December 2nd, 2020
We had travelled a bit away from the Mississippi River for a few days to Ferne Clyffe State Park, IL (yup, that's the Ye Olde spelling) and were heading to Reelfoot Lake State Park, TN (yup, reely). The route we plotted included a 20 minute Mississippi River ferry ride from Dorena, MO to Hickman, KY.
We called the ferry before we started out in the morning from Ferne Clyffe to make sure they were running this time of year and to ask about the schedule. We were told they run all year and to call when we were 10 minutes away. Apparently, they go back and forth across the river on demand!
After making a few stops along the way - a bird viewing platform at the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (no birds), the Ten Mile Pond Observation Area (hundreds of birds but too far away to identify), and Big Oak Tree State Park (some champion trees, a bald eagle, a swamp boardwalk trail) we called the ferry at about 3:00 to say we would be there in a few minutes. . .
Only to find out that the ferry had stopped operating that afternoon due to a mechanical problem. They had no idea when it would start up again. It wasn’t clear, their southern accent was hard to understand, were they waiting for a part to be delivered?
We looked at a map, asked Google, and found out that instead of the 25 miles to the campground by way of the ferry, it was more than 100 miles and over 2 hours of driving via the “nearest” bridge.
We drove the few minutes to the ferry landing to see if we could get more info but no one was there. Two extra hours of driving at that time in the afternoon did not sound appealing. We made a few calls to try and find a nearby place where we could park overnight. Then if the ferry still wasn’t running by sometime the next morning, we would head for one of the bridges.
Long story short, we found out we could just stay the night by the ferry landing. That would work! So we made ourselves comfortable. Walked around enjoying the view of the river and the shore. Watched barges float by. Saw some birds. A car pulled up; we told the driver that the ferry wasn't operating. Watched the car turn around and drive off, restoring peace and quiet. Started making supper.
Barge floating by
And then the ferry pulled in.
This was no Staten Island Ferry. It was a flat barge, a smaller version of one of the hundreds we had seen transporting cargo down the river, pushed by a tug boat or more accurately, a pusher boat.
It seems the ferry had gotten tangled in one of the buoys in the river, and the delay was for a diver to be located to deal with it. The ferry was still dragging the buoy.
The ferry was going to be able to make the last run of the day, at around 5:30. A few pickups drove up. One of them dragged the buoy ashore. The buoy looked like a cross between a torpedo and Little Boy. Bob went outside to supervise and take pictures. Bob had an interesting (socially distant) conversation with one of the drivers waiting to get on. He was a farmer who lived in Kentucky but whose farm was in Missouri. The ferry was part of his daily commute. He also may have been the ferry's owner.
The ferry was going to be able to make the last run of the day, at around 5:30. A few pickups drove up. One of them dragged the buoy ashore. The buoy looked like a cross between a torpedo and Little Boy. Bob went outside to supervise and take pictures. Bob had an interesting (socially distant) conversation with one of the drivers waiting to get on. He was a farmer who lived in Kentucky but whose farm was in Missouri. The ferry was part of his daily commute. He also may have been the ferry's owner.
The buoy
Bob wasn't the only one supervising
or taking pictures. This was the farmer.
We had settled in and were looking forward to camping in this great spot, so we told the ferry operator we would catch the ferry in the morning. The locals were amused by how entertained we were watching the trucks being loaded on the ferry.
Bon Voyage!
It was a wonderful evening and night. The almost full moon was reflected on the water. It was just us, the river, and some massive farm equipment parked nearby. Nice and quiet all night except for some occasional booming on the Kentucky side of the river from one of the industrial? processing? complexes there.
We watched the ferry cross the river over to our side in the morning at about 7:30. The sun was behind low clouds making it seem even earlier than it was. The commuters drove off. The farmer from yesterday was one of them. He rolled down his window to ask us how our night was. “Best campsite ever!” was our reply.
Once again, the locals - the crew and other passenger, were amused by us and by how much we enjoyed the 20 minute crossing. We were taking a Mississippi River Cruise! Regular tourists pay big bucks for this! Goodbye Missouri, hello Kentucky! 
A historic photo. This ferry has been running since 1840 and hasn't changed much.
We were able to spend some time at the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge on our way to the campground. It would have been too late had we come the day before.
Next post will have photos from places mentioned in this post.
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