Apple pie. Baseball. The Mississippi River. Some things are just iconic for America. This Sunday, starting at 8pm, Nat Geo WILD takes us on a 2,350 mile journey down the Mississippi River, starting at Lake Itasca in Minnesota, and ending in the Gulf of Mexico. In the first part of the three-part miniseries, Deep Freeze, beautiful string music accompanies sweeping birds-eye views of northern Minnesota. Time-lapse videography transitions us to winter, where temperatures reach 33 degrees below zero, and survival strategies are as numerous as the critters local to the area-beavers, bobcats and gray wolves. The narrator’s booming, American voice explains that the Mississippi River is like Highway 1 for 40 percent of all our migrating bird species, and we are greeted by a tree harboring at least 10 bald eagles- a sight this New Yorker has never seen before. Absolutely majestic. Action sequences are accompanied by energetic orchestral music, and once again, I think of how much I am loving the soundtrack to this miniseries. [Note: As someone who played the violin for 12 years, I am an absolute sucker for some nice string music or a full-on symphony.]
At 9pm, Raging Waters begins, as spring rolls around and all of the snow and ice that has covered the Mississippi throughout a harsh winter begins to melt. With all of the meltwater, and subsequent rain, a massive flood of biblical proportions occurs. These floodwaters mean that the inhabitants must adapt or perish. If I could sum up this portion of the mini-series in three words, it would be: floods, survival, babies. This hour definitely wins for cutest…there are animal babies galore- from foxes, to black bears, to ducklings. Brave little wood ducklings jump 30 feet to find sanctuary in the high tide, to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries.
The last hour, which airs at 10pm, takes us down south to a landscape that I am far more familiar with. In Delta Blues, we entered the deep south, full of cypress swamps and wetlands painted with lilypads. Alligators, snapping turtles, and pelicans greet us….and a lot of insects. And I mean A LOT. Fire and brimstone and plagues of frogs come to mind as billions of mayflies fill the air. We learn that the Mississippi River supports more than 1,000 species of moth (which causes my sister to vacate the room). After making our way down the river and through the great wetlands of Mississippi, we exit the river as it flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and I’m pleased to see that the producers touch upon the Gulf’s dead zone. They explain how fertilizer used all along the river flows out through the mouth, causing massive algal blooms, and with the death of the algae, a massive hypoxic zone.
I really enjoyed the miniseries, and I think you will too. It’s a fantastic journey through America, and probably one of the best chances you will get to see the mighty Mississippi River (unless of course, you live along it, or take a massive roadtrip). Don’t forget to tune in Sunday!
Note: Nat Geo WILD sent me an copy of the Wild Mississippi miniseries to review.
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