9/16 - Little Chain Bar Anchorage - Ohio River

An easy day going down the Mississippi

Barges aground (even the pros screw up)

The confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

A new lock under construction on the Ohio River (Your tax dollars at work)

Reflection ar her first anchorage on the Ohio River

"Falkor" joins us at anchor

.

We lifted our anchors at 6:30 a.m. for our 81 mile trip which was our last on the Mississippi and would take us on to the Ohio River. We again encountered lots of barge traffic and even saw barges that ran aground outside of the channel, just proving that even professional tow captains have to be careful on curves of the river.

Toward the end of the Mississippi run, the scenery became almost surreal with an overcast sky, muddy banks, swirling waters, and incredible curves in the river. As we approached the confluence of the two rivers and then came around the final curve at Cairo, Illinois into the Ohio River, the feeling and scenery completely changed. Even though Cairo was highly industrial, the river banks were now made up of sandy shores and cliffs, perhaps a scene that felt more familiar and comfortable to what we often see on the U.S. east coast.

Now, however, we had 1 - 2 knots of current running against us, which slowed down our travel. We transited Lock 53 on the Ohio very easily, and then proceeded to this anchorage spot that Al and Gayle were familiar with from their last trip, and even though it was about a mile and a half from a coal barge loading area, we stayed as far away from the coal carriers as we could and securely anchored behind a sand bar in the river in about 15 feet of water at about 3:30 p.m. Thanks to Al and Gayle's experience with this area, we again had a quiet night in this great spot right on the Ohio River.