The Barges are BIG and my Kayak is small
Starting yesterday we noticed flocks of Pelicans in groups of 40 to 80 birds. I love watching them fly, they are so graceful. I got up and moving at 6:00 am in the chilly pre-dawn light. I had to break into my warm clothes bag to put on enough layers to keep warm until the sun came up and started to warm up our camp.
Paddling in the early morning light we rounded a bend in the river and were greeted by the largest gathering up Pelicans you could ever image There had to be a thousand or more! We paddled through the group and they erupted into the air, circling us before settling back down into the water a few hundred yards down river. This cycle repeated itself over the next 30 minutes. It was magical.
After a hard but satisfying 38 mile day, we set up camp on top of the Levy protecting the some hamlet of Grand Tower, IL from the Mississippi flood waters. We had done research the day before and found that this town had a minimart with cold beer and hot pizza. Well, that’s what kept us going, knowing what was waiting for us at the end of the day.
We were befriended by a local High School boy, Charles. He helped us hall our gear from the boat ramp to camp. Later as we were were at the minimart picking up our Pizza and Beer, we ran into Charles again and he was kind enough to give us a ride to our camp, about a mile away. He was a great kid and we really enjoyed getting to know him.
Today’s Learning: In the Lock and Dam section of the upper river, the Barge tows are limited in size so they fit in the Locks. There were never bigger than 3 barges wide and 5 long. Calling these small is a relevant thing since each barge is 280 feet, almost the length of a Football field. The barge tows on the lower river as much bigger. We encountered several today that were 5 wide and 7 deep! From bow to stern they are a half mile long. Today we passed 10 tows that big, an action packed day on the water for sure!
Tomorrow we reach the historic river town Cape Girardeau, MO, We hope to get an AirBnB to shower, do laundry and eat some real food. There is even a Brewery, so fingers crossed they will be open.
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