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September 27, 2012 Day 139        Lock 53     Total miles to date:  3051.83

We experienced more firsts today!  This is the longest day we have traveled on the Loop: 135.5 miles in 12 hours and 10 minutes!!  We left the Kaskaskia Lock at 6:50 this morning just before sunrise under overcast skies. We made the decision this morning to go to Olmsted, which is the new lock and dam under construction on the Ohio River, and we planned to anchor there.  There is another closer anchorage at Angelo Towhead on the Mississippi near the junction of the two rivers, but we decided not to stop there behind the sand bar.

We took advantage of the current on the Mississippi and also increased our speed to make the destination before dark.  Of course when we reached the Ohio River the current was against us, so we went from 12 to 7 mph.

Following The Zone into the Ohio River

The Zone took the lead most of the day today with Bill still contacting all the tows on the radio.  There were many more tows today on the Mississippi, especially near Cape Girardeau, MO. 

We took turns at the helm today

We left the Mississippi River at 4:40 pm and entered the Ohio River near Cairo, IL.  When we got near Olmsted, Ross and Laura called Lock 53 to get permission to anchor at the Olmsted Lock. The Lock master suggested we go past there and anchor near the dam at Lock 53.  We anchored at 7:00 pm safely out of the channel, and happy to be secure for the night.

We had pizza for dinner and relaxed after our marathon day on the rivers.

We reached another milestone today – we have now gone over 3000 miles on the Loop.  We hope to reach Green Turtle Bay tomorrow if we can get through Locks 53 and 52 without a long wait.  Stay tuned!