Paducah, Kentucky

Salty is happy to be in Kentucky and so are we!

9/16

     We  traveled 98 miles today on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to our next destination, Paducah,
Kentucky.  We are staying in the city dock with several other boats.  It is a favorite stop for Loopers.  Paducah is known as the "big" little town  and has a lot to offer to visitors.  We grew up in Lexington, Ky and went to school there, graduating from the University of Kentucky.  It is exciting to be back in our home state traveling on our boat.

Paducah Dock,  The large tall poles allows the dock to rise and fall with the water level

This is one of the sturdiest docks we have seen

     This marina is a floating dock.  That is important because the Ohio River often floods.  The marina is built to withstand the flooding,  which sometimes rises 50 feet.  The Ohio Valley flood of 1937 was the greatest natural disaster in the history of the US at that time.  The river rose 60 feet and most of the city was under water.  The damage was huge.  A 14 foot concrete  flood wall was constructed after that,  to protect the city.  The flood wall does block your view of the river, but it is understandable that it had to be built.   To  take away some of the ugliness, a series of 50 giant murals were painted on the wall, depicting the history of Paducah.   The scenes range from Native Americans, early settlers, Lewis and Clark expeditions, steamboats, barges, Civil War, the railroad industry, the history of the floods,  up until modern day.  It is fascinating to see.
 

Flood Wall Mural

Quilt

     We also visited the National Quilt Museum which was amazing!  People from all over the US and the foreign countries  visit  this museum  to view the finest  quilt and fiber art in  the world.   The quilts are stunning works of art with beautiful vibrant colors.  In addition to their permanent collection, they have traveling exhibits.  Karl and I were so glad we saw this amazing exhibit! 

Quilt

     We woke up to an invasion on mayflies.  thousands of them!  These are aquatic insects that resemble dragon flies.  They live in the wet mud and then hatch and emerge out of water, swarm around for about 24 hours,  mate and then die!  They caused a mess on the boats!

Mayflies

Mayflies