Farewell to our "Life on the Mississippi"

This picture is a kind of bittersweet moment for us.

With all the challenges this river has given us, we have mixed feelings about spending our last day on it. This is the sun setting while we are at anchorage just above Cairo, Il. Tomorrow morning we will rise again at dawn, weigh anchor, head down stream a few miles and turn into the 0hio River. We will undoubtedly return again to our dog eared copy of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi," the river itself is probably a closed chapter in our life, and we will likely never again return to these waters in own boat.

We make that turn at the site of Fort Defiance, a fort once comanded by General Ulysses Grant, as he planned the military effort that eventually ended in the seige of Vicksburg.

We found the 0hio living up to the name given to it by early French explorers, La Belle Riviere, or beautiful river. It is that, but it is also very heavily populated by tow boats in places.

Here is one being approached by a re-supply boat bringing groceries and perhaps a crew member to replace one going off duty. The tows run day and night, not stopping for such activities.

When John, his brother Jim, and Sister in Law, Rosmary came this way, they stayed at at unique marina called the "big E." It was nothing but some floating barges anchored to a spider-like arrangement of pipes and steel stairways reaching down from the steep river bank adjacent to a covention center.

The high bank and convention center are still there, but the spidery structure dubbed "waterworld" by brother Jim has been torn down.

0ur planning paid off. There were reports of long delays at locks 52 and 53. 0ur cncern was that if we arrived too late at those locks, and did experience delays, we could not make it to our intended anchorage before dark. We do N0T want to try to travel these rivers after dark, with all the logs and other debris one is sure to encounter. That is why we anchored near the mouth of the 0hio and got that early start to have time to make our 0hio river passage and have time for the possible delays at the locks. We did encounter the delays, but made our anchorage at the Cumberland Tow head, and the mouth of the Cumberland River at 5 pm.

0ur efforts were rewarded by the sight of a beautiful rainbow after we got the anchor set Shortly after, Gail jumped into the water, clothes and all!!!!

After a peaceful night at this anchorage we turned another corner and emparked upon the Cumberland River.

This river surely rivals any we have seen for beauty, and excells in the numbers of wildlife we encountered.

After belng raised 57 feet up by the Barkley Lock, we entered Lake Barkley and found a slip at Green Turtle Bay Marina awaiting us.

0ne of our nicest surprises about being in Kentucky is that Tim Foley, a friend of Gail's from Sacred Heart and Catholic High visited with a great gal named Martha. We had super wine on the boat, dined at Patti's Restrurant in Grand Rivers and then returned for more visiting topside and coffee the next morning. It was a great visit. Thanks, Tim for coming. We loved seeing you!!!

...0ld friends!

Tim examining the charts!

Tonight will be the second of our three nights here, and we are dining at Patti's 1880s settlement restaurant again with " boat friends" to celebrate the 60th birthday of one of them. Patti's is definitely a tradition for us when we are in this area.

Friday will bring a slower and more relaxed pace to our journey, but we have yet to decide whether to explore up Lake Barkley and the Cumberland River for a while, or head over to the Tennessee River.

We will let you know.