Day 50: R 11/1- Al the Artist Fisherman

We cruised early off, knowing that it was going to be a short day. We stopped at a marina and were able to refill our water. We tried stopping at a park to charge the phone but failed to find any. We also passed a statue turned out toward the river, which was the "Lady of the Rivers".
The Mel Price Lock and Dam (26) was pleasant and informative as the friendly lock operators gave us pointers on the confluence of he Missouri River into the chain of rocks channel.
After the lock we pulled up immediately off to the shore were there were a few fisherman. When we landed, a guy who was setting up came down the hill and chatted with us about our trip an shared about his life. After our interaction we went up to the pavilion of the park and finally found power. We charged the phone and Maggie walked over to the museum at the park to find out more about the "water trail". She found out that the campsites below lock 27 existed but weren't mapped yet. As we were less than fifteen miles to lock 27, we didn't buy the map nor gather any information. When we were about to leave the pavilion after charging our phone, our fisherman pal came for another chat as he was finishing up.
His name was Al; and he was, self proclaimed the worst fisherman. He also an early retired artist and dealer, kind hearted fellow, eager to help us how ever he could. He offered to run us to a store, but we didn't need anything very badly and needed to go before dark, we refused. He even offered to give us his number to help us closer to St. Lois where he lived. We chatted a bit and he told us a bit about the "Lady of the Rivers", then he sent us off with a couple of delicious beverages he had left over from fishing.
The whole day with the wonderful interactions, beautiful weather, and ability to charge up and get water, boosted our sprits. We made a few miles through the industry and pulled off on the last federal island before the chin of rocks, which was on the chain of Maple Island. About seventeen miles for the day but we would be ready for St. Lois in the morning.