Sunday, July 22

Badgett Playhouse - Grand Rivers, KY

Lake Barkley - sailboat dingy of choice is the jet ski

Kentucky Penitentiary - Old Eddyville - Lake Barkley

Once again, the place to be was on the water - today we cruised Lake Barkley.  As we left the Green Turtle Bay Marina we immediately took notice of all the large barge tows - three deep waiting to lock through the Barkley Dam.   We were grateful not to be part of that line-up, as pleasure craft always take a back seat to any commercial traffic.   We would have been waiting for hours.
Instead we turned down the main channel that parallels the shoreline of the Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area.  There were many protected coves and far less boat traffic than yesterday.
Although the main channel is well marked and deep, Lake Barkley is known for its navigational hazards.  Created in 1966 by the construction of the Barkley Dam, it is a man-made lake which changed the landscape of this area.   Many large foundations of previous buildings, cemetery tombstones and in fact most of a town - Old Eddyville - now lie beneath the surface of the water, along with the usual suspects like tree stumps and sand bars.
A few structures remain to tell the story of the town, one of the most impressive being the Kentucky State Penitentiary.  Built inland more than a hundred years ago, today it rests of the shore of Lake Barkley and is affectionately referred to by locals as the "Castle on the Cumberland."

Barge tow line-up for Barkley Lock

Over the weekend we had the chance to attend "The Super 60's Show" at the Badgett Playhouse in Grand Rivers.  Featuring talented performers, many from Nashville, and showcasing the great tunes of that era, it was a fun evening - but according to Charlie they butchered Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

Saturday, July 21

Large raft-up on Duncan Bay - Lake Kentucky

Cooling off - Duncan Bay - Lake Kentucky

Graffiti Rocks on shore of The Quarry - Lake Kentucky

Partying at The Quarry on Lake Kentucky

Following Kathy's workout and my meditation on "Zen and the Minivan", we decided to annoy the local boat broker by asking to board a 1986 Hatteras 53 and a 70' Riverboat, both of which were huge in there own ways.  The three staterooms, three heads, vast salon and after deck on the Hatteras were most impressive, but the LONG vertical ladder to the bridge would be enough to discourage anyone over 45 from owning the boat.  The riverboat had five staterooms and a water slide.  It's aluminum construction was not very refined - they could learn a thing or two from Winnebago, their land counterpoint, with far superior appointments.  You want big, you can have big for $750,000.  I am also told they are most interesting to drive in crosswinds and rough water .......
Off to more constructive pursuits, we left Green Turtle Bay to inspect Lake Kentucky's equivalent of Clear Lake's Party Cove, The Quarry.  We arrived before the narrow enclosure was completely full of boats and did a brief inspection of the Poor Man's Riverboat (pontoons) and Viagra Boats before moving on to Duncan Bay, where we were assured eagles would not be "hid out".

Barkley Canal connecting Lake Barkley & Lake Kentucky

We had lunch, went for multiple swims in the 90 degree sunshine, observed large raft-ups and cleaned the waterline of the White Label, which had accumulated grunge from all the rivers we have been in since Chicago.  Following the work period we looked up to see two eagles gliding over the treetops along the bay.  One perched next to an empty nest for our viewing pleasure, the other took off and soon was "hid out".  While the heat hadn't dissipated, we went in one more time and headed back to the gas dock (ouch!).

Friday, July 20

Something likes this heat - Crepe Myrtle Bush

Flamed broiled burgers at Craig's Dairy Dream

 Pink Tractor Boutique -  Grand Rivers, KY

Putting out the flames

Green Turtle Bay courtesy minivan in flames on the Woodland Trace

We set out at 8:00 am to beat the heat and the weekend crowds.  In the Green Turtle Bay courtesy van #4, on a National Scenic Byway road - the Woodland Trace, we entered the Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area.  Our first stop was the Elk & Bison Prairie ($5 per vehicle fee), a 700 acre tract with not one animal to be found.  As we exited and reported this to a park employee, he noted it was hot and added "they're there - they're jist hid out".  That was due to the temperature, but little did we know how "HOT" the day would get.
Kathy wanted to explore further down the road.  Lo and behold, what did we see?  Bison, lots of them and reasonably close.  We "got there just before too late" as they were "fixin' to get hid out" in a tree obscured creek bed.  Pictures were taken and victory declared.
We turned around and headed back to the park's welcome center to look for Bison postcards to send to Elle & Georgia.  When we stopped, we could smell gas but could see nothing wrong.   Leaving the
center, we could smell gas again and immediately thereafter smoke started coming through the ventilation system.  It was clear that we needed to get out and we tried to stop but the brakes were not working properly and the engine had died.  The vehicle finally slowed enough for us to get it to the side of the road and we bailed out.  Kathy even remembered to grab her backpack.  There were
open flames in the undercarriage and we got the Hell away from it.  About five minutes later the minivan with 187,000 miles on it was consumed in flames.  No one was hurt, although traffic was screwed up for awhile.  Was this a message from some higher power (Is there a Minivan God?) - retribution for bad mouthing minivans throughout my driving lifetime?
Deciding that minivans had become too hot to handle, we went to the resort office to rent a golf cart.  Funny thing, they didn't have any available ........... so we rode our bikes to Craig's Dairy Dream for a flame broiled burger and fries - delicious!  We "toured" Grand River's extensive (not) retail area, acquiring some junk our children will have to throw away some day.

Bison prairie - Between the Lakes Rec Area

We returned to Green Turtle Bay's pool to get out of the heat & relax from the drama of the day.

Thursday, July 19

Bill's Boat Sinker Pie - Patti's

World famous 2" pork chop - Patti's

Over sized houseboat - Lake Barkley

Kayaking on Lake Barkley - large tow in backround

HOT - seems to be a reoccurring theme as of late.  We could see a morning breeze on Lake Barkley and decided to launch the kayaks and check things out. 
Boaters here love their houseboats and it appears the bigger the better.  No matter what your vessel of choice, it was a great morning to be on the water,

Dolphin for barge tie-up- Lake Barkley

We paddled out to catch a view of the "infamous" Barkley Lock and the huge dolphins that barges tie to while waiting for a lock opening.  Our timing was perfect as a large tow was just about to exit the lock.  The barges looked big while passing them along the various rivers, today in a kayak they looked gigantic.
A swim in the pool, followed by a massage for Charlie and facial & pedicure for Kathy, was the perfect way to beat the heat of the afternoon
The heart of Grand Rivers, "The Village Between the Lakes", is Patti's 1880's Settlement.  It is "world famous" for their 2" thick pork chops, mile- high meringue pies and flower pot bread.  The place includes six gift shops in a recreated historical log cabin village,  gardens, gazebo, wedding chapel,  streams, miniature golf, remote control cars & a rock wall.  The employees wear period costumes - in other words - your basic tourist trap.  Everyone said that we needed to go .........  so tonight was the night. 

Can't believe I'm really here - Patti's

 

 

Besides, we just had to try for ourselves one of their famous pies - Bill's Boat Sinker.  We don't even want to know the amount of calories consumed and that is after bringing half of the entree back to the boat with us.  The food was actually quite good, despite the atmosphere which was over the top. 

Wednesday, July 18

Green Turtle Bay Marina & CYC

Cocktail hour - CYC

Commonwealth Yacht  Club - Green Turtle Bay

The Land Between the Lakes, or LBI as it is locally known, with Lake Barkley to the east and Kentucky Lake to the west, is the largest inland peninsula in the United States.  Created with the damming of the Tennessee River & the Cumberland River, it was officially designated a National Recreation Area by President Kennedy in 1963.  It is approximately 80 miles long and comprises 170,00 acres of wilderness.
The parkland provides many recreational opportunities ranging from fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking and biking - truly a great playground in the heartland.
Paducah is a community that we passed on the Cumberland River and many times on I-24 while traveling to Nashville (during Kristin's college years) and Florida.  It's the kind of place that you might stop for gas, a quick meal or at a roadside inn - you never actually see the community.

Flood wall - Paducah, Ky.

It happens to be the regional commercial hub for this area and we found ourselves headed there to re-provision the boat, i.e. get some wine.  It actually has quite a nice downtown, notably the riverfront where the flood wall features a series of hand painted murals depicting a variety of river scenes.
Our evening was spent at the Commonwealth Yacht Club, located in the middle of our marina and a reciprocal member of the American Yacht Clubs.  The members were entertaining and very welcoming and our dinner of lobster tempura (in Kentucky?) absolutely delicious - our kind of place.  It is BYOB, just like the Ritz used to be, lockers & all.

Tuesday, July 17

Sunset - in the Barkley Lock

Time out - Barkley Lock

Cumberland River

Cape Girardeau - flood wall on Mississippi

We got an early start to our day with a 5:30 am wake-up call.  There's not much of interest in the next 160 miles of the Mississippi except for more industrial development (mostly cement, coal and aggregate facilities)
Along this stretch you see hundreds of wingdams, stone walls of various lengths along both banks running more or less perpendicular to the river.  Their purpose is to deflect the river current towards the center of the river preventing erosion of river banks and creating a self-flushing action to curtail shoaling of the channel.  According to Fern, Proprietor of the renowned Hoppies Marina, they aren't very effective except for collecting silt.  She has one adversely affecting access to her dock, which might color her opinion on the subject.  Nonetheless, you better believe that the Corps of Engineers and elected officials are getting an earful.
If you wanted to, which we didn't, safe anchorages can be found behind many wingdams on the Mississippi.  As there are no marinas for hundreds of miles south of Hoppies, that is where you would have to spend the night heading for New Orleans.
At Cairo (Pronounced Kay-row), we turned onto the Ohio River to get more of the same.  This is a major repair and staging area for tow companies and not at all scenic.  The Ohio took us upstream 57 miles to the Cumberland River.  On the Ohio, the water seems clearer and less turbulent than on the Mighty Mississippi.  The two locks on the Ohio are old and cranky and will be replaced by one new lock, which has been under construction for at least 7 years.  It was hot and painful locking through.

Mississippi - wingdam

The  33 mile cruise of the Cumberland River offered a very different feel than the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.  After the first mile or so, the river narrowed and became bucolic and serene.  There was an intimacy with the surroundings.  Heavily forested shorelines were home to heron taking flight and cows cooling off in the water.
As we approached the Barkley lock, we thought we had it made.  ONLY ONE more mile to go.  Our long day, 247 miles, the most we had done in one day, would be coming to a close at Green Turtle Bay Marina on Lake Barkley, ONE mile past the lock.  We could see lightening coming from the South and East.  Little did we know that one of the strikes had fried the computer "brains" of the lock.  When we approached the lock at just before 5 pm in a downpour, we were informed that they had "issues".  Four hours and two false starts later, we locked through.  We had covered 246 miles in eleven hours, the LAST mile in 5 hours.  The entrance to Green Turtle is invisible in the dark.  Luckily, the boat that locked through with us was a local, and we were able to follow his lead.  I fear we would have run aground in the middle of Lake Barkley without his guidance.  At 9:45 pm, we staggered into a slip and passed out.  And no, it's not what you think.  This is a dry County!

Monday, July 16

View of Mississippi from Hoopie's

Main Drag - Kimmswick, MO. (pop 200)

Post Office - Kimmswick, MO.

Anheuser Estate Museum - Kimmswick, MO.

Dockage at Hoopie's Marina

Charlie & Fern - Hoopie's Marina

The Gateway Arch - St Louis

Chain of Rocks Lock - Mississippi

We left our slip at 9:00 am to begin our 60 mile cruise to Kimmswick, MO. & the World Renowned Hoppie's Marina.
For the first several miles leading to St. Louis we were the only boat on the river.  Near Portages des Sioux, MO., we noticed the Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine.  It dominates the shoreline and required closer inspection.  Soon after passing Alton and the Argosy Casino (where we didn't roll the dice), we entered the Mel Price Lock.  With only a 20 minute wait for it to be prepared for our lock-through, it was relatively painless.
We we not so lucky at the Chain of Rocks Lock where we were delayed for over an hour to lock due to the barge traffic.  These Mississippi locks are huge and take awhile to fill & empty.  In the near 100 degree heat it seems like forever.
As we approached St. Louis, The Gateway Arch came into view.  Forty seven years old in 2012, this famous landmark rises high above the Mississippi as a memorial to the western migration of our forefathers.  The barge traffic was quite heavy throughout this highly industrial stretch of the river.
We arrived at Hoopie's fuel dock by 1:30 pm.  We had to top off our fuel tanks as this is the only place to get gas for the next 247 miles.  Since we only get about a mile to the gallon and the White Label holds 310 gallons, it will be a close call.  We were soon greeted by Fern who is a legend in the boating world for sharing her decades long expert knowledge on this part of the Mississippi and other rivers to come.  With note pad in hand, Charlie hung onto her every word - jotting down several helpful pieces of advice and information.  She also shared with us a wealth of information about her town of Kimmswick (pop. 200).  Apparently the whole town shuts down on Mondays, so we will not have the opportunity to take in the great shopping (?) & fine dining - damn!
The historic Anheuser Estate Museum is located on the river next to Hoppie's - it was donated & endowed by the family to the town of Kimmswick.  Other famous neighbors included the founder of 7up & Paul Harvey.  He liked to frequent Hoppie's even though he was not a boater.  Fern used to tell him, "just don't talk and no one will know who you are."  She is quite a character &
 as she puts it - "Hoppie & I have been really lucky to have had such nice neighbors".

Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine

Dockage at Hoppie's is made up of three 100-foot long barges tied to the shore with cables.  There is a nice onshore breeze and we have a great view of the Mississippi, although we do get rocked a little by the passing barges.  This place is the best of "local color".