Return From Augusta

Last weekend Dianne and I went to Augusta, KY. After taking a ferry across the Ohio river, we returned to Cincinnati on the Ohio side.

Along the way we stopped at the Chilo Locks Park on US 52 near Chilo, of course. The site of a former lock on the Ohio river has been transformed into a park and nature preserve. Check out their web site and scroll down a bit for photos from the 1930s and today to see difference in the river level. My photo to the right shows the former powerhouse of the lock. The lock was closed in the early 60's due to some damage caused by an accident. With the larger and deeper Meldahl locks in place, the Chilo locks weren't repaired and they closed once the Meldahl dam was completed. According to a sign at Chilo, the depth of the Meldahl lock was sufficient to replace 3 other locks as well. That must have been a time saver for barge traffic. The Clermont County park district has done a beautiful job with the site. The buildings are in good shape (except the water tower needs some work) and there is lots of green space, parking, and some shelters for gatherings.

Dianne was having a sneezing fit when we were there. I looked around a bit a snapped a few photos. The park has a wonderful view of the Ohio river. I like this photo I got of the river side of the Chilo lock powerhouse. In this high dynamic range image, the reflection of the blue sky and clouds in the windows really pop out. The sign indicates it was the 34th lock on the river. The scale is for river height. The flood stage in Cincinnati is about 50 feet. The sidewalk is quite a bit above the river today -- click here to see a downstream view towards Meldahl dam that shows the steep bank. What's amazing is that in the Ohio river flood of 1937, the water level reached 80 feet in Cincinnati -- to the top of the scale here! That's a lot of water!!

While in front of the powerhouse, I took a series of images for a 360 degree panorama photo of the site. It's a large image, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I used a polarizing filter to bring out the blue sky. Had to keep adjusting it as I moved the camera around. I posted a version of the panorama here. I also made a globe view of the panorama that is at the bottom of this post.

A few miles downstream I pulled in to the Meldahl lock and dam area. There is a large, shady park area with picnic tables and shelters, but you can't see much. The lock area is heavily fenced off and the fences are fairly far away from the lock. There was a tug with several barges using the lock. The only decent photo I got was of this old anchor on display in the park. Not a recommended stop unless you're going to take advantage of the nature watch areas.

A bit closer to Cincinnati we stopped at Point Pleasant to see the birthplace of Ulysses Grant. A national historic landmark, they have the restored cabin back on the spot where he was born (it had toured the country back in the 1800s). The cabin is the building on the left in my photo. There is a nice park there with lots of information signs. You can also tour the cabin. Just across the main road is another park right on the Ohio river. The stone bridge for the main road, honoring Grant, is good to check out too. If you're in the area, it's worth a stop to look around.