Here's a picture of the towboat that almost ran us over as we exited the Diversion Canal at sunrise on Sunday. I was looking way upstream and way downsteam, instead of right next to us. Good thing Steve was looking too. We completed our final 48 miles on the upper Mississippi before noon, thanks again to the fast current and made our "left turn" onto the Ohio River. At this point, we were headed upstream and immediately slowed to about 6-7 mph. It was a another very long day, but finally got anchored near Metropolis, IL. We were way off the main channel, but as soon as we got settled in a small tow with 6 or 8 barges came right by up. Steve called him on the VHF radio, and he told us that this side of the river was an "alternate" channel...it was deep....but that we would be fine there for the night. We stayed, and we were. Monday was sunny and warm enough to ride on the flybridge by noon. We continued up the Ohio and "hung a right" on the Cumberland River. Good bye to the big tows and big industry. I've always loved the old Mississip, but have to say, now that we've done the entire "upper", the best part is right up in good ol' Minnesota. I also don't know why anyone would want to do the Lower Mississippi in a pleasure boat, but apparently some do. The Cumberland is narrow with lots of bends, and few other boats. After 30 upstream miles at 6mph, we got to the Barkley Lock, where they were holding the doors for us, thanks to our friends on Moon Beam, who told them we were coming. We had kicked up the throttle as best we could for the last couple of miles and were grateful to cruise right on in. The Barkely is new and huge, a 57' lift. 
The Barkley Lock and Dam holds back enough water to create Barkley Lake, a beautiful 100+ mile, very wide lake (like Pepin, only bigger and cleaner) that is a very popular recreational area. We are back in "vacation land". Green Turtle Bay Marina is only a mile after the lock, so almost all loopers stop here for a couple of nights. It's a very big marina/resort complex with all the amenities, including the wonderful WiFi. We shared a courtesy car with Peter and DiDi from Moon Beam today and went to Paducah to the SuperWalmart. Our cupboards were bare and our water tank empty when we got here, but no longer. We're going into town tonight for a dinner out. It's raining, but supposedly only for a day.
Tomorrow we will head just a mile or so down the lake to a free flowing (no locks/dams) canal that leads to Kentucky Lake, formed by the Tennesee River, "sister" lake to Barkley Lake and similar in character. We need to be on the Tennessee River to continue south, but both Lakes look equally beautiful....lots of great boating to be had down here. I keep thinking, "where do they land store all these boats in the winter?" .... and then I remember that the boats don't need to come out, it doesn't freeze. We'll be slowing down the pace and enjoying this section for several days.
2 comments:
Just curious if you have to call or radio ahead to make a reservation at a marina, much like a hotel room. Or do they always have space available, and you just "drop in"?
Hi Brenda,
we usually call ahead, but this time of year you could probably just drop in. Most marinas will do whatever they can to accomodate you especially if it's getting dark...you don't want to travel at night in an area you are not familiar with.
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