Sunrise in these parts is now at 7:15 am - so we got up in time to leave by about 7am - just when it was light enough to see debris on the water. Of course, it was a clear sunny morning and the sun brilliantly shone and glared off the water and we were traveling south. Leaving Kaskaskia and its quiet water and entering the Mississippi was like going from a country lane onto the expressway - an expressway with logs and glaring sun in your eyes. The sun impeded our ability to comfortably watch for logs but the situation was better than the day before in terms of density of logs.

Kaskaskia is at Mile 118 of the Upper Mississippi and we had to go to Mile 0, the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio at Cairo, IL - after which the Lower Mississippi is renumbered all the way down to New Orleans, over 900 miles to the south. We had a very long day of river travel ahead - at least no locks, but we had to be alert the whole time for barge traffic and debris. We found at spots we could now go up on plane at 30 mph, but would have to slow down for tugs with barges and patches of debris and wood in the water. We made good time on the Mississippi, after several hours, past Cape Girardeau - a city completely walled off from the river and of which you could see very little. The final stretch of the Mississippi is a series of oxbow turns, which of course, was well-populated with tugs and barges to be avoided and which slowed us down. By 1:30pm, we reached the Ohio River at Cairo - where Huck Finn and Jim were going to turn and escape to the North, which they didn't.

We, on the other hand, did turn up the Ohio and had 46 more miles to reach Paducah before the marina closed at 5pm, so that we could get a pump out and refuel. The Ohio was hugely different in color and debris from the Mississippi - the muddiness of the water was gone and the debris largely, but not completely gone. It was slow going for a while with all the Ohio River barge traffic. We passed the Olmstead Lock which was wide open due to the high level of the river. This lock is still under construction and replaces Locks 52 and 53, which are essentially dismantled. We passed the remaining remnants of those locks, but had a close call while passing a tug with 15 barges, running into significant debris and then having to avoid the underwater remains of Lock 52 - but we got through those obstacles. We arrived shortly after 4:30 at the Paducah Municipal Docks - a brand new structure that was built just last fall - a welcome sight.

There was only one other boat on the dock - and they were from Port Jefferson on Long Island. Another couple that had just been out strolling exclaimed when they saw our boat that they also used to keep their boat at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City (our home port), and they were just visiting her hometown of Paducah. Small world.

In any case, the city of Paducah is a gem. Hidden behind high flood walls, built after the 1937 flood that inundated the town and now decorated with tasteful historical murals, there is a very charming little city of 19th and early 20th century buildings housing small shops and restaurants. There is a great sense of civil pride in this town and they are making great efforts to make it an attractive destination. We had a great Italian meal followed by a tasting of some Kentucky Bourbon - a great introduction to the state!