We continued on the Illinois River from Beardstown to Grafton, then merged onto the Mississippi where we enjoyed a few knots of downriver current until we turned upriver on the Ohio, where we promptly got a similar current against us. These are working rivers with lots of commercial traffic and large locks. We've chatted with tow captains who liked the looks of Emilie B and a couple who thought we were a commercial tow. We had our highest mileage day (131) as we wanted to be on a dock before the remnants of Hurricane Francine arrived in the area. The stormed didn't amount to much, although the area could really use some rain. The Mississippi is lower than normal for this time of year and starting to impact commercial traffic. We got to celebrate with our friends on Voyager as they crossed their wake in Grand Rivers, KY and are now making new friends as we continue on our loop down the Tennessee River. We have decided to do a side trip to Chattanooga and maybe all the way to Knoxville. There is a touch of fall colors, but the temps are still in the 90's - glad we have A/C, but ready for cooler fall temps.
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| Very few homes along these rivers for obvious reasons |
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| Grafton, IL - the end of the Illinois River |
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| Watching the ships cruise north on the Mississippi |
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| A wood store - huge slabs of old growth trees |
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| Enjoying ice cream for dinner with the Voyager crew - wish I stilled needed a jacket! |
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| Sunrise departure onto the Mississippi |
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| Emilie B exiting the fog |
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| Our Lady of the Rivers shrine |
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| In the Mel Price Lock |
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| Great to be able to take pictures of each other's boats |
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| Love the zoom on my phone camera! |
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| Original Anheuser home in Kimmswick, MO |
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| Not the only navigation buoy we saw on dry land |
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| After a long day, a group of us have tied up to the Kaskaskia Lock - we will travel together to get to a safe place in anticipation of Hurricane Francine. |
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| Emilie B shrouded in fog and... |
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| Giant Mayflies! They covered all the boats. |
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| Only Kyra enjoyed the Mayflies |
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| Emilie B in her usual spot, following Voyager |
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| One of the largest tows we saw - 5x3 |
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| The sun was setting as we anchored by Olmstead Dam, a 131 mile day! |
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| Emilie B (2nd on left) safely anchored at Paducah City Marina. We stayed for 3 days to enjoy the city and wait out what remained of Francine. |
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| Paducah is surrounded by a seawall which has murals on the city side telling the city's history |
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| It is also home to the National Quilt Museaum - this one by a Maine artist |
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| The quilts were amazing and the amount of work by the artists incredible! |
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| This one is carved from wood |
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| The river side of Paducah, with seawall in the background |
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| David, Towns and Rugby celebrating crossing their wake and raising the gold burgee on Voyager in Grand Rivers! |
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| Emilie B arrived in Grand Rivers to a quiet dock which was quickly filled with other Loopers. It is a great marina for resetting after the long days on the rivers. |
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| Out on Kentucky Lake, one of the 9 lakes in the Tennessee River Vally - making our way south |
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The Mississippi did help, but not quite that much ;)
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