Day 158- September 21 Little Diversion Channel, MO to Olmstead, IL




We anchored the previous night in a small diversion canal.
The fleet of 7 were there. We took off earlier than the others.

The twists and turns of the Mississippi.  It's about 250 miles from Alton, Illinois to Paducah, Kentucky.  About 210 miles on the Mississippi.  There is only one 'marina', 'Hoppies', about 25 miles downstream of St Louis.  It's the last place for fuel.  We did not stop there, as shown earlier. So, as far as any facilities are concerned, there's nothing for a long stretch.

You see where the river bends all the way back north?  It was about here where Cheryl, while checking fuel levels in the tanks, noticed a lot of water in the engine room bilge.  Inspection revealed that the pump that provides cooling water to the engine (the 'raw water' or 'seawater' pump) was spewing water apparently through a blown seal.  Immediately concerned about keeping the engine cool, the worry factor went right up.

We had been running at a low engine speed (1200RPM) all day, letting the river current propel us along.  Once we turned the corner onto the Ohio, we just had go slow.  I did not want to risk revving the engine up for fear that the pump would not keep working, or working enough to cool the engine.

So, for the rest of the day (and the next, and the next) we would motor along staring at the temperature gauge, keeping 'Plan B' in mind, working worst case scenarios in my mind and trying to line up a repair once we got back to civilization.

The joys of passage-making...


Rivers do provide for an abundance of bridges.






Very few homes along the Mississippi's banks.


The red arrows are pointing to rocky dams. We have seen many of these but very hard to get a good photo.


Yup, more bridges.


The final bridge on the Mississippi for us.


The final barge traffic on the Mississippi.




The Ohio River is much busier than the Mississippi River.

The skies were filled with smoke at times. The river was full of moving traffic.


I think this barge is considered high and dry!


The elevators were bigger on the Ohio River.

We anchored near the Olmstead Lock for the night.
The water pump is still doing its job!


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