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| Shore line of the Mississippi River |
9/14 Saturday
It took all the patience that we could muster, because the day started with a 3 hour wait at the Melvin Price Lock. We left the marina in the morning, traveling only a few miles and contacted the lock master on the radio. He said he had two Tows to lock through ahead of us. They go in one at a time. This is a large structure, 1200 x 110 feet and one barge filled up the chamber. We put our anchor down and waited. It was lunch time before we finally got through along with a few other pleasure boats.
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| Securing the boat line to a floating bollard |
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Karl making sure we are secured to the wall |
We are finally on the Mississippi River. It is very wide, the water looks muddy and the currents are strong and "swirly." Fortunately the current is running in our favor, adding almost 4 knots to our speed, which helps with fuel economy. We went through the Chain of Rocks which had a very swift current. This is where the Mississippi River joins the Missouri River. We encountered many tows with barges along the way, the most we have seen so far. Karl got used to talking to them on the radio.
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| Following a Tow Barge |
It was exciting to pass St. Louis, Missouri and see the famous Gateway Arch. Surprisingly, there are no marinas or places to stop to visit St. Louis. We are sorry to miss exploring this big city.
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| St. Louis Gateway Arch |
We traveled a total of 35 miles, but it took almost all day. We pulled off the river into a small tributary, the Meramec River, to anchor safely for the night, away from barge traffic. It was a nice evening.
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| Our Anchorage |
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| Saturday night bonfire on the shore where we anchored We watched from the safety of our boat! |
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