Kaskaskia Lock & Dam and Little River Diversion Canal

October 20-21, 2016

We bid farewell to Hoppie's Marina at 9:00 am on Thursday, October 20th. Mucho Gusto cast off first, then Mystic, with Henry aboard Sea Marie following. We each navigated the strong current with ease by following Fern's directions that were burned into our heads. The river is so fast here that we are going over 11 mph. Henry slowly loses ground behind us and disappears from view. Over the course of the day we passed the biggest Tows we've seen on the entire trip. Some of them are 7 barges wide and 5 deep.

Tows are getting bigger on the Mississippi River

It took four hours to go 42 miles to our next stop at the Kaskaskia Lock. We arrived around 1:00 and got permission from the Lock Master to tie up for the night. There really are no other options available to us. Mucho Gusto sat closest to the Lock, Mystic wass in the middle with Sea Marie tucked just behind, along the wall outside of the lock entry.

Henry arrives at Kaskaskia Lock

Mucho Gusto at Kaskaskia Lock

Dave pulled a second anchor out of the anchor locker. He wants it handy in case we need it on the trip to Green Turtle Bay, Lake Barkley. I baked pumpkin muffins for the first time aboard Mystic. The smell of cloves and cinnamon is the perfect perfume for a cool fall day. Rhonda and Scott invite us over to Mucho Gusto for snacks and docktales. We had a great time! Everyone went to bed early in anticipation of the long day planned for tomorrow. We hope to make 67 miles to Little River Diversion Canal.

We are all up and moving by 6:00 am. It is 58F inside of Mystic's cabin. A dense ground fog floats on the surface of the channel. We bundled up in long johns and several layers. Henry cast off first, then Mystic followed by Mucho Gusto. The journey should take about 6.5 hours and put us on the Ohio River. We are all eager to get off the Mississippi!

Sea Marie leaving Kaskaskia Lock

Mucho Gusto following Mystic out of Kaskaskia Lock

Sea Marie heading for Bean Branch Creek and the Ohio River

Mucho Gusto overtakes Sea Marie

Mystic passes Sea Marie Good Morning Henry

Before we made it to our anchorage we are passed by a huge Tow heading hard up river. Poor Sea Marie was just about swamped by the wake. This made for great photos though! Hang on Skipper!

Tow plowing past our convoy

Sea Marie faces the monster

Henry and Sea Marie with bow buried in the wake

Sea Marie in a water cradle, Hang on Skipper!

We arrived at our Cape Girardeau anchorage in only 6 hours! The mighty Mississippi carried us at lightening speed. The furious current was so strong that entering the mouth of Little River Diversion canal seemed impossible. We watched as Mucho Gusto slid sideways, like a crab into the opening. As soon as they entered, they stabilized. We followed and made our way up the river to just south of the abandoned railroad bridge. Mucho Gusto anchored as we passed. We dropped our anchor further up and slid backward to raft up to Mucho Gusto. Sea Marie was following not far behind and rafted up to Mystic. We were three boats, anchored as one, on a narrow channel. It was very quiet.

Micky, Henry's one year old cat, is usually on a lead. Here in the anchorage he is set free and has a fabulous time running circles across the three boats. He is in his glory with an extra 10x35 and 20x38 feet with which to frolic.

Micky relaxing on Mystic

We ate dinner then bundled up for bed. We have traversed 106 miles in two days and hope to leave at sunrise in the morning. The run tomorrow is almost 80 miles. We are almost halfway through what we refer to as "Fern Country"! We are very much looking forward to the Kentucky Lakes!