Mighty Mississippi

With thoughts of Huck Finn top of mind, we entered the Mississippi just south of Hannibal, Missouri where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi at Grafton, Illinois. From there we cruised 210 miles south for three days to Cairo (pronounced Kay-RO), Illinois, where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi. Swift currents and swirling eddies on the Mississippi pushed Adagio beyond her normal 8.5 mph to 11 to 13 mph, and it seemed we just flew down the river with our stern fishtailing in the strong current.

The Mississippi bends and turns on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, depositing sand and silt in its wake. The Corps of Engineers does its best to keep the river from scouring out the turns and cutting new channels, and hundreds of man-made rock jetties called wing dams and chevrons line the river on both sides. Wing dams extend from the shore perpendicular to the river to slow the force of the river. Chevrons serve the same purpose but are horseshoe-shaped, with the closed end facing up river.

There are no marinas on this stretch of the Mississippi, so Loopers often anchor in the calm water below a wing dam, but we tied up the first night on a lock wall next to a dredging operation with 7 other Loopers. The next night, we found a beautiful anchorage about a mile from the Ohio River with three other boats. It was nice to have company for our last night on the Mississippi.

Sunrise at Mel Price Lock Near St. Louis