The Mighty Mississippi and More

Our trip down the Mississippi began at Grafton, IL. After being warned of the industrial nature of this river we were not looking forward to this portion of the trip. We were greeted by a beautiful day to begin this voyage complimented by the striking cliffs along the river banks. The considerable barge traffic was interesting, the largest was a huge tow pushing 49 barges all lashed together!

The strong current and commercial traffic required close attention at all times. There are few places to anchor for the night and only one “marina” on the 218 mile section of the Mississippi on which we traveled. Our first day on the Mississippi, we passed through two locks and the Chain of Rocks Canal then cruised by St. Louis with its arch, the ” Gateway to the West” glistening in the sunlight. It was an exciting day. Our destination was Hoppie’s Marine Service, actually a series of barges anchored into a high stone cliff. Fern, the owner helped us with our lines, filled our fuel tanks and gave us a briefing of what we should expect on the rest of our journey along the rivers, the safe anchorages and the areas to be especially alert. It was valuable information. Hoppie’s is the last gasoline available for the next 249 miles. We bought additional gas cans to carry and had a “plan B” should that be necessary. The rest of the Mississippi was traveled at slow speed to conserve fuel. We alternated engines and cruised on one engine at a time which increases range but, we found, does not adequately charge the batteries for the required usage while anchored at night. We stopped at the Kaskaskia Lock, Little Diversion Canal and in an area off of the river nearly under the 1-57 Bridge. The first two were pretty little spots, secluded and off of the river, the last was simply a safe place to stop. Our last day on the Mississippi began at 7AM when we pulled anchor. Forty minutes later we turned onto the Ohio River where we would be traveling against the current for the remainder of the trip. The rain began to fall; this was our “plan B” day. Just prior to the new Olmstead Lock and Dam was a launch ramp, we pulled over and anchored 20’ from shore, launched the dinghy and waited for our good friend from our Navy days, Dave Park to arrive with 30 gallons of gas!

One hour later, Dave departed taking the empty gas cans and our trash bags. A true friend! Not only were we certain we could make it, we had the fuel to speed up as the weather was changing rapidly. We traveled 58 miles on the Ohio River, as we reached the confluence of the Cumberland we elected to continue rather than anchor for the night as heavy rains were predicted upriver with the potential to make things very treacherous. The Cumberland is a beautiful river, the skies cleared, the Herons and Egrets were plentiful and we even spotted a pair of Bald Eagles high in a tree overlooking the river. It was an enjoyable ride. As the sun set and the sky darkened we reached our last lock, the Barkley Lock. Once lifted the 57 feet into Lake Barkley we found our way to Green Turtle Bay Marina in the dark. We were happy to be securely tied to the dock as a light rain began to fall.