From Alton down river
By St Louis we go,
Cold icy weather
Banks white with snow.
Wing dams cause swirling,
Shifting currents galore,
Downstream was helping
More miles to score.
The radio blared
“Don’t go that way,
The rocks are shallow
To the left you should stay.”
It was a barge
Behind us a ways,
A friendly captain
Who kept safe our day.
Guided to safety
Avoiding rapids below,
Saved us from rocks
That our map didn’t show.
Next day before dusk
Mississippi was done,
Up the Ohio
River to run.
We dropped 2 anchors
Just to be sure,
The boat wouldn’t drift
And get grounded ashore.
Cairo behind us
The anchors we weighed,
Cruising at sun up
Wish we had stayed…
To see Metropolis-
Superman city,
Had to move on
Seemed like a pity.
Motored past Paducah
Then Cumberland River,
At Barkley Dam
I started to shiver.
The warm sun had set
The moon coming up,
Nothing to do
But start making sup.
The wait there was long
To get in the lock,
Had time for dinner
And plenty of talk.
A train went across
As we waited below,
In the darkness we heard it
The whistle did blow.
The lock was our first
Going upstream,
A 60 foot lift
A small part of my dream.
Shining our spotlight
‘Bout midnight or so,
Into Green Turtle Bay
To dock we did go.
After a shower
A shave and some sleep,
We’re headed for home
And snow that is deep.
We’ll go back
In a week or two,
Continue our adventure
Until then – Adieu!
We saw lots of bridges and industrial sites.
Looks like a sweet trip… wish I could join you.
Farley, you’re welcome to join us,what’s holding you back? 😉