2003 PHOTOS

The power plant behind us was near Treasure Island Marina



Sign of welcome to the City of Red Wing, MN



Marina in Red Wing, MN



Another marina in the Red Wing area



High hills on RDB entering Lake Pepin



The Municipal Courtesy Dock at Wabasha, MN



Pretty homes on RDB, Wabasha, MN



More pretty homes in Wabasha, MN



Sand dunes, with day trippers and campers



My favorite - high, rocky bluffs



More sand dunes, boats, picnickers, and campers



Locking through Lock No. 4 with other recreational vessels



We were privileged to have a glamorous First Mate (Admiral)



Old river town with railroad track down near the river



Notice the plastic sheet to facilitate sliding down the sand dune



There were beautiful places to camp and picnic around every bend in the river



Another small, old river town - very picturesque



High hills in the distance; large lakes with islands in the river



The water vistas were ever-changing but all beautiful



Rocky mountains, in MN, WI, IA, and IL



Waiting for a double load and a towboat coming upstream



Typical recreational boaters locking downstream, Lock No. 5



High, rocky cliffs with river towns below



See the green buoy on the right side of the channel.  The reds are over against the bank.
We're approaching the spot where we hit the wing dam, and there are no greens there to show it.
Fountain City, WI



I don't see any greens on the left from this angle, Mile 732.5, approximately.
This is where we hit the wing dam on the way upstream, on the green side.



Between Miles 732 and 733 there are six wing dams on the left going north before there is a wing dam
with a green buoy at its end.  I believe we hit one of those six wing dams.



Welcome to Winona, MN, Mile 725, approximately



Looks like a museum for steam boats



Another picturesque spot on the Upper Mississippi River



It was not unusual to see pretty flowers, careful painting, and well-tended gardens at the locks



One of the prettiest of the photos from that trip



Another pretty place



La Crosse, WI was just south of Lock No. 7



High bluffs along the Right Descending Bank



A typical scene of houseboat, sand bar, campers, and small boaters



High, rocky bluffs, RDB, in IA



The high, rocky bluffs were less frequent as we moved downstream on the Upper Mississippi River



Someone had built a religious model in the hills, RDB, IA



Anchorage near Muscatine, IA.  We anchored east of Bass Island, to the right of the dotted line on the east side of the island.  
We entered the anchorage from the south, where the light blue color indicated channel depths. 
 We stayed closer to the shallow end of Bass Island rather than hit the end of the wing dam.



Someone even brought a seaplane to a picnic on a sand bar



Quarries and caves were often seen, especially on the RDB, and especially in MO



Looked like the overnight tie-up of a riverboat with overnight guests aboard



We saw the CELLEBRATION BELLE on our upstream trip through Davenport, IA



Towboat PHYLLIS pushing barge with 180 visitors on board at Lock No. 18



Leaving Lock No. 19 we had inadequate room to safely exit the lock



The Captain said for me not to try and make it.  There was a small boat on the edge of the land.



Susy and Angela, in front of a new statue of Mark Twain, in Hannibal, MO



The paddle wheeler MARK TWAIN was on its cruise behind Angela and M/V ILLUSIONS



Susy at the base of Cardiff Hill, playground of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (see statute)



Susy in front of the major buildings used to preserve the memories of Mark Twain and his creations



The steamboat dock at Hannibal, MO.  Note the flood wall/gates.



We tied up to the vertical steel sheet piling at the edge of the concrete



I took a close-up photo of the statute, new since we were last there in June



Big River Oil pulled right up close to us and filled the boat with diesel.



North-bound cruiser, and a nice-looking boat



Wouldn't your kids love having that house (and cave) as their home? 
Thoughts of trap doors and secret passages filled my mind at the sight.



Looks like the pilot went to sleep at the wheel



High, rocky banks coming into the St. Louis, MO area, LDB



Church with high steeple atop cliffs, LDB



Statue of Our Lady of the River on the RDB



Looks like an amphitheatre cut into the rock walls, LDB



The Alton Belle Casino area, just above the Clark Highway Bridge and Alton Marina, LDB



Clark Highway Bridge, with Alton, IL on our left; Alton Marina at east end of bridge



Main chamber, Mel Price Lock, the gate rises to allow us to see into the chamber as the towboat descends



At Lock 27 we could see "through" both chambers as the tows descended



One of the largest floating casinos we saw on the river, LDB



The Captain, out in the fresh air, St. Louis, MO



The famous and inspiring Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO



Outside The Old House Steakhouse, built originally in 1770, Kimmswick, MO



The building was moved to its present position, and has had many uses over the years



Susy and Angela in front of the large fireplace



That contained one of the old beds, rugs, clothing, etc. from a long time ago



We also found examples of old furniture, clothing, desk articles, etc.



That quarry would be soon taking away the front on the rocky bluff, the part I liked the best, RDB



Where did those big, smooth rocks come from?



Tower Rock, a well-known landmark in the area, Mile 80. RDB



Entrance we used to anchor there on our way upstream, now impassable due to low water



Looking upstream at the new bridge at Cape Girardeau, MO. 
Towboats were blocked during the lifting of concrete, but we could get through on the MO side.



Another reminder to pay close attention to your boating skills



Interstate 57, just upstream of the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers



Towboat and barge load making way upstream into the Ohio River



Here we see more of the Ohio River and the Cairo Highway Bridge



U. S. Cost Guard Cutter CHENA, Hickman, KY



Our anchorage, at the end of the channel, Hickman, KY



The floodwall around the City of Hickman, KY



The river was getting wider and wider!



The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at work on a riverbank problem



These folks think big, that's for sure



The Corps apparently wanted to be ready for any unforeseen emergency



Looking back upstream at one of the longest and largest rivers in the world!



Coming into Memphis, TN on the LDB



Abreast of Mud Island, home of the Memphis Yacht Club



Passing Mud Island, we turned and came upstream on its inside, where these river boats were berthed



Nice buildings near the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis, TN



Susy, in the middle of some nice flowers, Mud Island, near the marina



Angela on the hill overlooking the Memphis Yacht Club. 
M/V ILLUSIONS was centered on the outside dock.



Driving around downtown Memphis after dinner



Looking upstream at the "Big M" bridge and the tows operating 24 hours a day



Port of Helena, AR, RDB, where we anchored in 1997



I offered to tow these guys into the nearest marina, but they said they didn't need it. 
They appreciated the offer, though.



Very large Corps of Engineers dredge



The towboat/dredge was 5 stories tall; there were two smaller tows there also.



That looked like a very sturdy way to build a floating dock on the Mississippi River



The turn off the Mississippi River to get to Lake Ferguson, home of the Greenville, MS Yacht Club



Looking up the channel towards the GYC, which was about 6 miles away



To the north, in the shallows were some beautiful birds, trees, and fish, Lake Ferguson, MS



A snowy white egret on a log



The ladies produced tatting, knitting, and crocheted works to display



Looking up the Yazoo River towards the Port of Vicksburg, MS, LDB



One of several casinos in ponds on the bank of the river, Vicksburg, MS



Tows with loads of six barges wide by seven barges long were sighted



Towboat with large load in front of nuclear power plant cooling tower



Six wide by seven long, Lower Mississippi River



We tried to photograph the various eddies, pools, and unexplained currents that we felt moving the boat around



Large home on a hill, LDB, approaching Natchez, MS



Homes on the high bluff right in front of us as approached the curve and the Natchez bridge



Casino at the base of the bluff just upstream of the Natchez bridge



Old River Control Structure, Mile 315 approximately, RDB, Mississippi River



Angola, LA Ferry, Mile 305 RDB, Lower Mississippi River



Looking at Old River Lock, 75 feet wide, 1,190 feet long, typical lift (drop) of 14 feet



The tow was pushing three barges with gravel inside, Old River Lock



Looking back at the Old River Lock.  LA Highway 15 crosses over the lock.



We left the lock, went about 1 mile, and turned right into our anchorage, a dead-end channel used by water skiers



We had a short rain shower at our anchorage.  The dead-end is a levee with LA Highway 15 on top of it.



The beginning of a beautiful sunset



A beautiful sunset over the bayou, Louisiana



Beautiful sunset we enjoyed over and over again



Melville, LA Ferry across the Atchafalaya River, RDB, approx. Mile 29



The Melville, LA railroad lift bridge



Approaching the bridges at Krotz Springs, LA - railroad, overhead pipeline, and Highway 190



The Interstate 10 bridge over the Atchafalaya River



At its lower end, near Morgan City, the Atchafalaya seems to have water in every direction



The highway and railroad bridges between Morgan City, LA, LDB, and Berwick, LA, RDB



The tow DISCOVERY was next to us in Berwick, LA, dropping off a barge



Headed west on the ICW, we passed a tow with barges to get through the incomplete Louisa bridge, Mile 134



Avery Island, LA, a salt dome where Tabasco Sauces are made



Approaching Intracoastal City, LA, a "jack-up rig" preceded us on the ICW



Those "jack-up rigs" can also extend their "legs" down into the mud bottom to lift the rig out of the water



Looking back at the crewboat in the Freshwater Bayou Lock



The "jack-up rig" spent the night at the edge of the channel in a "jacked-up" position



It always thrills me to see all the activity going on in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana



One of many complex and simple oil drilling and operations structures in the Gulf



Crew boat in front of large, rusty "jack-up rig"



Susy and David in the pilothouse



Shrimp boat, small oil rig, and blue water



Ships inside the jetties, Galveston, TX



One of the Pilot boats was returning to port after seeing off a ship outside the jetties