Blennerhassett Bridge

I was up in the Parkersburg WV area a couple of weeks ago and got this shot of the Blennerhassett Bridge.

There's one good spot to get a shot of this bridge, and that's on a boat in the river. I hope to do just that next summer. But you know how they say life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Here's another.

It's a cool bridge to drive across. Sometime when the traffic is right, maybe I'll be brave enough to pull over, jump out of my car and get a picture of the river.

Roundup 11/30/2013

Wonder how Louisville looks from space, heat-wise? Check out the pictures here. I hope to actually read the article later today.

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It looks like another Ohio River bridge is in the works, with this one up in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle.

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In case you wonder how the Commonwealth of Kentucky is paying for a new bridge over the river at Louisville ...

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Keeping with the Kentucky theme, here's a short article -- one of many lately -- about the coal woes of Central Appalachia.

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Moving up the river a bit, Asian carp may or may not be present in the upper Ohio. This explains the ambiguity in an otherwise "duh" statement.

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I can't believe I've not made it up to the river museum in Marietta, Ohio, yet. This gives me another reason to go.

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That's about all for now. More later, maybe.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all

Or yinz, if you live far enough upriver.

My favorite Marine is home for a few days -- the first time in almost a year. I hope you all have as good a time as we expect to have today.

M/V West Virginia

I saw this fine boat backing out of the Kanawha today. It was backing out so it could head up the Ohio with several loads of coal and material that looked like sand, although it could have been anything, I guess.

She was built in 1967, meaning in about four years she'll turn 50. I remember the '60s. It's hard to believe they were that long ago.

Dry period again

Sorry for several days of no posting, but life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. I can say that a nine-month-old baby can eat into your time something powerful. My wife says the kid used to go through 2.1 adults per day, but that's up to 3.7 now.

Traffic on the river has been light during the times I've been able to get down there. Today I did see a boat that I hadn't seen before: the M/V Capt. Kirby DuPuis.

The other day I was on the iPhone checking Ohio River lock activity when I noticed some boat ID numbers had hyperlinks attached to them. So I clicked one to see what information would come up. Next thing I knew, my phone dialpad came up on the screen and I heard a phone ringing, so I hung up immediately.

Speaking of which, how do you "hang up" when there is no handpiece and no hook to hang anything on? But "hang up" sound more colorful than "ended the call," you know?

Catching up on the news

I don't have much firsthand knowledge about the Mike Fink riverboat on the Covington KY riverfront, but apparently there are questions about its future.

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Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany IN are getting a path along the Ohio River to connect those communities. A $50,000 grant from the Duke Foundation will help complete design work.

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The Coast Guard is thinking about allowing gas drillers who use hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to ship their wastewater to disposal sites by barge, which has some people unhappy.

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Up in Columbiana County, Ohio, the local port authority has signed an agreement with Arrowhead Utica Pipeline LLC to connect the Marathon Ohio River terminal to another pipeline. Marathon has already announced it will ship crude oil from the Utica shale of eastern Ohio by barge to its refinery at Catlettsburg, Ky.

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And from a a few days ago, in an announcement that surprised no one, Consol Energy announced it would sell five coal mines plus its river transportation division to Murray Energy Corp.

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I'll post some photos from last week soon.

My youngest son's favorite towboat

The M/V Hoosier State passing Huntington WV.

I wonder why this is Adam's favorite boat. I have no clue at all.

M/V Miss Mae at work

At Proctorville, Ohio.