last bridge over the Ohio - US 51, 60, 62 southeast of Cairo
OK - I know it's really dark and I could be standing on the boat launch of any river or lake anywhere in the US. But that is me standing at the eastern tip of Fort Defiance State Park, just southeast of Cairo, IL. I'm holding a GPS, which, if you look closely, says, "Rob, you're about 500 feet from the tripoint." The point itself is out in the middle of the river; the big ol' light in the picture below is a light on a bouy out just about where the tripoint is.
though it looks like I've photoshopped
myself into this picture, it is not a cheesy composite.
I headed south to try to catch the Dorena-Hickman ferry first thing in the morning. I camped near a boat launch right on the Mississippi - on "Number Seven Island." Sounded very X-Files to me. Number Seven Island.
I was considering camping there at the state park, which had nice facilities, but I pushed on south and west into Missouri. I was hungry; I ate a hit-the-spot little pasta thing in a Pizza Hut in Charelston, about 15 miles west of Cairo. I was the only customer in there and the girl that was waiting on me, though she had absolutely nothing else to do, still managed to ignore me to the extent that I needed to actually stand up after my plate was empty for about 10 minutes and ask for the check...