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Clifton, Tennessee to Iuka, Mississippi  November 17, 2022 Today was uneventful in leaving Clifton .   There was fog coming off the water but cleared after a couple hours.    This was not surprising as we left at 6:30am.    The schedule for today was about 60 miles but we had to do a lock and we have heard stories of people waiting for 3-5 hours to pass through the lock.    Why would that be?    The Mississippi River this year is extremely low.    You may have seen pictures and news items concerning this.    The low water levels have not been this bad since 1988 at least.    While the Tennessee River which comes off the Ohio River further north is the largest tributary it is used by pleasure boaters and not as much commercial traffic except for this year due to the low water.    We both agreed we do not want to do any traveling at night hence we left at the break of light.    I spoke to Randy, the senior operator on the Pickwick Lock, the day before out of my concern having only done t
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The Ohio River to the Cumberland River to  Cross the Finishing Line at Grand Rivers! Our traveling down the last 7.7 miles of the Mississippi River were uneventful.  Clear skies remained with us throughout the day.  At Cairo, Illinois (pronounced Karo, like the syrup), we turned onto the Ohio River.  At this point seen in the picture, it is considered the lowest point in Illinois.  At one time, Fort Defiance stood here in the Civil War.  There was a great deal of activity on the water comparable almost to St Louis.  Barges coming, going, and loading.  Not that Danny isn't but, definitely had to be vigilant in what was going on in front and on the sides of your boat.  Above we are turning off the Mississippi on to the Ohio River. Saw another casino no longer operating just pushed up into the shore.   We made it to the Olmstead lock and dam and they lifted The Other Woman and Beach House up 30 feet.  Beach House had trouble holding their lines and ended up floating in the lock.  Than
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                  The Mighty Mississippi...                        Danny on the banks of the Mississippi River from both the north and south. The Mississippi River runs 2340 miles from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.  The river starts in Lake Ithaca, Minnesota where you can walk across stones.  The Ojibway people named the river meaning big river.  From a navigation standpoint, it is broke up into the upper Mississippi (Minnesota to Cairo, Illinois) and lower (Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana ).  We will travel the Mississippi until we get to Cairo and turn on to the Ohio River.  While the Mississippi River has flooded before, the worst being 1993, the river is exceptionally low this year.  Last year was low and this year is worse.  According to the data accumulated and released October 16th, the river is 11.85 feet below its normal depth.  This has created problems for barges going up and coming down with commerce not to mention any recreational use for room to
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