Wally,

I think times were different back then altogether. I imagined their folks probably smiled at the idea, thinking the boys might struggle their way up to Fargo, at best. Spending their summer along the river, before a parent had to go retrieve them in the fall. I doubt they heavily considered that they would get as far as they did. Hence the lack of due diligence on the route. I assumed the skinny dipping to go hand-in-hand with the "times were different back then" thought.

One thing is certainly true, IMHO: the boys not only got further, but may credit the fact that they even returned alive, to the credit of generous strangers. There were people almost too numerous to mention that helped them along in crucial ways.

I agree though, that the real adventure is, in many ways, gone. Worse yet, is to have that spirit of adventure, and have no place towards which to direct it.

Ranger