whimsical, but consider three facts: (1) there’s a surplus of water in some parts of the country; (2) there’s a shortage of water in other parts of the country; and (3) since Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark out to find it, we’ve dreamed of a waterway from the east coast to the west

Doesn’t that suggest something to you?

Of course it does! We simply dig canals to connect navigable bodies of water all the way from Minnesota to southern California. Move that extra water where it’s needed and – as a bonus – move cargo along with it.

Better yet, a new industry may emerge: cross-continental canal cruising! Wanderers will be able to see America without leaving the comfort of their luxury liner cabins. Imagine looking at golden waves of grain from a deck chair aboard the Prairie Princess!

Now, don’t start talking about the details – such as digging canals through the Rocky and Sierra Mountains; that kind of negativism didn’t keep Teddy Roosevelt from moving forward with that “impossible” Panama project a hundred years ago.

Think big, do big things.

C’mon, folks, grab a shovel!