Picturesque Kaskaskia River Lock

Day 125  | Kimmswick to Kaskaskia River |  3.8 Hours  |  37 Miles 

The morning was chilly and breezy when we emerged from Crossroads to assess our position alongside the floating barge. Before we turned in the previous evening, we got smacked by a strong wake from an up-bound tow that rocked us hard against the barge for several minutes. Overnight we had taken a strong hit from a down-bound log. We scampered to the bow with our spotlight, but not quick enough to see the offender that kept moving along in the current. In the morning light we inspected the hull and found nothing of concern. It was a chilly, damp and breezy start to the first day of Fall. I began the day in two layers of Cold Gear and a hoodie. Barry even put on jeans and a jacket. Properly bundled up, we turned our attention to planning our departure and peeling ourselves away from the barge. We were packed in like sardines and the strong current and gusty winds were not going to make it easy.

Allen and Marsha from Free Spirit Too freed our final two dock lines as Barry pushed us into the current and powered back into the Mississippi River. Aided by four knots of current we flew down the River. Crossroads hit 12.1 knots, a new record. Crazy thing was it felt like we were sitting still most of the day. We passed several grand houses safely built high on the bluffs. The tracks paralleling the river were bustling with activity from both Amtrak and freight trains. The train pictured below seemed to stretch for a mile or more, and was comprised entirely of empty ore cars.

Along the shore were cement plants, power plants, quarries and coal terminals. Loaders moved coal from piles on land to awaiting barges. In the distance we spotted weird plumes of "smoke" puffing up from behind the trees. As we passed, we found it to be four industrial cooling and aerating water "fountains" shooting up reminiscent of those at The Bellagio in Las Vegas. The Mississippi was much cleaner today, with minimal floaters. It still had many churning eddies that jerked you off course when passing through them. The autopilot did well in maintaining our course.

A little more than three hours into our journey, we turned into the Kaskaskia River and spotted our home for the evening alongside the dock wall. I had already prepared the fenders and lines and Barry was on the VHF radio with the lockmaster when we heard the sound again ... thump, thump, thump. Almost without hesitation, Barry said we had "landed" another fish. Sure enough, a second Asian carp had sought his eternal home in our cockpit. This time I had to ignore the mess happening behind me and made the fish wait until we were securely tied up. He continued to flop around and leave a mess in the cockpit. I hopped onto the dock to attach the lines to the cleats, and Barry came back and returned the fish to water. The fish didn't float, so we assumed he was OK. We washed down the cockpit and relaxed for a few hours as a gentle rain shower fell.

We were the only boat here and I did some reading and watched a little football while Barry took a nap. Around 5:00 the sun came out and when I looked out the window, I saw Second Wave and Misty Pearl rounding the corner to join us. We helped them tie up and I finally got to meet the two Misty Pearl dogs who were more than happy to sit and receive a few minutes of ear scratches. Before we knew it, the clouds were gone and we were treated to a gorgeous final few hours of daylight.

Night came quickly, but we all noticed the spectacular sunset and gathered on the dock and took pictures.

We'll travel with Misty Pearl and Second Wave tomorrow on the way to our next stopping point at the Little River Diversion Channel anchorage. We're hoping it will be an uneventful travel day of about five-hours.