Rollin’ on the River

We woke up to another lovely day, with mist on the water that quickly burned off to leave a blue sky, gentle breeze and quickly warming temperatures. Leaving the Kaskaskia Lock wall, we got back into the strong current of the Mississippi, keeping our eyes peeled for channel markers, driftwood and tow boats. We’re still getting a 3-4 mph boost from the current, and made 69 miles today in 7.5 hours, an average of more than 9 mph at a low, fuel efficient engine speed. The tows heading upriver work extremely hard to make headway against the current, and throw out huge wakes that rock our boat and roil the water for hundreds of yards behind them. 

We saw two curiosities today: a suspension pipeline strung over the river, and an interesting watercraft drifting downriver, manned by a half-dozen young adults.

Other than the raft, we saw no other pleasure craft today, and very little wildlife, although we are currently surrounded by a school of largish fish in our anchorage. We are anchored bow and stern in the Little River Diversion Channel, out of the current and away from tow boat wakes. The channel was built in the early 20th century to divert two other rivers into the Mississippi to drain southeastern Missouri swamps and turn it into farmland. We’re glad they did—this is another peaceful place to get off of the river and relax.

After 845 miles, we plan to leave the the Mississippi River tomorrow and head up the Ohio. Big wheel keep on turnin’