Olmstead, IL to Golconda, IL

Miles Traveled 61.9

Total Miles Traveled 6933

Day 368

I called the lock master at Olmstead Lock at 5:45 this morning to get an idea how long we would have to wait locking through.  He said there was a tow about 30 minutes out and we could follow him through.  The lock and dam is under construction and the lock chamber doors are both open, so you navigate through the lock…at a snail’s pace.

An escort tug will tag along side as we pass old lock #53, the dam has been demolished but the lock structure is still there so all vessels are escorted past the old lock before resuming cruising speed.

Our experience through the next lock, #52, was a total disaster.  We had very poor communication with the lock master, barges were stacked everywhere, and we had to deal with swift currents trying to squeeze between the front of a barge and the lock wall.  We made it, but it was not a pretty sight.  This lock is an accident waiting to happen and the sooner the new lock and dam are completed the better (it was supposed to be completed in 2014, but the current schedule indicates 2020 before completion).

We passed Fort Massac on the Illinois side of the river; legend has it that as early as 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his soldiers constructed a primitive fortification here to defend themselves from native attack.  Fort Massac was built by the French in 1757, during the French and Indian War.  In the Fall of 1803, the Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped at Fort Massac on their way west, recruiting two volunteers.  During the summer of 1805, former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr and Gen. James Wilkinson met at Fort Massac where they allegedly drew up plans to conquer Mexico.

This is the junction of the Cumberland River and the Ohio River…..ooops, we were supposed to turn here to return to our home port at Green Turtle Bay and cross our wake on Americas Great Loop.  We decided to take another side trip to Evansville, Indiana and visit family and friends before completing our adventure.

We have cruised almost 7000 miles on our Great Loop Adventure, and of all of the places we have been, the inland rivers and lakes are among our favorites.