Joined the Port Arrowhead Gateway Getaway Sat 4/8. Started out in at mile marker 222 of the upper Mississippi and cruised 40 miles to the St Louis waterfront and the Arch. Pictures were taken of the group and individual boats with the Arch in the background. I do not have web storage however this link has two of the pictures on a local web site, http://www.riverbills.com/ , if you visit the site on 4/9 the pictures will be at the top if not just scroll down to pictures posted 4/9. We had a professional photographer on one of the boats and he does some awesome work.
Now for the ride. Down river we passed the convergence of the IL and the Mississippi. Further down we passed the bluffs over the River Road on the IL side, top picture of River Bill's site. With a 90 mile round trip scheduled for the day we cruised about 24 mph for most of the trip. Further down river we passed through the first lock and dam, one of the pictures on the site. Once through the lock and dam we soon came to the Chain of Rocks Canal bypassing a section of the River that can not be navigated safely. Once in the canal we passed a shipyard with river tugs dry-docked; a one-mile section with tugs hydro lifted. After a 10-mile section of canal and another lock and dam we emerged back to the Mississippi at the convergence of the MO River.
This was my first cruise to this area of the river and I guess I was just a little disappointed in the MO & MS convergence just not much to look at. At this point the current was incredible with water churning from under tow. It literally looks like the water is boiling with 2-foot chop in the churn. From there it was a short ride to the Arch where we enjoyed the sights of the St Louis waterfront and the Arch. All the time we were floating around the Arch the current was approximately 6 to 7 mph and up to 3-foot swells from the current and under tow. During our photo shoot we had to deal with the fast current and river barges making their way up and down the river. The return trip was much like the first leg except a different perspective.
All in all, one excellent day, mostly sunny with 55 degrees. Excellent company and sights that none of us on my boat have seen before. By the way, there are links to the photographers site on the river bill site, Steve Schulte, he has some great shots, browse around and see some of what the Mississippi River has to offer.
Now for the ride. Down river we passed the convergence of the IL and the Mississippi. Further down we passed the bluffs over the River Road on the IL side, top picture of River Bill's site. With a 90 mile round trip scheduled for the day we cruised about 24 mph for most of the trip. Further down river we passed through the first lock and dam, one of the pictures on the site. Once through the lock and dam we soon came to the Chain of Rocks Canal bypassing a section of the River that can not be navigated safely. Once in the canal we passed a shipyard with river tugs dry-docked; a one-mile section with tugs hydro lifted. After a 10-mile section of canal and another lock and dam we emerged back to the Mississippi at the convergence of the MO River.
This was my first cruise to this area of the river and I guess I was just a little disappointed in the MO & MS convergence just not much to look at. At this point the current was incredible with water churning from under tow. It literally looks like the water is boiling with 2-foot chop in the churn. From there it was a short ride to the Arch where we enjoyed the sights of the St Louis waterfront and the Arch. All the time we were floating around the Arch the current was approximately 6 to 7 mph and up to 3-foot swells from the current and under tow. During our photo shoot we had to deal with the fast current and river barges making their way up and down the river. The return trip was much like the first leg except a different perspective.
All in all, one excellent day, mostly sunny with 55 degrees. Excellent company and sights that none of us on my boat have seen before. By the way, there are links to the photographers site on the river bill site, Steve Schulte, he has some great shots, browse around and see some of what the Mississippi River has to offer.