9/26/19
Big day ahead of us.
217 miles in the Mississippi River
46 miles on the Ohio River
3 Locks
They all said it sounds like a tough day! We can do it!
We got up early and shoved off around 7:30 am with the help of our friend Phil from ‘Meant To Be”. We were sad to leave Grafton because of all the Loopers that were staying there! But we got off without any problems and headed to the Mighty Mississippi! We reached the first lock at 9:30 and got through rather quickly. This is the Mel Price Lock. 
This lock had floating bollards to tie to, so I just did a middle line and it worked perfectly. This is the Lock very near Alton and it is said the 1/3 of the worlds grain passes through that lock!
The current in the Mississippi was very strong and there were several swirl areas of disturbed water. This made driving a bit of a challenge but it also gave us a 3 to 6 mile push. 
It was only about 15 miles to the Chain of Rocks Lock and they must have called each other because the lock was open and waiting for us! We went through so fast I forgot to take photos! Then we were just rollin on the river! We averaged 26 mph because the current really helped us! We passed a lot of grain, granite and coal companies that transport their goods on the river. 
Then we saw the St. Louis Arch! Made of steel and 192 miles tall!
It was impressive! This was built in 1963 finished in 1965 and was a tribute to exploration. It was a tribute to Lewis & Clark who explores this area and to President Jefferson and his team that made expansion into the Western territory possible.
The open river awaits us!
We saw this and thought – we’re not in Kansas anymore. 
It was 216 miles on the Mississippi River to get to the Ohio River. We mostly saw barges and they are mostly named after a person – like Mary Sheel or Miss Kaycee. 
Lots of bridges.
When we got to the Ohio River there were a few fishermen around the bend. 
We made the turn easily. 
Finally we saw the last lock on the route. The Olmsted Lock is a brand new lock that just opened in 2018. We right away noticed two pleasure craft anchored near the large bolsters. 
We radioed the Lockmaster who referred to “land side” and “river side”. This was such a brilliant reference since both sides have land and river on them. We had about a 20 minute wait before getting in the lock. So I prepared dinner in my Instant Pot and set it and forget it. 
Tied up to the bollard and ready for the lift. 
By the time we got out of the lock it was 6:30 pm. Now it became a mad dash to reach the old Lock 52 then to the Paducah Transient Dock. 
It seemed like we were going to make it.
We were very fortunate to have John the Dockmaster at Paducah waiting for us. And Jacques on “Gyp C” jumped out of his boat and helped too. We made it and dinner was ready!
Song of the day: Rollin on the River by Tina Turner
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