While we were packing up in the morning a man yelled to us from his boat if we wanted coffee. Having weathered the storm the night before I accepted gratefully. We paddled over to his slip and ended up chatting for about a half hour. His name was Russell and the boat he was staying on was his friend Shawn's. Shawn and his daughter showed up shortly after we arrived. He grew up in Mississippi and said we would love it down South. Hopefully he's right. It was apparent that Russell was living on the boat (which didn't currently work). He didn't take very good care of it, but it looked very peaceful and I bet it was a lot easier to sleep in than a tent last night.
We locked through the Alton Dam and chatted with the lock workers. They told us to take the chain of rocks which would bypass the last lock, 27. It is only navigable in high water, which it is, and wouldn't have any barge traffic. As we didn't have any maps of the area we relied on our phones. We should have known better. There was a channel on the East side of the river labeled "Chain of Rocks Channel" which I decided was what the lock workers were talking about. Turns out, that's the channel that boats take to avoid the chain of rocks. So, rather than staying in the current and avoiding barge traffic we were paddling in dead water with all the normal barge traffic of a busy city. It was only mildly frustrating until it took us 20 minutes to lock through lock 27.
We pulled up to the Arch in St. Louis around 2:00 P.M. and got out to see the sites and find a restroom. We were also hoping for something quick to eat, but the St. Louis riverfront is severely lacking. There was a helicopter tour launch pad, two small food vendors, and the Arch. Otherwise it was just a lot of industry. We spent about an hour walking around the Arch, finding restrooms, and taking a lot of pictures. I really thought the Arch was cool. It was extremely difficult to get the whole thing in one picture. Anders was not very impressed though.
The rest of the day was pretty tough. Moderate winds, high waves, and lots of barges. We skipped lunch and also ran out of water so neither of us was feeling too great. Adding to this was the fact that there really wasn't anywhere to stop and camp. When we finally found a possible site, a pump station, we jumped out and quickly asked if we could stay there. The man agreed and told us where we could get water. He even allowed us to use the restroom at the pump station. It was a relief to find a solid site with facilities.
Ohhhh... I would paddle 1,150 miles
And I would paddle 1,150 more
Just to be the man that paddled 2,300 miles to wind up at your door
Dahda da duh duh!
Dahda da duh duh!
...We're about halfway done! I know the Arch was built to symbolize Westward expansion, but I like to think it was put in St. Louis to tell river travelers they were at the midway point. We're at the top of the Arch. It's all downhill from here. Is that a good or bad thing?
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