11/9/08 to 11/12/08 Cape Girardeau to Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, Ky.

Today we continued South on the Mississippi for our last 48.8 miles. We turned North on the Ohio at 11:10 a.m. at Cairo, Il. Cairo is also a very commercial area with barges anchored in mid-stream and tows in both directions. Just before turning off the Mississippi we went under a bridge which had the same work barges anchored around it that were in Dubuque earlier in the year removing the barge that ran into the bridge. They were again doing that same thing here in Cairo.

We continued up the Ohio past the construction site of the Olmstead Lock & Dam which is being built to replace Locks 53 & 52 which are almost worn out from floods and traffic. We cruised through 53 (during the summer when helping to deliver "Sandy Beach" from Forida we went over the wicket dam at 53 due to the higher water level then) and on to 52. I knew we had trouble before talking to the Lockmaster when we passed 4 tows nosed into the bank below the lock. We arrived at 3:30P.M. and finally exited the lock at 6:30. By now it was dark! 52 is just a couple of miles downstream fro Paducah, Ky. and the junction of the Tennessee River. Again, very commercial. With the help of Radar, chartplotter, and spotlight we made our way 10 more miles on th Ohio to anchor behind Towhead Island at the jucntion of the Cumberland River.

The next day shortly after leaving our anchorage we stopped to let 2 deer swim across the channel in front of us. We continued on, through the Barkley Lock (a lift of 57') and into Green Turtle Bay marina for the next 3 nights.