8/27 The furthest west we will go and SAT questions

It rained very hard again last night.  So after a few days of good rain, the river is running high.  We are not used to having the river current giving us so much assistance.  We can be going 8.7 knots on only 1600 RPM.  For us, that is fast!!

But with the current came the effects of the rain.  The water is brown and silty looking. 

There were all sorts of trees in the water and huge logs to dance around. 

Don't forget that we are still looking out for the tows.  John said it was like SAT questions.  If we are going 8.5 knots and the tow coming toward us is going 4.2 knots, when will we pass each other if we are 4 nautical miles apart?  Here we are meeting a tow as we go over a dam with the wickets down.

We saw some beautiful scenes in nature.  Today, I finally got a picture of an eagle, although we have seen many.

  It was a little unnerving to hear gun shots!!!   Each time we would see jon boat on shore.  Hunting and fishing are common.  Here is a fish trap that was outside the channel, thankfully.

The industry continues to impress me.  The Central Illinois Power Plant is just huge.

Here is a large grain operation.

Periodically, tows are lined up on either side of the river.

We went as far west as we will go on our Great Loop,  90 degrees 38.763 West. 

We anchored there just south of Big Blue Island on the recommendation of Bob, the owner of Tall Timbers, where we stayed last night. 

It was a beautiful anchorage.  It was just off the channel on the Left Descending Bank.  It was protected by the island and far enough off the channel that no tows would even come close. 

The sunset was stunning.  I posted this to Facebook because it was so awe-inspiring. 

It had been a real hot day and sitting on the back of the boat, I was treated to spectacular light show of heat lightening.  The tows work day and night.  Before going to bed, this tow went down the river.  Note that the red lights are in the front of the tow and the white lights are at the back.  It is impressive as it goes quietly by.

Lat 39 degrees 41.964 North
Long 90 degrees 38.763 West