If
you live in this area, you’ll hear the Dorena Hickman Ferry
mentioned. As a bit of trivia, Kentucky and Missouri are the
only two border states in the United States that are not directly connected by
a road. Someone might say “Aha, but what about at
Wickliffe?”. You can easily get to Missouri from Wickliffe, but you
have to cross a bridge from there to Illinois and then to
Missouri. I’d read about the ferry online so I thought to myself –
“Why don’t I just take a ride and see for myself?”. So, I mapped a
path for the Dorena Missouri landing and headed out. The trip takes a
little over an hour from where I live. I crossed over the previously
mentioned bridges. I did note there is now a gas station when you
get to the Missouri side. You should especially note this if you are
going to Dorena. Why? There is pretty much nothing else
for the rest of your approximately 30 minute drive.
I
reached the Dorena landing with no problem. I had read that you must
press a button to summon the ferry. However when I got there,
it was already there. The end gate was open and I could pull my car
right on. The ferry was much bigger than I imagined. It could easily
hold several semis. When I pulled on, a gentlemen came up to talk to
me. He asked if I would turn my car around so it would be
easier for me to get off. I had plenty of room and he helped me as
well. Once I got turned around, we talked a bit. He said
I could stay in my car with the air on, or I could just walk around or go to
the railing. It cost 14.00 to cross. He gave me a receipt
that he said I could use whenever I wanted to for a 7.00 return
trip. He told me it was about 1.25 miles to the opposite shore where
Hickman KY is. I had the run the ferryboat. The part I
(and my car was on) was concrete. It was no problem walking back and
forth. I even caught a little breeze as I watched the river and
shores. I would say this was as close as I’d ever get to doing what
Huck Finn did. It took a little over fifteen minutes to reach the other
side. He unlatched the gate once we got to the other side. I
drove right off and was in Hickman KY.
I’ve always found it interesting that not only is Hickman not in Hickman County (it’s in Fulton County) but it’s the county seat. The city of Fulton in Fulton County is not even though it’s quite a bit bigger. The county seat of Hickman County which borders Fulton County to the north is Clinton by the way. I hope that wasn’t too confusing. Anyway, I (being me of course) had scouted out a couple of options for lunch. I headed for the first one called Broadway Pizza. It looked like an old building with a faded Pepsi sign in front. So, I tried to find the South 7th Grill. My GPS took me to an empty lot. So, I headed back to Broadway Pizza. It was a small building with just a counter to order and no seating. I did see the lady at the counter cutting up a chocolate pie. She told me when I walked in that the daily special was hamburger steak. I asked if that came with grilled onions and she said “Yes and gravy”. So, I was hooked and ordered that. I also asked for a slice of the chocolate pie. I sat on a bench to wait. It didn’t take too long. She also told me a canned drink came with it. I got the hamburger steak, mashed potatoes and green beans plus a roll (and my drink and pie) for 8.00. I didn’t think that was too bad. The thing was I needed to find a place to sit and eat.
The last time I’d been to that area
was when the boys were in high school They used to regularly run in
cross country events at Fulton County High School. So, I went to
that parking lot. I sat there and ate my lunch. I took
the pie home and ate it later (it was pretty good). On the way home,
I went through Cayce (the home of Cayce (Casey) Jones – the famed railroad
engineer. I noticed there was even a Cayce Café (Cayce would make
Hickman look like a bustling metropolis). I may have to try that at
some point. I made it home with no issue. So,
if you are looking for a neat trip across the Mississippi and a good meal
afterwards, I’d recommend it.
By the way, if you don’t understand
the title reference, you’re not a real fan of 1980s music 😊.
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