September 21
We got an early start so we could cover about 110 miles today,
heading south. Dancing ghosts of foggy mist covered the water when we first
woke up, but once the sun warmed things up, they disappeared. With a good 3
knot current behind us, we are easily traveling at 10 or 11 knots. The current
is swift due to the heavy rainfall last week upriver. The ride has been
uneventful, thank goodness, with about 40 miles still to go before we anchor
for the night around 4:30. (Doesn’t that sound exciting - to ANCHOR in the
Mississippi River!!)
Last night, at Hoppie’s marina at Kimmswick, Missouri, the
woman who operates the place gave us advice about barges, eddies, anchorages,
and the river in general. She topped all that off with terrible stories about
the dangers on the river, and by the time she was done, I was filled with dread
and terror about today’s trip. I suppose that comes from a life-time of living
beside the river and coping with the floods, sandbars, barges, drunks and empty
gas tanks. Our trip today, however, could not be better. Maybe it’s because
Brian is an excellent captain, but we not had any troubles.
We’ve passed about 18 tows with any number of barges. A couple
of them pushed two barges (1x2) filled with heavy fuel, while another had about
20 (4x5) that were probably empty. Others included a 3x7 combination, 2x2, 1x4,
4x5+2, 5x5, 2x3, 3x5, 1x2 and 3x4.
It’s sunny and cool, with not a cloud in the sky. The tips of
some of the trees are just beginning to lose their glossy green color, heading
toward yellow. The riverbanks are covered with medium-height trees, and there
are many sandy banks along the edges where the river bottom was dredged up and
sprayed out. The river is brown and not as huge or mighty as I had imagined.
Perhaps it is wider farther south, but we are turning off at the Ohio River.
Because we are going down the river, the “right descending bank” is on our
right - and it’s Missouri. The left descending bank is Illinois.
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