We were extremely happy to discover that most of the tows were in a staging area at the mouth of the river. As we got further upriver we began to slow down as we were traveling against a 3 knot current somewhat due to the heavy rains the day before.
Last sunrise over the Mississippi River
Traffic on the Ohio River
In route to Lock 53 we passed the Olmstead Lock and Dam project with a project completion date of “indefinite.” This lock and dam are being built to replace both Locks 53 and 52, but has had delay after delay. The current cost estimate is $2.918 billion! That’s not a typo… BILLION… The original cost estimate was $775 million.
The Olmstead Lock and Dam money pit
As we approached Lock 53 (the
first lock on the Ohio) we learned that the wickets were down and there was no
need to lock through. The current was
extremely strong going over the dam and, as a test, Jeff didn’t touch the
throttle, and we got down to 1 mph.
Needless to say before we started going backward, Jeff laid into the
throttle, but our buddy Carina was unable to make it up the river. The lockmaster was no help, telling Carina to tie up to the lock
wall and wait it out (which could be several days), but Free At Last said they
had experience at towing sailboats and turned around to go get Carina. They kept Carina in tow all the way to Lock
52, a good 20 mile trip! Way to go
Steve!
Going over the wickets at Lock and Dam 53.
Free At Last flips the trip and goes back to get Carina
In route all types of interesting things were going on.
Just a cool bug...
Passed a huge tow, the Clyde Butcher, with a 5000 hp motor.
You can see below that he's able to push quite a load.
The Joppa Power Plant
Jeff trying to take flight...
Passed Metropolis which is known for having all things Superman related. We thought we would forego the stop and maybe come back one day by land as we saw a line of tows and barges awaiting their turn through the lock. As RVs (recreational vessels) have a lower priority at locking through, we knew that we had to get in line.
Harrah's at Metropolis
Tows with their barges banked awaiting their turn at Lock 52.
Passed Ft. Massac a replica of the reprovisioning stop for Meriwether Lewis. The fort was originally built by the French during the French and Indian War and has been rebuilt many times over the years as it was destroyed several times during conflicts and earthquakes. The last such destruction being by locals taking the premium logs for their personal construction projects.
Earlier in the day we called Lock 52 to let them know our group of RVs were in route. Once we were in the home stretch, we called again and were told that it would be at least a 3 hour wait. It was suggested that we come up closer to the dam and drop anchor so that when we were called, we could get into the lock quickly. We followed the instructions, not too disappointed with a 3 hour wait as we had heard stories of 8+ hour waits and locking through and anchoring in the dark.
At anchor at the dam at Lock 52
The mad dash to the lock
One tow comes out of the lock...
another goes into the lock...
We got to lock through with him since he had no barges.
SeaGlide pulled up behind the tow and everyone else got in right behind us.
The lockmaster let the RVs out of
the lock first as the turbulence of the tows has been known to wreak havoc
inside locks spinning RVs around in all directions. We then made our way to Paducah. Our destination was the free dock there, but,
upon arrival, it was so small that we decided to move on to an anchorage.
Passing the Lydia Campbell
leaving Lock 52
After seeing the free dock and passing the American Queen
Riverboat, a voice came on over the VHF talking to us. It suggested an anchorage and gave us quick
directions. A few minutes later the
voice came back on and told us we were looking good, but to move a little
further starboard. Later yet again, the
voice hailed us and told us to move on past the mooring cells, and we would be
well situated in the anchorage and out of the way of traffic. Not believing the voice was our shot at
divine intervention, Jeff looked around and asked “Do you mind me asking –
where are you?” The guy gave a hearty
chuckle, and we found out that he worked at a fuel dock and had a great view of
everything going on in the harbor.
The American Queen riverboat
Cuba Towhead anchorage behind these mooring cells
We settled into the anchorage, had docktails aboard Free At Last, and enjoyed the beauty of Cuba Towhead.
Entering the Cumberland River
Along the Cumberland there were several quarries
and lots of barges waiting to be loaded.
As we neared Barkley Lake Dam we called the lock, and they told us we would have a 45 minute wait. Not too bad as the Kentucky Lock on the Tennessee River was undergoing repairs and much of the traffic on the Tennessee was coming through the Cumberland instead. Thiis was another lock that had kept folks 8+ hours and even had RVs locking through at night. The lockmaster was just about right as 50 minutes later, a tow came out of the lock and we were able to get right through.
Barkley Lake Dam and Power Plant
The tow exiting the lock as we enter
SeaGlide's good-looking Captain focused on
entering the lock
As usual, the Captain brings me right where I need to be
to secure SeaGlide inside the lock. The locks on the rivers
have floating bollards, which make locking through easy.
And then after miles of just trees and water, we were
back in civilization and right in the middle of
a great pack of Loopers at Green Turtle Bay Marina.
After a great docktail party, we got one of the resort's
many golf carts and trekked to town with
Free At Last and Tour de Loop
Our destination.... Patti's...
Home of the 2" porkchop, flower pot bread, and
mile high pie.
Celebrating Kathy's birthday
We planned to stay at Green Turtle Bay for a few days and as the rain came down the next day we decided to make use of the resort's courtesy car and explore the Land Between the Lakes. Off we went with Free At Last and Sun Gypsy. We saw a show at the Observatory and then toured the Elk and Bison Prairie. We were rewarded with many elk and bison sightings - I guess the rain and cool weather had them all up and moving about.
Our picnic lunch
We enjoyed many dinners on property with a bunch of Loopers each time. Green Turtle was a great place to catch up with folks that we had not seen in a while. After a few days, we took off to explore Lake Barkley.
Green Turtle Bay Marina
Amos gave his best buddy Heidi a stuffed animal look-alike
as we said goodbye for now to our buddies aboard Barefoot'n.
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