Article: Steamboat a leisurely way to see beauty of heartland; If you go Facts and figures: American Queen began its inaugural season in June, 1995 with a 16-night cruise from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. Built at a cost of $65 million, it is 418 feet long, 90 feet wide and 109 feet high from the waterline. Gross tonnage is 3,707. Joins two other steamboats operated by the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., the Delta Queen and the Mississippi Queen. Accommodations: Six passenger decks, 222 passenger staterooms (75% outside), seven stateroom categories, cabin categories ranging from AAA to E. Crew of 180. Costs: Numerous packages available from from various departure points. For a 7-night cruise on the American Queen from Winona, Minn., to St. Louis and stops including Prairie du Chien and Dubuque, prices based on double occupancy range from $990-$4,150. For information: For booking information and reservations, call the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., 1-800-543-1949, or write to 30 Robin Street Wharf, Dept. PY-96, New Orleans, LA 70130-1890.

Somewhere between the Bananas Foster and the breathy piping of the calliope, it hits you: This isn't pretend, after all. This is real.

It hit me late on my first night aboard the American Queen, the newest and biggest steamboat on the Mississippi.

I'd come back to my darkened cabin, tired and eager to collapse into my berth's fluffed pillows and flounced Victoriana. But before I could switch on the light, I was mesmerized by what lay beyond the window:

The river itself, the great river, the point of it all. The river looked like a wide ribbon of wet, black satin, flowing past a fringe of trees that stood out against the night sky.

The boat seemed to be holding still, idling in the ...

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