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Ohio River

Evansville, Indiana Boat Ramp (Mile 792.5) to John T. Myers Dam in Newburgh, Indiana (Mile 776.5)

Saturday, October 10, 2011

Yes, I overdid it.  I actually paddled 32 miles today.  My enthusiasm to make it all the way downriver to Evansville blinded me to the strength of the river's current and to how long it would take me to get back to my put-in point in Newburgh.  On a normal trip I’ll go 7-10 miles in one direction and then return, but as a result of my actions today I would get back 5 hours after nightfall - at 11:30PM!  Needless to say, it was a memorable trip!  I’d occasionally paddled after dark before but never by choice.  I'd find, however, that night paddling would give me a new appreciation for a few things: 

1.  How eerie it is to have the spotlight beam from one of the pushboats play over and around you in the dark as the captain tries to discern the obstacles in his way, one of which is you!

2.  How clear the “hoots” of owls are as they carry over the waters’ surface.

3.  How vulnerable you can feel in the midst of the unknown and how much you will appreciate the light of a full moon if you, too, wind up in this situation - even if you are wearing a headlamp!

Today I began at the Edgewater Grille in downtown Newburgh around 7:30AM.  I walked my gear and kayak down the steps adjacent to the restaurant as vendors were setting up for an outdoor market.  Newburgh, Indiana (town website here and a historic site here) is a really nice little river town which is quite picturesque.  I’d recommend coming out to see it.  It's got the best sunset view of any on the river in my opinion, and you can also stop at one of a few restaurants and/or browse through several antique and variety shops.

The put-in at the bottom of the aforementioned steps is a rocky spot which is OK, but not ideal for a paddler.  It’s a bit slippery with rocks spaced just well enough to make putting your boat in and stepping over into it a little dicey.  In fact, when I got back I used a boat ramp a little further upriver as my take-out point (more on that in a sec…). 

Today I entered the water with a couple barge laden pushboats as company - Southern Towing Company’s Laura Tamble and Ingram Barge's James E. Anderson.  Southern Towing is based in Memphis.  I can't recall seeing any of their boats before but according to their website they specialize in transporting two things:  bulk liquid fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia.  Meanwhile, you’ll see Ingram’s boats all up and down the river.  Thus, when I see one it’s not just a matter of seeing it, it’s a matter of seeing if I recognize which vessel it is.  Ingram is based in Nashville.

At any rate, both of these vessels were waiting until the lockmaster could get them through the John T. Myers Dam a little more than a mile upriver from the steps.  The dam is clearly visible from Newburgh and it was in this direction that I began.  I wanted to try and check out the dam – very gingerly - before I turned to head back downriver. 

In this area of the river it's the Indiana side that has all the activity.  The Kentucky side probably hasn’t changed that much since the frontier days with its’ tree-lined, muddy bank.  It may once have been more forested but today it’s all farmland - not that that's boring!  In fact, it’s quite pleasant and serene to paddle along this side as you try to spot wildlife, and if you happen to be looking away from Newburgh you might actually imagine yourself as one of the ancient Indians paddling downriver to reach Angel Mounds centuries ago.  Angel Mounds is an old Indian settlement a couple miles downriver from Newburgh (more on that in a sec too…).

Anyway, there’s one major thing of note between Newburgh and the lock and dam – an older lock and dam, old #47!   You see, the present dam actually replaced two others - this #47 and old #46 upriver in Owensboro.  These old facilities are now recreation areas complete with boat ramps and plenty of parking.  I'd take advantage of this at the end of the day.  They don’t have lights right down at the ramp but they do have several up above it, so if you arrive after nightfall like I did you won’t be totally without light.

Anyway, as I paddled by today at about 8AM I tried to get some good pictures of the current dam through the sunny haze of the early morning.  Yet, when I got fairly close I saw that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to get too close.  The lock chamber wall will be jutting out right toward you as the river bank curves slightly in, so it can be deceptive how close it really is.  Also, since I knew that those barges I mentioned would soon be passing me to enter this chamber? 

“Uh…  No…  I think I’ll stop right here!!!” 

I turned to head back downriver…

My plan at this point was to first cross the river in order to get some good, fairly all-encompassing pictures of Newburgh from this direction.  Then I’d paddle downriver along the Kentucky side, see how far I could get by midday, and then return on the Indiana side.  Soooo…  Once the barges had passed and once I was sure that there were no more were coming (and that there were no other boats putting in at the old #47 ramp) I proceeded to cross the river, snapping pictures of downtown Newburgh as I went.  I'll try to get some better shots in time.

As mentioned, when you get to the Kentucky side you’re apt to find it very pleasant to paddle and you might very well get lost in the timelessness of it until you reach mile 779 where your attention will be drawn toward Mulzer Crushed Stone on the Indiana side.  According to their website Mulzer is a family-run business that’s been around since 1935.  They provide crushed stone for construction projects.  “From driveways to highways” looks to be their motto.

Once past Mulzer both sides of the river will look like a wilderness and on the Indiana side, somewhere between miles 780 and 782, lies the Angel Mounds Historical site.  You wouldn’t know it from being down on the water because it’s a little further inland, but the ancient Indians who lived here somewhere between 1100 and 1450 A.D. used to fish in this river.  I’ve visited Angel Mounds before and I can tell you that if you go, be sure to check out all the exhibits and stroll around the grounds (particularly on a quiet weekday).  You’ll get a feeling of deep, deep peacefulness that you will be very grateful for – a refreshment for the soul.

There’s also supposedly an island along this bank (3 mile island) but I saw no indication of the water leading around it - either on this morning or in the dark on the way back.  Looking at it on the charts it’s a very thin one.  At mile 782 you’ll find a boat ramp named after Angel Mounds.  It looks nice as it’s apparently been renovated recently.

Meanwhile, it was in the midst of paddling this section that I thought I’d seen a yellow towboat coming toward me on the Kentucky side at about mile 781, but when I got right up to it I saw that it wasn’t moving at all.  Seemingly unmanned and anchored to the spot, I wasn’t quite sure what this was doing out here all by itself.  I saw no insignia on it. 

The charts indicate that there are also a couple underwater dikes right in this area, but I didn’t notice that they had much of an effect on the current today (there are a lot more of them down in Evansville).  May I also point out that there are some really nice beach-like spots along this Kentucky side?  They’ll continue intermittently pretty much all the way down to Evansville making it pretty easy to stop and take a rest if you want.

NOTE:  Paddling here in 2019 I found what might be the island - or rather a series of a couple dozen hills of sand in the river.  At first I couldn't believe my eyes!  These were skewed over toward the Kentucky side and if I hadn't been paddling on this side I might have missed them entirely, they're so thin.

When you get to mile 784 you’ll be in a pretty significant spot because not only will you have the Southern Indiana Dock and Evansville Terminal on the Indiana shoreline, you’ll also have the Green River entering from Kentucky.  The whole area is pretty congested and there are barges all over the place.  In fact, I took one look into the mouth of the Green and immediately decided against paddling in.  Not only was it clogged with barges on both sides with a towboat working amongst them, but there were also a ton more barges and 4 more towboats operating for about the next 5 miles on the Kentucky side of the Ohio!  I steered clear of all this, abandoning my plan to paddle all the way down to Evansville on the Kentucky side.  I paddled right back over to Indiana once I was downstream of the port! 

A little more on the Green River…  You might never guess it from looking at its’ mouth, but you could probably spend the better part of a year paddling this river and its tributaries.  Not only do you have the Green itself which runs some 384 miles with 3 forks, but you’ve also got a couple large tributaries.  The Barren River comes in from the South and takes you clear past Bowling Green to Barren River Lake while the Nolin River comes in from the North and takes you past Nolin Lake and almost up to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Back to the Ohio…

From the mouth of the Green you’ll be making a looooong right curve all the way down to Evansville.  The curve will start with a line of dwellings in Indiana that runs all the way down to the US41 Bridge at mile 787 (the span connects Kentucky to Indiana).  I can tell you that the people in here were incredibly nice.  As I was paddling in the dark I had a couple really kind offers, one for food and another for a ride back to Newburgh!  My thanks to these kind people if they ever happen to read this!

At any rate, the bridge is actually plural.  Known as the Vietnam Gold Star Bridges (or just the US41 Bridges) the charts indicate that there’s a boat ramp on the upriver Indiana side of them.  I found that there were actually two of them, both of which looked ancient and crumbly, however.  You probably wouldn’t be able to use them unless you’re a paddler.  Meanwhile, there were a few more barges moored just past the bridge (and a couple on the Indiana side too) but after this I saw no more until I was down in Evansville.  As for the pushboats, there were so many of them today that I stopped trying to get all the names.  I encountered at least a dozen.

You’re now back in the wilderness after you pass the bridges with only the sounds of the cars and maybe the power boats to interrupt your reverie.  It was in this area that the famous Club Trocadero used to operate.  I’m not sure if it was visible from down on the river but my grandmother lived in Evansville all her life and she used to tell me stories about this club.  She’d been there to see the Mills Brothers, probably sometime in the 1930’s or 40’s.  “The Troc” as it was known, was a real hot spot with many famous bands coming to play.  It was also a gambling location and was eventually closed down.  This club always fascinated me, yet I just missed coming to see it before it burned down in 1990.  Alas!

As the river makes this bend into Evansville from about mile 788 to 792 you'll find that the Kentucky banks will be rocky and then they’ll become sandy at the end (in fact, this whole area is great if you're a fan of sand and sediment formations!).  You’ll also pass a couple light and daymarks on the Kentucky side, and it was in here that two AEP pushboats passed me going in different directions.  Since this writing AEP (American Electric Power) has sold their river operations division to American Commercial Barge Line so I assume I'll be seeing a lot more of their boats now.  American Commercial is based in Saint Louis as a transporter of dry bulk commodities.

Evansville was soon visible ahead of me with a docked warship as it's vanguard at about mile 792.5.  Evansville is a classic river town and you can find much more information about it at Visit Evansville Indiana.

The ship is the U.S.S. battleship LST.  It's been retired here.  I tried to get a picture as I paddled by, but the prow of the ship so cut into the current that the water flow quickly slipped me right past before I could get my camera ready!  Behind this ship is the mouth of a harbor called Marina Pointe.  A few businesses have apparently come and gone here but it appears that they’ve not yet given up on this great location.  As I'm updating this journal in 2018 I see that the current business here is named KC's Marina Point.  It looks like a fun place to check out.

What’s nice about Evansville is that they’ve got a great scenic river walkway stretching the length of the downtown area and if you were to walk along it sometime (something I recommend) you’d get a history lesson, both on the Ohio and on the city itself from all of the placards spaced along at different intervals.  Evansville has a lot going from the business side here too.  Some of the most prominent ones in town have their headquarters here including Vectren Energy and Old National Bank.  There’s also the Casino Aztar (now called the Tropicana) with its hotel and sternwheel boat (now sadly gone) to go with a local museum and a visitor center.

Perhaps most interesting of all the structures is the old brick building you’ll see to the very right of the picture above.  This is the old McCurdy Hotel which opened in 1917.  The McCurdy was once a premier place to stay, boasting such visitors as Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn and Richard Nixon!  My grandparents used to come here too when they were in the mood for an upscale dining experience.  Problem is, the hotel couldn’t stay in business and it was eventually converted into a nursing home before being unoccupied for many years at the time of this original writing in 2011.  I'd always hoped that they'd get someone to come in, restore it, and maybe return it to being a hotel - or maybe even an apartment or condominium complex.  This is what occurred.  The apartment website is here.

Another nice waterfront asset here is a large boating area, complete with a ramp and tons of parking.  The area is so nice and large that up until a couple years ago they used it for hydroplane races.  This was a great event for the city and I hope they’ll be able to do it again someday.  Anyway, when I was younger I remember my grandpa driving us all down to the river at this spot and how intimidated I used to feel as a young boy as we drove closer and closer toward the water.  It felt like we were entering the lair of some great beast!  At such times grandpa would tell us about the time he swam across this river on a bet as a teenager, probably sometime in the 1920’s or 30’s.  No small feat!

All of this was a lot to reminisce on and there were lots of pictures to take too, so I paddled around for quite a while to let the significance of Evansville sink in.  I didn’t want to leave.  Never do...  I’ve been coming here ever since I was a toddler to visit relatives.  Now I return every year and it's become kind of a spiritual center for me; a place to sort of “regroup” and reminisce.  Every time I come back, though, I want to stay.  Maybe I will someday.

It was about 2PM now and I'd reached Casino Aztar's boat.  It was about time for me to head back or I was going to be in trouble (how much trouble I hadn't yet realized!).  I thus very carefully but very quickly passed over to the other side of the water and stopped for a time at a spot on one of the sandy beaches, perhaps near the point at which my grandfather might have stopped before swimming back to Evansville.

Anyway, once I got going and began to work my way back upriver toward Newburgh I first encountered some oddly behaving water.  There were swirling eddies everywhere and I kept a mind on my balance.  This was the area where some more of those dikes were supposed to be - 4 on this side and 3 of them would come in quick succession.  One actually curved about half way into the river and then branched.  This was where the oddest water seemed to be, and I remember one time when I was at the hydroplane races I saw a sandy island at about this point.  This dike may have accounted for that.

At any rate, it was well before I reached the US41 Bridges that I realized I was going to be in trouble.  It seemed to take forever just for them to come into view - and I was on the Kentucky side now with a clearer upriver perspective!  I had really misjudged the current, and I decided to cross back over to the Indiana side as soon as it was safe to do so.  I certainly didn’t want to make that crossing after nightfall!  Besides, if I hadn’t done so I might not have received those kind offers of help from the people onshore.  I’ve always thought that when your plans don’t work out it means that the Lord wants to show you something.  Maybe in this particular case it was the kindness of strangers.

Below was the last picture I got for two reasons - my camera does not take good pictures at night, and I only had one good set of batteries left to use for my headlamp.  I'd need them.  Luckily the light of the full moon was enough for me to go for periods without the lamp and save battery power.  The only times I really needed it were when I noticed boats coming.

Speaking of which, I seemed to have one boat in particular as company – the one I mentioned with the light that played on and around me in the dark.  The vessel was with me nearly the whole way back (at least I think it was the same vessel).  At first it headed slowly downriver, passing me, and then it headed back up to pass me again just before I reached Newburgh.

The only thing that spooked me in the darkness?  Well, there were two things...  One was paddling around the aforementioned Southern Indiana Dock and Evansville Terminal at mile 784.  You see, there was a boat jutting out toward me in a downriver direction from shoreline and I just couldn’t figure out if it was moving or not!  There were others boats moving on the other side of the river.  Was this one moving??  It took several very tentative minutes before I realized that it was stationary and that it was safe to move on!

The second thing that spooked me was some kind of animal along the shoreline up near Angel Mounds.  At first I thought it was a deer or maybe even a large dog, but I couldn't tell even with my light shining on it.  Then, when it noticed me it started swimming out toward me and it wasn't until I began paddling further toward mid-river that the animal headed back to shore and promptly disappeared!  I never did learn what it was, but I'm pretty sure it was a dear.  On subsequent trips I've seen them further out into the water than I would have ever believed possible!  As of 2019 I've also seen a news story about some fishermen who encountered a deer wandering 5 miles offshore!  Apparently they can escape predators by swimming and they're actually pretty good at it!

Were my shoulders ever sore by the time I got back to Newburgh!  So much so, that I didn’t really care to walk my boat and gear all the way back up the Edgewater Grille steps.  Instead, I paddled a little further upriver to the ramp at the old dam, then walked back to my car in Newburgh before driving back to pick up my boat.  May I say that there’s nowhere else on the river that I'd rather have taken out this night than in Newburgh.  It’s seems to be a pretty safe.  In fact there were still many nice people out walking along the river even at 11:30 at night!  I will never forget this trip, but if you decide to come out please be prepared that paddling down to Evansville and back makes for a looooong day!

DIRECTIONS:

From I64 take exit 29A toward Evansville/Henderson, KY and head south until you get to the exit for Newburgh.  It’s SR662 or Covert Avenue.  Head east.  You’ll go through a few stoplights and then the two lanes will merge into one prior to the last light.  You’re real close.  Stay on the main road.  You’ll soon reach a stop sign right in downtown Newburgh.  Here you can take a right on State Street, park, and then head toward the Edgewater Grill Restaurant.  You can’t miss it along the waterfront and the steps I used are right beside it.  Alternatively, if you want to go to the boat ramp, just take a left when State Street dead ends at the Edgewater Grill.  The ramp is a little way up at the site of an old lock and dam which will be on your on your right.