Rainy on the Mississippi River

Where is the river?

On Monday, 9/28/15, we were ready to leave Hoppies at 7:00 am, but fog covered the river. Everyone on the dock stayed put and relaxed. I cooked fried eggs and toast, and we read our novels. We waited until 10:30 am to exit: The fog had lifted, and the sun was out. 

All the barges and tows had been waiting too, so the river was filled with action.  We pulled out of Hoppies in front of a tow.  “Come on, Captain,” the tow captain said when George asked if it was ok to come in front of him. 

The Captain Shelby House viewed from our stern.

We came up behind the tow named the Captain Shelby House, which was pushing 21 barges of coal, and George called to ask if it was ok to pass him.  “It’s ok with me, Captain,” the tow replied in a lackadaisical way. When we started around him on the “One” we saw two other tows coming at us on that side.  One seemed small.  He just had three or so barges.  The other was waiting in the curve.  He had lots of barges.  As we chugged around Shelby House, the waiting tow started up and came to us too.  We were a barge sandwich.  George proved his worth around the barges and tows today.

We drove 40 miles to tie up at the Kaskaskia Lock.  This is an easy stop.  We don’t have any services, but we are all on the same dock and can visit. We are with the four other boats from Hoppies: LeeLoo, Red Eagle, Grand Baron, and Knot Too Big.  After naps, we all had docktails together and chatted for a couple of hours.  It was fun to share stories from today and other looping days.  

Looking down the dock at Kaskaskia Lock, toward Aunt Aggie.

On Tuesday, 9/29/15, we decided to stay on the Kaskaskia dock for the day since it was raining.  Thunder storms were predicted for the afternoon.  Three of the boats left around 8:30 am.  We stayed with Red Eagle.  No one else arrived, which surprised us.  

We had a quiet, rainy day.  I read a ton, and George did some engineering. We had phone and internet service, so we chatted with lots of friends and family. At 4:00 pm we walked down the dock and played cards with Sherry and Saxe on Red Eagle.  It was fun to be off the boat and to get to know them better.  They both have military backgrounds, so our lives have been quite different.  

We came back to Aunt Aggie and cooked dinner and watched House of Cards.  We’re eager to get moving this morning.  

Note:  Aunt Aggie is now listed with Curtis Stokes.  You can see the listing at http://www.curtisstokes.net/trawler-mainship350-aunt-aggie.html

If you want a loop-ready boat, give our broker a call.  

We're at Hoppies Marina.

Inside the Mel Price Lock on the Mississippi River

We had great locking experiences this morning.  We left Alton Marina at 7:10 after talking to the lock master at Mel Price lock.  He told us he could lock us through at 7:30.  And he did!  We were in this huge lock with one other trawler, Journey, from Knoxville.  Then we motored another couple of hours and went straight into the Chain of Rocks Lock.  It was open with the green light flashing.  Woohoo!

At this point we were entering the St. Louis area. It was super busy with barges and tows.  We were lucky to be moving through on a Sunday.

Gateway Arch frames the city.

We arrived at Hoppies Marina around noon. Hoppies is a series of barges tied together and tied into the stone cliff at the town of  Kimmswick, Missouri.  Hoppies is famous to loopers.  It is a must stop on our trip.  We filled up with diesel and then moved around to a spot on the barge.

This is a panoramic view of Hoppies from the top of the cliff.  Aunt Aggie is at the far right end.

We walked into town to have lunch at the Blue Owl Restaurant, which is quite famous for their levee high apple pie. I had fried chicken, and George ordered chicken fried steak. All orders come with mashed potatoes. We also got green beans and salad.  Sadly, we were too full to order the pie.  There was more to town than we had expected:  lots of shops for tourists; several streets full of charm.  On the way we passed the Anheuser Farm with well tended horses.

There were seven horses in various fields. 

 This display sits outside the restaurant, celebrating their 30th year in business.

After the rich lunch, we returned to Aunt Aggie and greeted more arriving loopers. We also took showers, naps, and read.  Around 5:00 pm all the loopers met with Fern, the dock master, for her chart talk.  Fern tells the boaters where to anchor on the Mississippi River below Hoppies.  She has been doing this for many years.  Hoppie is in the hospital today, and Fern had been there with him, so we thought we were not going to meet her.  But she came to the dock and gave us advice and answered questions. She is a treasure.  Everyone took photos of Fern.  After her talk, we sat around and discussed our plans for tomorrow.

Fern (on the right) with a fan.

We will be anchoring out for the next three nights, moving down the Mississippi, the Ohio and onto the Cumberland River. We are traveling with Lee Loo, a boat we met last week. We may not have internet coverage or cell coverage.  So do not worry.  We will make notes and share the highlights once we arrive at Green Turtle Bay on the Cumberland River. We plan to be at Green Turtle Bay by Thursday.

We're on the Mississippi River.

Sailboats on the Mississippi River this morning. 

We left Grafton and cruised 16 miles to Alton down the Mississippi River this morning.  The wind was blowing more than it has.  There were a good many folks out.  We saw the two sailboats in the photo, several duck hunters moving in camouflaged bass boats to their blinds, and three tows pushing 9 barges each.  One tow came by us soon after we entered the river.  The other two were going south with us.  They were just moving at about 4 mph, so we needed to pass them.  George called them, and 

they told us which side to pass.  It takes a while to get beside them and then to move ahead.  We do not want to pull in front even though we are traveling at 9 mph.  For a while we had a tow/barge/Aunt Aggie sandwich configuration: one tow behind us and one in front.  It was nerve-wracking. 

We passed a tow on the "one" and then had to move across the water

to pass this guy on the "two." 

Alton Marina is a great spot with a pool, hot tubs, and covered slips.  We are here with Gud Nuff,
Nuclear Fishin, and Debt Finder. We've had good chats with all of them today.  We walked to town
(1 mile) and went to Mac's sports bar to watch the GA Tech/Duke game.  We are back to our usual position as suffering Tech fans.  After the game we went across the street to the public library and read magazines.  What a pleasure!

The street is blocked for a 1960s class party tonight.

Back at the marina we had some quiet time:  I read and George plotted more courses for us on Active Captain, getting us all the way from Hoppie's to Green Turtle Bay Marina.  We appreciate this calm day.  Tomorrow we will go to Hoppie's and meet Fern and Hoppie.  Can't wait!  Then it's down the Mississippi River, three nights at anchor, two major locks on the Ohio River, and into the Cumberland River at Green Turtle Bay.  This feels like a time to store up quiet before we work hard for four days.

Grafton, IL

It seems odd to need a break from looping, but we do.  We are happy to be sitting still. Today we slept in a bit, had breakfast, read the newspaper, and did some chores.  Martha did two loads of laundry. George folded the clothes while Martha went in a van with other loopers to the grocery store.  He also did some accounting, filled the tanks with water, and tightened the packing around the propeller shaft.  After putting away groceries, we went for a walk on Main Street.  You know you are in a touristy spot when there are four ice cream shops on Main Street.  We chose Edy's Rocky Road cones.

A sunflower as big as my head!

A famous old hotel, the Reubel Hotel on Main Street in Grafton.

There are lots of loopers here, some old friends and some new.  A group is leaving tomorrow for Hoppies, an iconic looper stop on the Mississippi River.  It is always packed.  We can't get in there until Sunday, so we are moving tomorrow to Alton, just 18 miles down the river.  We will watch the GA Tech- Duke football game at 11:00 am.  (Hope springs eternal.) Very excited to be moving on the great river tomorrow.  Pull out your Mark Twain, boys!

Woohoo! We made it to Grafton.

After a slow start this morning, we went 88 miles and ended up in Grafton at 5:00 pm.  We had finished the Illinois River in five days.  Woohoo!  We had a beautiful day on the river.  Here are some interesting moments.

Just above Grafton, we came upon a lone canoe paddler in the middle of the river. 

I hope I can remember how lovely it is to be on a river in fall:

sparkling and cool with birds. 

Another section above Grafton had lots of cottages built on stilts.

The houses also were behind large trees that trapped the river's debris in the flood cycle. 

We passed three car ferries today.

Watch out!  They are coming.

When we got to Grafton, we quickly showered and went to dinner up the hill with a bunch of 

loopers.  We knew Kenny and Kathy from No Zip Code, Jim and Paula from Palmetto Paradise, and 

Ralph and Linda from Mazel Tug.  There was one new couple too.  This was a casual dining spot with great wine and a fabulous view.  So happy to be here.

Looking down the hill at the river from the restaurant.

On a Barge in Beardstown

Martha, standing on a barge at Beardstown.

On Wednesday we traveled 80 miles from Peoria to Beardstown.  We had planned to tie to a barge or tow at the Logsdon Tow Service.  They allow loopers to stay for the night for $1/foot, but there are no services.  

When we arrived, we were the 7th boat, which is more than they can handle.  We rafted to Grand Baron, glad to be done with our traveling.  It was 3:00 pm.  

Getting off Aunt Aggie and into town was a feat.  Climbing around a dirty, rusty barge, past piles of wire and wood, without falling was a challenge.  Then we had to go up an open weave, metal stair.  We persevered, realizing this was the only time we would leave the boat.  

When you have a fear of heights, climbing up these stairs was no picnic. 

Actually, coming back down is the harder part.

The barges are full of building materials.  Awkward footing at best.

Beardstown is organized around a shady square.  Most of the loopers convened at a bar that featured an outdoor picnic table and 75 cent beer.  We met more new loopers and spent more time with Red Eagle and Lee Loo.  Lady KK is also here.  

Abraham Lincoln won the famous Almanac case here in a courtroom

that is still preserved.  He was the state legislator for this county too. 

In order to raise funds to restore the Grand Opera House, 

the town is raffling off a shotgun.

Dinner was pancakes and pears.  Then we went early to sleep, hoping to leave this morning at 7:00 to finish the Illinois River in Grafton, 88 miles away.

9/24/15, 7:30 am:

Our plans were crushed when we learned that the La Grange Lock, 8 miles south of Beardstown, is closed for maintenance.  All seven boats sat at the dock.  Red Eagle called the lock on the hour for the group.  We finally did leave at 8:00 am and drove over the lock slowly.  Yahoo! 

We had no internet on Wednesday, so I am sending this in route on Thursday morning.

Two Barges before Breakfast

This is one of the barges we passed this morning at 7:00 am. 

We exited Heritage Harbor at 6:50 am with a low mist on the water.  We saw a barge coming toward us and called him on channel 16.  No response.  He passed by without incident.  George had the radio on scan and heard him talking to another barge behind him.  "It's just a little ol' pleasure boat.  He didn't even call me."  So George spoke up and asked where the next tow wanted us.  Which side?  "On the two."  Our mistake: They were on channel 14.

We motored an hour to the Starved Rock Lock and Dam and called ahead to ask about coming through the lock.  The lock master said we would have to wait 46 minutes to an hour.  We sat in the river.  Then we came down and stayed behind the giant round bollards in front of the lock.  The Lemont Trader took a long time exiting and then reconnecting his barges before he got out of our way.

We are on the far side of the bollards. You see the tow in back,

pushing these barges out of the lock. 

That was our only lock today.  The rest of the day we spent watching birds, bridges, and barges and traveling from 10 - 11 mph, trying to get to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club (the Ivy club) before 4:00 pm when the staff went home.  We just made it.  We met two new looper boats on the dock: Lady KK and LeeLoo.  We will travel with them tomorrow. 

Something we don't have in the south:  the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge. 

The Peru Highway Bridge reflects nicely. 

Hundreds of white pelicans gather on the river.

Some flew away as we passed.