Half Way to the Gulf

Aaron and Jake traveled 57 miles to mile marker 202 in Alton, Illinois. They decided to rent a slip in the Alton Marina for the night, because the land is so flooded there is nowhere to camp. Sunday night they slept in the canoe tied up to a dock but it was a nerve racking night because of the fast current rushing by them. Monday night’s sleep was better because the canoe was in a protected slip in the marina.
Today they have a short 20 mile paddle to St. Louis where a college friend of Aaron’s will pick them up for a night’s sleep in a bed and a hot shower. They will pass the half way point of their trip (1160 miles) just six miles downriver from where they slept. They will also go through the final two locks of the entire trip when they enter the Chain of Rocks Canal.

Just south of the confluence of the Missouri River and just north of St. Louis is a stretch of river known as the chain of rocks. The chain of rocks is exactly as it sounds, literally a chain of rocks that cross the Mississippi leaving a portion of the river which must be bypassed by the Chain of Rocks Canal.

Chain of rocks





Posted by Aaron’s dad