On The Road

Update ~ Our computer motherboard blew today 11/18/2016.
We are going to be taking a long Blogger break till we can afford a new computer which might be awhile.
I am typing this from the library as a person let me have five minutes of their time.

For November the weather has been exceptionally nice.  Lee said Sweet William The Scot pack your bed and lets do a little road trip so we can show our friends things outside of Nati City.

On the road again

Seein' things that I may never see again

We're the best of friends
On the road again.

Here is our first turn off!

Yep first stop is Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks & Dam.

The Dam opened in December 1964.

Its length is 1,756 ft (535.2 m)

The amount of coal transported down river from Pittsburgh jumped greatly following the Civil War. The size of the tows also grew with the amount of coal hauled.

The Rivers and Harbors Act allowed the production of a system of locks and dams along the Ohio.

Which made the river navigable all the time.

The dams are non-navigable and made of concrete and steel. Each dam has two adjoining locks, one 600-foot by 110-foot chamber, and a 1,200-foot by 110-foot chamber to accommodate fifteen barges that can lock through in one maneuver.

We see two barges coming from the east.

The first barge is maneuvering into the spot closest to us.

He dinged his bell and waved at us. My ears went back with the ding.

See the man standing at the point.

He is getting into place.

And the Marathon Barge is going in.

See his top!

The barge is going down.

Down.

The barge is so low you can hardly see his top!

On the Kentucky side of the river in the distance you can see The Meldahl hydroelectric facility .

The river hydroelectric power plant provides new, renewable generation to the region. Located near Maysville, Kentucky, the facility is the largest hydroelectric power plant on the Ohio River.

It became fully operational just this past April 2016.

Currently they are planning three more turbine hydroelectric plant and spillway addition to the Meldahl Locks and Dam.  Clean energy isn't it great.

At normal pool elevation the length is 95 miles (153 km) upstream encompassing an area of 21,700 acres (88 km).

If we were on the other side of drive we could see the barge come out at a lower river level.

The second barge is going into the second slot.

On the other side of the river is Maysville, Kentucky where George Clooney, the actor is from.

We could take the ferry across but that is not our destination now.

His maneuvering was not so great, we could hear the barge scrape the far wall.

Diagram shows you how the lock works.

Here is a hand forged anchor.  Type used in the early 1800's.

Estimated weight 1800 pounds.  If we could lift it we could take it home.

Well we are back on the road and the field has round hay bales covered with white water repellant sheets.

Our next stop is Freedom Hill.

Yep we are on the Underground Railroad Trail.

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