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Page #2
The locks were operating from 10:00am to 8:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Since I was up early and the first downstream lock was only a mile away, I decided to go upstream the 16 miles to Lock #5 (non-operating) and then return for the run to the confluence with the Ohio River.
Once underway I am struck by how narrowness of the river. Normally it ran about 200” wide but at some places it is only about 150’. Next I was surprised by the homes along the shore. Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky so obviously a city of some influence. Normally I expect to see the river front property in a city owned by the more wealthy class and homes that match their life style. But here it wasn’t the case. Most all of the homes and cabins were modest. Not that I see this as a bad thing. It is nice to see that average people like me have a shot of owning property on the water in this area.
The shore lines of the river are covered with trees and normally at least one side is a steep bank if not vertical of at least 100’ tall. Some places are much higher. Because of the shelter provided by the high banks and the wind nature of its course the wind has little effect on the water and it is often like glass.
At the time I was making my trip the waters were receding after being high as result of heavy rain. That in turn not only made it a little cloudy but also was delivering the normal fare of river junk. Not a lot and nothing large but enough to annoy and somewhat distract my attention when I would have preferred to be just looking at the countryside.
The weather was great with the high temps at about 85 and lows in the low 70’s. The humidity though was very high and I saw short rain showers several times most every day. But that is exactly what I built Therapy to handle. Rain doesn’t slow her down or detract from the cruise as we can continue to just plug along and enjoy the ride while I am sitting dry comfortable.
The locks all monitor channel 13 on the VHF radio but usually they are not needed. The lockmasters seem to keep a close eye on things and start to cycle the lock when they see you approaching. They were all very pleasant and willing to talk about the locks, their history and in general what was happening in the area. They offered advise on the river ahead and pointed out any possible problem points (river snag) as well as reminding me of their hours of operation to make sure I didn’t get caught where I didn’t want to be.
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I arrived late Friday night and decided to sleep
in Therapy on the trailer on the city parking lot.
