Alton to Hoppies to Little River Diversion Channel to Lock 53 to Paducah, KY to Green Turtle Bay

Day #725; Loop Miles to Date = 9,231

Since our last post, we've managed to dispense with the Mississippi and Ohio River sections of the loop...over 275 miles of very commercial travel that are some of the most dreaded miles on the loop. There are very few places to stop (particularly if you have dogs) 100's of large tows to deal with, substantial current, and a couple of locks that are notoriously slow and jammed with commercial traffic. Many loopers have waited 6-8 hours to pass just one of these locks, which makes planning your day very challenging. Add to this the extremely low water levels, and it makes for a difficult week of travel.

All in all, we were about as lucky as one can get coming through this stretch. We extended our travel days a couple of times (one day traveling 110 miles which is tough for us) but were always able to time the need for walking the pups with a spot that allowed us to do so. It was remarkable really. Sure, we found ourselves on some rocky/muddy banks, and a couple of crumbly, narrow walls, but it all worked out fine. And most unusually, we found our wait times very manageable through this entire stretch. We were also terrifically lucky on numerous occasions. We passed through the Ohio-Mississippi junction just as they were closing it to commercial traffic (which reduced the traffic for us) and then found ourselves leaving lock 53 just prior to it shutting down for an indeterminate period of time. We really were very fortunate.

So now we find ourselves at Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY. We now have visited Missouri and Kentucky, bringing the total number of states to 17. It is an amazing experience...

Some interesting graffiti in the St Louis area.

Now this is some clever yard art!

Sandrobber in front of the arch, courtesy of Act III.

View of the Mississippi from Hoppies

The infamous dock at Hoppies...just a couple of commercial barges lashed together...a very welcome sight though in this part of the river.

And of course Fern, the octogenarian matriarch of the Upper Mississippi. She still gives a daily briefing to all travelers, giving them insight into the current river conditions downstream, and trying to help with safe anchorages in times like these when there is extreme low water. She is an amazing icon.

Leaving Hoppies with a caravan...

And with a beautiful mist on the water...a long day, but gorgeous.

Traffic sign entering the Chain of Rocks Canal...big problem if you miss this one.

It was difficult to capture the scope of this view...this is the array of barges parked in the waterway at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. There were hundreds and hundreds of them...at times it was difficult to see the path forward if not for your charts. This went on for miles.

A couple of shots of the new Olmstead Lock and Dam. This is an enormous project to build a new lock and dam to replace the old Lock 52 and Lock 53. We were very lucky to transit this entire string of locks with only about 3 hours total of wait times. Many loopers are stuck here for much more time than this.

This travel lift (crane) is rated for 5304 tons! Amazing.

Our spot on the old lock wall above Lock 53...we were able to spend the night here.

The brand spanking new city dock at Paducah, KY. This is a wonderful location for loopers. Even though we only spent one night here, this town could easily hold your attention for a couple of nights.

So now we find ourselves relaxing for a day at Green Turtle Bay. It is hard to imagine that our journey is winding down. We plan to be crossing our wake in about a week, and will savor the next few days of travel. As everyone says at this juncture, it is a bittersweet time. The good news is that it should be "easy" travel compared to much of what we have been through. It'll be nice to kick back and just enjoy the ride!

Some sunrise shots we managed at Alton...we're gonna miss these...