Friday, August 16, 2013

Columbia River fantasy

One of these days I'm going to make it out to the Pacific Northwest again, but this time I'll visit the Columbia River. Things are different there. The barges draft 16 feet and they're of a different width than Ohio River barges. And the covers are different, too.

Because of that, the towboat pilothouses are raised higher than ones on Ohio River boats. And the exhaust or air intake stacks are a sight to behold, too.

I've never seen them in person. I have to do it through the Flickr photostream of captaintimb.

Maybe I need a Kickstarter campaign to raise a few hundred dollars to pay for the trip. I already know of some real news items I could write about some issues and controversies involving Columbia River navigation, mainly how a lot of folks out there don't want to see coal on their river at all.

But check out captaintimb's pictures. If you watch Ohio River boats, you might find these interesting, too.

The M/V Earl Franklin and the M/V Milton

Two Amherst Madison boats doing some dredging at the Gallipolis Locks and Dam.


Okay, so it was renamed the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam a long time ago. That doesn't mean I have to give up the name I grew up with, does it?

And what do folks on the lower part of the river call the John T. Myers Locks and Dam? Does anyone still call it Uniontown?