Still on the Mississippi

It is raining steadily, the waters are churning and we are spending our last day on the Mississippi River weaving our way past floating debris and enormous barges.

The mighty Mississippi or sometimes called the Muddy Mississippi, or even Old Man River, all apt names, is one of the greatest water highways on earth. The river is huge, the currents are strong and the turbulence ever present. Barges and their tows move approximately 175 million tons of freight down the river each year through a system of twenty-nine locks and dams and we are trying to avoid all of it.

We left Grafton and sailed down the mighty river past the lovely skyline of St Louis and past the gleaming Arch, the Gateway to the west.   Waving at Hoppies, a longtime Looper stop, we sailed by. It is now a shadow of its former self due to flooding and only big enough for three boats.

Dream Seeker cruised through two large locks bypassing a chain of rapids and continued on to Kaskaskia Locks, having traveled over 100 miles that day. Finding refuge late that evening by rafting onto Passages, another Looper.

Leaving early the next morning we anchored at 1pm in Diversion Channel to spend the rest of the day recouping.

paddle wheelers

Dream Seeker under the arch

Anchored

Dream Seeker entering lock

SkylineSt Louis