Saturday Aug. 31 

0 miles 

Staying another day at Green Turtle Bay marina. This marina is in a town called Grand Rivers, KY and is located between Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake.

 

 

Kentucky Lake

Last night we went to eat dinner at a place called Patti’s 1880’s Settlement. They have a shuttle bus that will pick you up and bring you back to the marina. Patti’s is famous for grilling the best pork chop that can be found anywhere. But it is not just a pork chop. These chops are 2” thick and take up half of your plate. The other half of the plate is used for a baked potato. (needless to say there were plenty of leftovers taken back to the boat) Along with the meal you get a salad and homemade “flower pot bread”.  This bread is homemade white bread baked in a red clay flower pot and is served to you in the flower pot. All the wait staff is dressed in 1880’s era clothing. Behind the restaurant are several little gift shops and gardens with a winding path to walk thru it. They also have a small zoo and miniature golf.

 

 

 Located behind Patti's.

 

Friday Aug. 30 

31 miles     Ohio river KY mm#923.5 to Green Turtle Marina, KY

Last night sitting on the back of the boat just before sunset we noticed several deer on the bank. Joe, you might want to come down here to do some hunting. These deer have some pretty big antlers.

 

 

 Sunset over the Ohio River.

Friday morning we got moving at 0630. We pulled out of our anchorage and into the Cumberland River. This river is very narrow and a lot more scenic. We did have a couple of tows because this is the only way to go because the Kentucky lock is closed down till sometime in Sept.

 

 

 No eagles today just cows.

We only had 1 lock to go thru today and the closer we got to it the more tows we saw. We were getting a little nervous about how long we would have to wait here. Luck was with us today and a very nice lock master. We only had to wait for 1 tow (which still took an hour), but then they let us in. This lock is the highest (57 feet) we have had to lock thru so far. It didn’t take them very long to get us up. 20 min. later we were in Lake Barkley, KY.

 

 

 

From there we only had 2 miles to our next stop. We arrived at Green Turtle Bay Marina at 1245. This marina which has 450 slips is more of a resort. They offer condo and boat rentals. There is a wellness center, conference center, tennis courts, and 2 pools.

 

Thursday Aug. 29 

43 miles    Ohio river, IL mm# 966  to Ohio river, KY mm# 923.5

We pulled anchor at 0640 and went around the area where they are building the new lock. It seems weird to think that the next time we come this way this part of the river will be a dam. There is a lot of tow and barge traffic but the Ohio River is very wide along this section. It was very easy to pass them by, even the big ones. The first lock (Ohio River #53) we came to we did not have to lock thru but could instead go around. When the river water is high enough they have what are called wickets which they can lower to let boat traffic go over instead of locking thru the lock. There was a little turbulence but not enough to stop us from getting thru. The next lock (Ohio River #52) was not so easy going thru. This lock normally has 2 chambers but at this time only 1 was working, which caused a back up for the tows. Some of these tows we found out had been waiting for 2 days to lock through. Thankfully our wait was only for 3 hours, not days. This delay called for plan B for our cruising today. During this trip we usually not only have a plan B, but C as well set up the night before to use the next day just in case. You never know what lies ahead with the river system and how it can change daily. During our 3 hour wait by the lock we anchored, had lunch and Randy took a nap. (Retirement is soooooo rough)

 Ohio River Lock #53

Since we are going up river on the Ohio at this lock we raised up 12 foot. It didn’t take them long to lock us up and we were on our way. We soon passed a little town called Metropolis IL. Sound familiar?     …Superman!! We didn’t see any sign of the caped man but they supposedly have a water tower with his picture painted on it. They also have Fort Massac which is located in Illinois’s first State park. This fort is a replica of the 1802 American fort that was on this site. It also has the archaeological outline of the 1757 French fort from the French and Indian war which was also located here.

 

At 1500 we come to the end of today’s journey. We choose to anchor between an island (Cumberland Island Towhead) and the Kentucky shore. This is a nice little spot out of the barge traffic. The other side of the island is the Cumberland River which is the next fork off the Ohio River in our adventure.

 

Left is the Ohio River and right is the Cumberland River.

 

Left is the Cumberland River & right is our anchorage for the night.

 

 Our anchorage for the night. Kentucky is on the right side.

 

Wednesday Aug. 28

132 miles    Kaskaskia Lock to Ohio river, IL mm# 966

Yes you read that right, 132 miles today. We started out at 0645, sunny 90+ degree day.  13 tows, 0 locks. This section of the Miss. River is very busy with tow traffic. With the current adding 4 mph we made good time despite passing all those tows.

 

We passed a city called Chester which is located in Randolph County. (I couldn’t resist putting this in the blog).

  City of Chester

 

 Chester Bridge

 

 

All along the Miss. River the Corp of Engineers put fingers of rock in the water to “control” the flow of the water. Some stick straight out from shore and some are put in u shapes. I’m not sure it’s working like they planned. This is one of the reasons we had a longer ride today. Most of the areas you used to be able to anchor in along the banks are now all silted in and too shallow. There are also no marinas in this section of river.

 

Silting all around the rocks.

 

 The color of the cliffs is changing the farther south we go. Notice the reddish tint to these?

At 1600 we left the Miss. River for the Ohio River. This slowed our traveling down because we are now going upriver. We found an anchorage at 1745 near a new dam that is being built on the Ohio. This dam when completed in 2014 will replace 2 dams that are currently being used.

 Miss. River on left, and Ohio River on right.

 

 The new Olmstead dam.

 

 

Tuesday Aug. 27 

41 miles   Hoppies, MO to Kaskaskia Lock, IL

Yesterday at Hoppie’s marina was not only fun but educational. The owner Fern sat down with us and told us what to expect as we traveled farther south. This woman is a wealth of information. She has lived on the river her whole life and knows a lot of tow captains, DNR, coast guard, and other commercial boat captains, who all keep in touch to let her know any changes to the river. Which in turn she passes on to the pleasure boats that stop at Hoppie’s.

 

While at Hoppie’s we met 2 brothers (Stan and Milt Cornelius) that are traveling from Iowa to Alabama by a pontoon boat. Quite the endeavor that their wives said no to. It goes to show you dreams come in all shapes and sizes. You can google "rivertirp13" to read about their adventure.

 

 

 

 

We pulled out of the marina at 0930 to yet another sunny 90+ degree day. Now I know why Michigan never has any sunshine. They hog it all down here lower Illinois. Nice uneventful day on the water. Passed and met several tows but the river is wide enough here we didn’t have to worry. Stopped for the night at the Kaskaskia Lock at 1300. They offer a free tie up on the lock wall for the night. We do not have to go thru this lock and it’s only a short distance off the Miss. River.

 

 Hoppie's marina

 

Kaskaskia Lock IL

 

Monday Aug. 26

44 miles    Alton, IL to Hoppies, MO

We left Alton at 0640 to a little haze, but it turned out to be a sunny 90+ degree day.

 Our first lock of the day was the Mel Price lock. It was only 10 min. away and dropped 22 feet. They let us float thru so we didn’t have to worry about tying to a bollard.

 

This is one of the bollards you tie on to that lowers or raises in the lock.

Shortly after leaving the lock the Missouri river joined the Mississippi. Here the current picked up a little. We went from 11 to 13 mph.

 Missouri river on the left and Miss. river on the right.

After traveling another 15 miles we came to our 2^nd lock called Chain of Rocks lock. In this lock we dropped 12 feet. On the upstream side of the lock instead of the usual swing doors that shut, they had a wall that was raised and lowered once you where in.

 

Next we came to St. Louis, MO. WOW!!! Tow traffic was every where. This is one busy city. Even here the tow captains were very friendly. We would talk with them on the radio and they would let us know which side to pass them on, the one whistle (port/left) or the two whistle (starboard/right).

 

While we where staying at the Alton marina we met a tow captain. He told us that the amount of coal in one barge is equal to 100 railroad cars. That puts things in a whole new perspective on barge traffic vs. train cars.

 

 

We stopped for the day at 1100 at Hoppie's marina in Missouri. This marina is quite a bit different from the one we just left.  It’s basically a couple of barges hooked together. The couple that runs the marina (Hoppie and Fern) have been here for 40 years. Hoppie’s father started the marina. Every evening Fern will sit out on the dock and talk with any one that’s here and give them information about the river south of here. This is the last fuel stop and marina for the next 200 miles. Fern will be able to tell us the best and worst places to anchor at night. This marina is in the town of Kimmswick. (one of the oldest in Missouri) We went and walked thru but the sad thing is the whole town is closed on Mondays. They kept a lot of the older buildings and turned them into shops. It looks like they sell a little of everything.

 

 

 The main floor was built in 1770. The 2nd story and wing was added in 1831. 

It is now used as a restaurant.

 

 This is the City Hall.

 

 Hoppie's marina.