March 6, 2018:

This winter we spent time taking care of health issues (it is all part of getting old) and planning our next big adventure aboard Twelve Stones.

Lord willing we plan on leaving Ft. Myers, Florida around May 1, 2018, cross the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida panhandle, then turn right at Mobile Bay and head north all the way to the intersection of the Cumberland River & the Ohio River. At the Ohio River we will turn right and navigate the Ohio River for 923 statute miles (SM) to Pittsburgh, PA.  

The Ohio River is formed by confluence of the Allegheny & Monongahela (MON) rivers at Point State Park in Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh we will travel the Monongahela River for 129 SM to the highest sea level elevation point in North American that a boat can get to from the sea. WOW!!!

OHIO RIVER MISC. FACTS:

Begins in Pittsburg, PA, [MM 0]; Ends in Cairo, IL, [MM 981] 

981 statute miles long, (852 Nautical Miles) 

Average Depth is roughly 24 feet 

Deepest point is 132 feet in the Louisville KY area, [MM 604] 

Widest point is 1 mile at the Smithland Dam, [MM 918.8] (Just north of downtown Louisville).

20 Dams 

49 power generating facilities 

Provides drinking water for over 3 million people

Over 230 million tons of cargo 

Ohio River discharges 180 BILLION gallons of water each day into the Mississippis River.

           Only basin in Pennsylvania that drains into the Gulf of Mexico

River flows through or along the border of 6 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are all connected with the river.

Major cities:  Pittsburgh, PA. / Huntington, WVA. / Cincinnati, OH. / Louisville, KY. / Evansville, IN. /

Hope you check back here often so you can enjoy the journey with us.