Alton, IL to Grand Rivers, KY

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St Louis sights.
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Ken, cleaning off the boat before leaving Alton.
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Another snow picture with of son, Bruce
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We saw this amazing monument from underneath, on top and from the mighty Mississippi

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.

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The winding Mississippi – the Yooper Looper is the little black triangle on the right, the other 2 triangles, in the center are two barges coming our way. our SOG (speed over ground) is 12.5 mph with a 5 mph current pushing us.

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.

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Barkley dam from the Cumberland River side.

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!

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View of St Louis from atop the arch. Baseball stadium in upper left.
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View from the river side of the arch, where we cruised the next day.
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Base of arch

 

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A typical industrial site along the way
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15.1 mph is the fastest my boat has EVER cruised with the Mississippi current pushing! Yooper Looper is the center black triangle
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A barge loaded with windmill blades being guided by 3 tugboats – these things are HUGE!
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I’m always fascinated by cloud formations
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The shores of the Cumberland River as we go upstream
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Barkley Dam
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Inside of the Barkley Lock as we get raised up 57 feet, our first time getting lifted, and the newest and highest gone through yet.
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This is the nicest looking tug and barge

Image may contain: sky, ocean, outdoor and waterWe saw lots of bridges and industrial sites.Image may contain: bridge, sky and outdoorImage may contain: bridge, sky, cloud, outdoor and waterImage may contain: sky, bridge, cloud, outdoor, water and natureImage may contain: sky, ocean, outdoor and water

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