>> WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN HERE, THIS WAS A WILDERNESS ISLAND.

THERE WAS NO NO FOOT BRIDGE, YOU HAD TO CRAWL ON A LOG.

IT WAS A PRETTY WILDERNESS AREA.

OVER THE YEARS, IT'S EVOLVED INTO MORE OF A COMMUNITY AREA.

JOHN RUPKE LIVES HERE ON LOWER EDGE ISLAND.

ONE OF ABOUT 75 RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THIS FLOATING COMMUNITY NEAR WINONA, MINNESOTA.

THEY LIVE YEARLONG IN CONVERTED BOAT GARAGES, KNOWN LOCALLY AS BOAT HOUSES.

>> THEY'RE NOT REALLY BOAT HOUSES ALTHOUGH THEY'RE CALLED BOAT HOUSES.

THEY'RE NOT REALLY BOAT GARAGES, THEY DON'T MOVE AROUND SO THEY'RE NOT HOUSE BOATS.

THEY STAY IN ONE PLACE, THEY HAVE NO MOTOR ON THEM SO, REALLY, THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THEM IS THE FLOATING HOME.

THEY HAD TO GET UNDER THE OLD TRAIN BRIDGE.

WHEN THE FLOOD WAS UP REAL HIGHWAY, THEY HAD TO DUCK TO GET UNDER THE -- IN THEIR CANOE TO GET UNDER THERE.

>> RUPKE IS THE ACKNOWLEDGED HE WOULD DEER STATESMAN AND LEADER OF THIS COMMUNITY.

HE'S ACHIEVED THIS STATUS IN PART DUE TO SENIORITY HAVING LIVED HERE LONGER THAN MOST BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF HIS BACKGROUND.

HE'S A FORMER CHRISTIAN BROTHER WITH A Ph.D.

IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN 1979, AFTER 22 YEARS OF TEACHING, HE LIFT THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND MOVED TO THE RIVER.

>> WHEN I WAS A CHRISTIAN BROTHER, A LOT OF THE SPIRITUAL READINGS MADE SENSE BUT I FELT I WASN'T REALLY LIVING THAT LIFE THAT WAS BEING DESCRIBED.

THE PRINCIPLES ALL SOUNDED GOOD BUT THEN AT THE SAME TIME YOU'D LIVE IN A BIG MANSION, YOU KNOW, WITH LUSH FURNISHINGS AND SO ON, AND I THINK THAT WHEN I CAME DOWN TO THE RIVER AND MOVED ON THE RIVER, IT'S LIKE -- IT ENABLED ME TO MOVE MY LIFESTYLE IN A DIRECTION OF WHAT IN MY MIND MADE SENSE AS A GOOD WAY TO LIVE.

I THINK THE BIG SATISFACTION OF LIVING IN THE WATER IS BEING IN TUNE WITH NATURE.

THE FACT THAT YOU'RE OUT, YOU KNOW, AWAY FROM THE CITY, I CAN BE IN TUNE TO THE SKY AND THE PLANETS AND THE STARS.

THE METAPHOR I USE A LOOT IS THAT LIVING HERE IS LIKE TAKING A JOURNEY THROUGH THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE PLANET WITHOUT EVER MOVING BECAUSE, IN THE WINTER, IT'S LIKE LIVING UP IN THE ARTIC.

YOU CAN HAVE 20, 30 BELOW ZERO WEATHER.

THE RIVER'S FROZEN, YOU'RE DRIVING OUT TO THE BOAT HOUSE IN YOUR CAR AND SIX MONTHS LATER, IN MID-SUMMER, IT'S LIKE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

[ WIND CHIMES ] >> I LIKE THE FACT THAT THIS IS A VERY BENIGN WAY TO AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT.

>> YOU'RE GLOATING SO YOU CAN ONLY HOLD SO MUCH WEIGHT.

THE WEIGHT OF THE POSSESSIONS HAS TO STAY CONSTANT.

BECAUSE THE POSSESSIONS ARE FIXED IN TERMS OF VOLUME, IT HELPS YOU TO LIVE A LIFE OF SIMPLICITY.

SO TO ME, IT'S CONNECTED WITH WHAT'S A GOOD WAY TO LIVE, WHAT'S A GOOD WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE, WHAT TO STRIFE FOR.

TO ME, SIMPLICITY IS A GOOD THING TO STRIFE FOR.

>> I STARTED READING HIN DID YOUS WHEN I MOVED HERE ON THE RIVER AND FOR THE HIN DID YOUS, THE RIVER IS A HOLY RIVER, A GANGES, MOTHER GANGA, AND SOME PEOPLE SAY, OH, WELL, IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE HOLY RIVER, YOU HAVE TO GO TO INDIA, TO THE GANGESYSTEM, BUT THEY CALL THAT THE HOLY RIVER BECAUSE THAT WAS THE RIVER THAT WAS NEAR THEM.

THIS IS THE RIVER THAT WAS NEAR