The Mississippi

We are now on the Ohio River going North after negotiating the busy Mighty Mississippi. We averaged about 10 - 11mph due to a strong flowing current of approx 3mph going with us. I said to Gary we should have turned the engine off and just floated down river like Tom Sawyer's raft!! We could have saved some diesel consumption!!

The Mississippi has many man made structures to prevent the erosion of the banks and to keep the shipping lanes open. Some of these are called wing dams - piles of stones dumped perpendicular to the river on which the silt will deposit in front and behind them as they slow down and direct the water flow.

These wing dams can be seen above water but are also below the water level of the river. Luckily, they are at a depth that does not bother our boat.
Whilst on the Mississippi we stayed at Alton where we met up with an "old" friend of Gary's, Joe H. We guessed it had been about 27 or 28 years since we had seen other and, of course, we did not look a day older. It was great catching up on the news of Joe's family and his grand children. Because the boat was still having generator problems we had to rent a car which allowed us to see something of the town. There was a wonderful mural depicting life on the Mississippi on the side of a building.

There also were two signs that tickled my funny bone -

                Have they had a problem with dead bodies littering the street?
We passed a bar named "Fast Eddies" which brought a smile to Gary's face. It made him think of his Wednesday night drinking buddies at the Cancune Catina organised by Ed S.

Hmmmm, so why are you called Fast Eddie, Ed!!!!
We have passed may tows most of which are captained by pleasant, helpful skippers. I got the only miserable one on the radio yesterday. He misunderstood the words power cat for power plant and rudely told me to get a map. I was tempted to tell him to get a hearing aid!!! I took a photo of a tow pushing a casino boat. I wonder if he was taking a gamble!! Hurrah for that pun!!!

The above tow was pushing a huge amount of stone as well as a drilling rig.
We passed St Louis but were unable to stop due to there being nowhere to stop on the river. So I arched my neck and took a photo of the arch.

 We also zoomed by Cape Giradeau which had an interesting mural along the waterfront.

One of our last sights on the Mississippi was this strange photo.

I did not think the house looked like a "dive"!!!
Well, no blog is complete without either a bird photo or a sunset photo. So, today you have a sunset photo.    Good night!!

Oops, I nearly forgot, tomorrow  is Veteran's Day. Gary and I would like to say a big thank-you to everyone who has served or is serving their country. Freedom should never be taken for granted. If you should know a serviceman or woman, thank them for your freedom.

Kingston Rover Loop Map