After 5 days in Alton, we decided now that the river had crested and there was visibly less debris in the water, we would set out for the 83-mile stretch to the Kaskaskia River and overnight on the wall of the lock about a half mile up the river from the Mississippi.

The skies were clear once the sun rose at 7:11am and we had some concern about the debris at the entry to the marina. First stop was the Mel Price Lock 2 miles down the river. We called the lock master and were told that if we were there in 10 minutes, he'd let us right through - we cast off immediately saw a fair amount of flotsam and had to carefully scan the river for not only logs but anything larger than a branch that could foul or propellers and make it a very ugly day. The drop at the Mel Price Lock was about 9 inches - as the flood on the river had pretty much evened out the above and below lock pools - normally it is 23 feet. The river was pushing us at about 7 mph which allowed us to run our engines at a no-wake speed/RPMs but still keep a respectable 15 mph of forward motion.

Immediately after the Mel Price lock, the Missouri River joins the Mississippi and we were warned that it would noticeably push our boat to the left. After another 10 miles, you encounter a sign the points to the left saying "To Lock". Apparently it used to say "All Boats must use Canal" - which is good advice because if you don't go left, you run into several miles of rapids that will grind up any pleasure boat that goes down there. The Chain of Rocks Canal is about 5 miles long and at the end is the Chain of Rocks Lock (down 4.5 feet, normally 10 feet) and they let us through almost immediately. We were then done with locks for the day, and just had to dodge flotsam.

Right after Chain of Rocks, the skyline of St Louis crept into view. The Gateway Arch from the river is a magical sight and we had some nice sunny weather to admire it for a few minutes while on the lookout for logs. The Port of St Louis is a very busy tug and barge harbor so we had to weave our way between the traffic; and after about 10 miles, it eased up a bit.

This stretch of the Mississippi is the most challenging for pleasure craft as after Alton there is only one sources of fuel until you reach Paducah, KY on the Ohio - a stretch of 250 miles. The sad explanation for this is the frequent flooding of the river such that any town on the river is highly fortified with high walls or huge embankments - any and all marinas that existed were likely wiped out in the 1993 flood and never rebuilt. At the speed we projected going down river along with the current gave us confidence that our 410 gallons of diesel in the tank would get us there. The journey down the Mississippi after St. Louis does have some spots that are industrial, but for the most part it is a tunnel of limestone bluffs, trees and marshes with practically nowhere to stop. We had a bit of a time dodging all the logs and only once had a scare when one long one went "bump, bump" under the boat but it appeared we were lucky.

We kept on until mid-afternoon when we turned up the Kaskaskia River and off the massive push of the Mississippi current and debris fields into the peaceful slow water of the Kaskaskia. We called the lock master for permission to tie up to the lock wall for the night and had a pleasant afternoon and evening - looking at the bald eagles hunting in the area (they like the locks because of the fish that turn up there) and the spectacular sunset. Two other boats joined us later on the lock wall.

We turned in early as we had to get up at dawn again to make the 163 mile trek to Paducah so as to get there before dark.