Days 159 – 162; Oct 26 – 29: Thursday, 10/26 was anchors up from Kimmswick a little after 8:00 am headed to an anchorage in the Little Diversion Canal, Missouri – about a 7 hour run. It was a cold windy day with white caps on the river. Waves were about a foot with some nearing 2 feet, but nothing worrisome, just cold! We passed Cape Girardeau noting some of the wall built at the banks of the Mississippi as a defense for the rising of the river. It reminded us of the massive flooding of this area in 1993. You could also see how low the water is right now, with the wing dams and embankments quite exposed. See video below; sorry hard to hear me narrate.
We arrived at the Little Diversion Canal around 5:00 pm, in time for dinner and ice cream cake celebrating Mayli’s birthday! The water was super calm although there was a strong current. We rafted the 3 boats with 2 anchors down and set out a stern anchor to keep us in the middle of the channel. There were 2 raft-ups in front of us and one that came in later; total of 12 boats and room for more.
10/27 we left the Little Diversion Canal around 9:00 am headed to the Olmstead lock, where we planned to anchor just north of the lock and go through the lock first thing in the morning. This would be another fairly long day with a 6+ hour run and a transition from the Mississippi River to the Ohio river at a town called Cairo (pronounced Kay-Row). (See video below).
We switched from gaining some speed and fuel efficiency riding the current south to going against the current on the Ohio River; we also had to shift our brains to keep the red markers on the starboard as opposed to on the port when we were on the Mississippi. “Red on Right Returning” is the saying to remember, but you have to know if you are coming or going! Our anchorage was safe but windy, so all 3 boats had anchors out and drag alarms set.
Boris got up early on Saturday (6:30 am) to speak with the lock master as to when our little flotilla of 10-12 boats could pass through the lock. An inquiry at 6:30 ended up in “go time” at 6:31 so we were all hands on deck getting coffee made (priorities!) lines off, anchors up and everyone in the lock. This lock called Olmstead Lock and Dam, took us up 20-25 feet. This is a new lock, only about 5 years old, that replaced 2 aging locks built in 1929.
It was cool to watch a tow come into the lock next to us as we exited. Such a huge set of barges to push. You might wonder why it’s called a “Tow” when they push, not pull the barges. Back in the day they did pull them bury later changed to pushing, but the name “tow” stuck. See below.
Fortunately, this would be a short run to Paducah where we had reservations at the public dock. We arrived in Paducah around lunch time and found it to be an interesting and fun city; It’s a walled city (a rising river defense built after the massive flood of 1937) with beautiful murals on the inside of the Great Wall. The wall did it’s job with no damage to the city in the flood of 1993. In Paducah, we toured the National Quilt Museum, the Paducah Railroad Museum and walked the cute downtown shops finding a great bakery, coffee shop and some great choices for dinner. Check out the details of the quilts below…. These are all totally made of fabric! True works of art!
A little history: Paducah, Kentucky, was named after the Paducah Indians – the largest nation of Native Americans in North America.
The Ohio River, which flows through Paducah, has been both a source of sustenance and a force to be reckoned with. Historically, the town has faced severe flooding, which led to the construction of a flood wall in the 1930s. Paducah’s flood wall is not just a practical measure but also a canvas for art. The city has transformed it into a mural gallery, making it one of the most unique and picturesque flood walls in the United States depicting the town’s history and resilience in the face of nature’s challenges.
Paducah’s history is intertwined with the Clarks. In 1781, George Rogers Clark, the older brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was granted a tract of land as part of his compensation for his role in the Revolutionary War. This land acquisition was known as the “Clark Grant.” Although George Rogers Clark had rights to the land, over the years he lacked the funds to develop and hang on to them. In 1803, Captain Meriwether Lewis, while on his way to meet William Clark in St. Louis, stopped in Paducah to recruit local volunteers and prepare for their historic journey westward. In 1827, William Clark purchased 37,000 acres from George for $5.00 which became the Pudacah we know today. Why so little money? George had fallen on hard times and as he tried to evade creditors, he transferred ownership of his properties to friends and family members. He died poor, in ill health and frequently intoxicated.
We stayed just one day in Paducah and were off again Sunday (10/29) morning around 8:30 am in the cold and the rain…. I’m not saying just chilly – it’s downright cold! High 30’s/low 40’s!! Very quickly, we left the Ohio River and turned onto the Tennessee River. Not a very pleasant day of travel, we anchored on the north side of the dam for about 1.5 hours waiting our turn to go through the lock. It worked out well since the captains and crew of Saga and Lil Sudden huddled on Legacy to plan out the next several weeks, including the airports Carol needed to fly out of in mid November for board meetings. We also peered into our refrigerators and pantries and came up with all the needed ingredients for dinner – cottage pie to be assembled on Saga and served on Legacy. It takes a village! We transited the Lock at the Kentucky Lock and Dam around 1:30 pm, in the rain. This lock was a big one and took us up 35-40 feet. Upon exiting the lock, we entered the Cumberland River arriving at Green Turtle Bay Resort around 3:15, very cold and very wet.
It was nice to get plugged into power, get the heaters on, take a nice hot shower and settle in with some football and dinner. We will spend 4 nights here while the Seattle crew takes a car trip to Nashville. We’ve been to Nashville several times so will stay behind, dog sit and enjoy the spa and heated pool here. Forecast is cold! High 30’s/low 40’s…..Brrrrrr! We are also excited that loopers we met and hung out with back in Clayton, NY will be arriving tomorrow (Monday) so will catch up with them….We’ve not seen them in a while since they got stuck on the wrong side of the huge storm and waves on Lake Michigan and had to hunker down in Hammond, Indiana for an extra week. Looking forward to hearing of their travels. Friday we are on to Paris Landing/Buchanan, TN.
sue Mikulski
Just learned something, not sure why but I thought the loop went all the way down the Mississippi to the gulf. Those barges are incredible, and those quilts, wow! Has been amazing here, but 48 degrees this am, our Indian Summer is over.