A Day That Was, and Wasn’t, Routine

It started like any other day. And yet, as the photos will show, everything shifted. Missouri and Illinois had their own rhythm, but crossing into Tennessee and Arkansas? A whole new story unfolded. And to my future son-in-law Hayden, born and bred in Kentucky, I owe you an apology. I didn’t give your home state its due. That said, the sliver of Kentucky that brushes the Mississippi… there’s potential there. Promise.

As we near the end of our journey down the upper Mississippi, I find myself thinking of my dad. He would’ve loved this stretch, perched on the bow of Hazel in a lawn chair, soaking in the scenery. The river was his quiet companion. I don’t think a day passed without him checking on it, usually with an ice cream cone in hand. Whether it was the river or the cone that drew him out, I’ll never know. Maybe both.

Hazel is now 26 nautical miles from Memphis, and more importantly, from fuel. That’s about 4.5 hours of cruising, just under 4 gallons of diesel. Barring strong headwinds or sluggish currents, we should make it.

A storm is expected to roll in around 2 a.m. tonight. We’ll be buttoned up tight. There’s also a hurricane forming in the Caribbean/Gulf, but it’s too early to tell what path it’ll take. What we do know is that we’re bracing for two days of heavy rain, and we’re ready.

What tomorrow holds is anyone’s guess. But I’d like to believe we’ve done what we can to meet it head-on.

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Morning light worked its magic, everything looked quietly beautiful.

Crew report: all smiles and smooth sailing! It’s a bit nippy in the mornings, but spirits are warm. Not to boast, but Hazel set a new personal best today, clocking in at 9.8 knots!

Oh my gosh, this canoe and its two paddlers stirred up quite the commotion among the riverboat captains. While the crews did their best to steer clear, maneuvering a barge is nothing like steering a canoe. And this particular canoe? It was everywhere. Zigzagging across the channel, backing up barge traffic, and generally causing a logistical headache.

Let’s just say the radio chatter wasn’t exactly complimentary. I’ll spare you the language, but the canoers didn’t win any popularity contests.

Now, canoeing down the Mississippi is undeniably cool, but it requires a bit of savvy. The smart move is to hug the red buoy line, where there’s little current and no barge traffic. These guys? They were doing the exact opposite.

The river’s traffic has leveled up: barges are now joined by massive ships. The channel, once averaging 9 feet deep in the upper Mississippi, now plunges to 50 feet or more.

In the picture is a R/S RocketShip. It is a specialized U.S.-flagged cargo vessel operated by United Launch Alliance to transport rocket components like Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur from their factory in Decatur, Alabama, to launch sites in Florida and California. Originally named Delta Mariner, it was renamed in 2019. The ship is uniquely designed to navigate both inland rivers and open ocean, covering over 10,000 miles per mission. Its roll-on/roll-off design and powerful engines make it a vital link in ULA’s launch operations.

I’m probably mangling this, but I found it absolutely hilarious, the tugboat’s name was Frig! I can only assume it got that name because whenever people see what it’s towing, their first reaction is, “What the frig is that?” So maybe the captain leaned into it and named the tug accordingly. Just a guess, but it fits!

When I said everything changed, one of the most welcome surprises was the shifting landscape. The Tennessee shoreline is truly beautiful, and Arkansas holds its own with some equally lovely views.

Some folks from Red Wing might recognize this one, it’s the Corps of Engineers tug that was docked at our levee a couple of years ago, offering free tours. I was lucky enough to step aboard, and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful vessel inside and out. So it was a treat to spot it again, this time hard at work along the Tennessee shoreline, laying tiles along the Mississippi banks like a pro.