Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river



I, Sweet William The Scot, want to show you something.

We have to follow these plaques.  They are smokestack plaques of a bygone era when paddlewheel and steamboats went up and down the Ohio River daily. 

This plaque tells of  the Robert E. Lee, nicknamed the "Monarch of the Mississippi," was a steamboat built in New Albany, Indiana in 1866.

Sidewheel Packet Buckeye State.

 Set the all-time steamboat speed record of 43 hours between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in May 1850

 Louisville and Cincinnati mail packet steamer "Jacob Strader".

The "Jacob Strader" was a troop carrier during the Civil War and was dismantled in 1866.

If you follow all the plaques which are dozens you get to this,

The National Steamboat Monument!

This monument is a reminder of the steamboat heritage of Cincinnati.

At the height of the riverboat era, in the mid 1800s, 8,000 riverboats a year, an average of about 22 per day, docked near this spot.

 The Monument is topped by a the original 30-foot diameter paddlewheel of the American Queen, the largest overnight passenger steamboat to be built in the last half century.  We have watched it pass by our city many times.  Lee would love to take a cruise on the American Queen.

Beneath the bright red wheel are two dozen stainless steel columns, or torchiers, built to represent smokestacks. Photo sensers set off steam jets that whistle and hiss through these stacks when a person passes them.

This center circular plaque tells you which way to walk to get them to play.  You have to walk in the order it states and you cannot do it slow.  But it is fun to hear them go off.  I got my ears up because they are playing now as Lee runs around.  Lee is being silly.

During the Civil War The Navy Department had under contract a man who had experience in designing river craft, one Samuel M. Pook.  Seven gunboats were made. The seven gunboats in the class were named for cities on the Mississippi or its tributaries. They were: USS Cairo, Carondelet, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, Pittsburg, and St. Louis.

Their awkward appearance struck the fancy of the farm boys who saw them, and they christened them "Pook's Turtles."  

We like to read the history of the boats that traveled the Ohio.

 If you don't want to walk along you can rent bikes and wheel carts of all kinds to peddle around our riverfront.  It makes for a fun time. See the BB Riverboats in the background.

You pass by the Great American Ball Park on the winding banks of the Ohio River.  Home of the Cincinnati Reds.  The ballpark officially opened for the 2003 season.  The ballpark has smokestacks which shoot fireworks when the Cincinnati Reds get a home run.

 The sign for the All Star Game is still up with Mr. Redlegs face.

The truck was parked at the top of the Stadium.  How in the world did it get up there.  That takes talent.

These are the BB Riverboats.  Dining Cruises, sight seeing cruises, private charter, weddings.

Lee has done their dining cruises which she enjoys.

Now this man we see often on the river.
What a way to travel the mighty Ohio River.

Well see you next week! 

Thanks for being a  friend
Traveling down the road and back again
Your heart is true and your a friend of  mine

Signing Off 

Sweet William The Scot