The "Lower Mississippi" - St Louis South

Sunday eve we docked at our tie-up for the night which was a wall of a lock near the mouth of Kaskaskia River, 1/8th mile from the Mississippi. Our landing here was much smoother than our departure from Kimmswick! Ooooo...Clay misjudged the winds as we left Kimmswick; he was onshore with ropes. I was solo on the boat with no engines running. Not a pretty scene. But we survived the anxiety.  Our traveling companions were eating a big breakfast at the Blue Owl while we opted to head south early.

Round rock formation

Shortly after our arrival at the lock wall, we launched the dinghy...a first...and went for a ride. The test run of the dinghy didn't meet my expectations! Launch wasn't easy as I had hoped. Heavy, wide dinghy, heavy motor and all in all, just an awkward procedure. About knocked off the herb garden window box in the launch. But we managed, and went for the maiden voyage aboard the.....oh, we have no name for it yet other than the brand, Nautica. I think "Haven't Figured That Out Yet" would be a good name. With that phrase constantly on the Captain's lips when questioned by the first mate since buying the trawler, something has to be named such. Consider it christened!

Back to the boat after the dinghy ride, I insisted on us showering. Although the temps had cooled considerably...say, at least 10-15 degrees, we'd motored most of the day in intense heat, with some breeze though. Oh, prior to the shower, we tried to reconfigure the grill so it wouldn't burn up the dinghy when we used it. Not possible under current conditions. So grilled burgers and romaine weren't gonna happen last night. Plan B. I remember sister Susan giving me a mini-notepad that proclaimed 'life is all about plan b.' You got that right! Back to the drawing board, I came up with cheeseburger pizza and Sophia's salad. Worked well and fell together rather easily after drinks aboard the D Cea with our new companions and an early departure from cocktail hour aboard so we wouldn't be eating so darn late again. And, nice to have leftovers for ensuing evening meals.

Labor Day morning, we were underway by 6:50 am along with the other 2 boats traveling with us. I had asked Clay last night what his departure time expectations were, but he failed to answer...said he didn't hear me. We'll correct that one. Put me in a real rush to finish my stretches/PT exercises and get in a quick 15 min walk on the lock wall. We had to run the generator much of the night as, altho fairly coolish out, the humidity was pretty bad. I think Clay opened up about 3 am. He noted raccoon tracks on the starboard walkway. Wish he hadn't told me that!

We called our old Rotary friend, Jerry McClanahan in Cape Girardeau as we went under the Chester, IL highway bridge to advise we were in his territory.  Great visiting with Jerry on the phone; but since Cape has no marina nor place to tie up, we didn't get to visit face to face!  As a bonus, as we went by the Cape riverfront, we got to see the Mississippi Queen steamboat tied up there.

Dry dock at Cape Girardeau

An 8-hour travel day today, we are now anchored (rafted) with the 2 other boats a mile upstream of Cairo, IL on the Mississippi. Clay said I was brave in the ER, but bravery was really 'getting back on the horse' anchoring here! We'll hope for the best tomorrow when we pull up anchor and head on down river.