October 16: Paducka, KY

This morning we cruised from our anchorage to Cairo watching the barges loaded with coal. Then we left behind the powerful current and churning silt laden dark water of the Mississippi to head north on the Ohio River which forms the boundary line between Illinois and Kentucky. After leaving the Mississippi, it is amazing the difference in water color. This water reminds me of rivers at home, it is not clear like Lake Michigan, but it is pretty and green.

We had lunch anchored in the fleeting area for barges. Sort of like the side rails in the train station. Several tugs were moving and anchoring empty barges. As soon as we anchored, one approached us to make sure we were not planning to spend the night there as it would not be a safe place.

We passed by the construction of a new lock on the Ohio to replace the next two locks. The lock master of Lock #53 told us that it was started in 1990, and he thought it would take another 10 years to complete. Actually some of that time was spend in selecting the place since the original site had too sandy a bottom for the support. When we passed, we could see a crane scooping sand up from the bottom. Lock #53 was flooded last month all the way into the Army Corp building above the lock, but they say that it is a normal occurrence. We ascended 6 feet moving up the river.

We saw the TVA Shawnee Steam Power plant with its coal piled as high as the tree tops. I think that TVA stands for Tennessee Valley Authority, but I am sure we are in Kentucky.

We approached Lock #52 at around 5:00, but the lock master radio’ed that it would be at least an hour before he could take us through. Since we prefer to not travel after dark, we decided to just anchor out by the dam spillway and try again in the morning.