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September 1st – Mississippi River
September 14th, 2010 | Author:

Mississippi Mud Pie! Now I know why it is call that. The river is brown. It takes both of us looking ahead watching for floating logs, or worse, branches or trees stuck in the river waiting to get your props. Kelley continues to call the approaching tows – rarely do they answer; it seems that we meet them in a narrow curve where there is turbulence! We have learned that if the tow is negotiating a turn, it is best to be prepared to take the inside curve.

Generally Loopers travel from Hoppies to Little Diversion Channel. That is a run of  almost 110 miles. We did have the current with us. Having left at 6:40 we were surprised to arrive at the Channel at 3ish. It was hot and the Channel is well protected, from everything (except bugs). So we looked at Skipper Bob and decided to stay cool for a bit longer we would go onto Browns Chute, 27 miles away. We thought we would get there by 4. We did.

We pulled in and Kelley got us to a perfect spot. The current was running and dropping and securing the anchor was easy – stay in gear and not let the current push you back too quickly. It was perfect – until we heard something making a nosie – and not consistently. I opened the hatch to the engine room and saw that the props were free spinning. The noise would drive us nuts. We had one more option from the book. Boston Bar, 14 miles away.

Up came the anchor with many branches attached, and we went on. We kept looking at the channel as we went wondering where we could pull in if we needed to for the night. There are spots where the barges don’t have anchors set, but they are not marked on the charts as safe. On we went. Finally, we neared the spot and there was another boat there. And what was the noise? Rifles! They were shooting into the hill! but, it was after 6, getting dark, and we went in. We anchored in front of them. They had the nice view of the cove and we saw the hills. No current to speak of, no wind, secure anchor; we were home for the night.

Mississippi River: Mile 158.5  (Hoppies Marina) to Mile 7.7 (Boston Bar)

Miles covered: 151       Bridges: 3          Locks: 0

Left at 6:40 am      Arrived at 6:30 pm

Category: 2010, Cruising, Illinois, Mississippi River  | Comments off
August 26th through the 29th
September 06th, 2010 | Author:

We have stayed at the Grafton Marina. This is a cute one street town. There are wineries, restaurants, antique shops and fresh produce spots, one that sells home made pies.

On Wednesday Diane and I walked the town and went into every shop around. I was lucky enough to get my hair done and must say I was quite pleased with the end result.

We rented a car and on Thursday we drove to St. Louis. We rode the lift to the top of the Arch. My goodness, what a view. Kelley picked a spot for lunch that was in the city, but walking distance from the Arch. We then drove out to the Anheuser Bush Brewery. How could we not? After the tour: 2 tastes of their beers, your choice. After that we got back into the car and drove around Forest Park where the world fair took place in 1904. It is a huge park and this is where the zoo is. This zoo rivals San Diego zoo. It is free! Take a lesson San Diego.

Friday we were off to St Charles. What a charming historic town. The buildings have been preserved and the shops are darling. It is not filled with tourist stuff. This is a town where people live and the shops show that. I was able to pick up a few things that I needed (wanted?). Also in town is a nature center and the Louis and Clark Boathouse. We visited the museum and watched an interesting video of the expedition that these two men organized. I must say after watching what it must have been like for them I knew that doing the Mississippi for us was not going to be so horrific!

We had lunch at the Magpie Cafe! Yum! Probably one of the best places that we have eaten at. In the evening there was a looper pot luck. Since we had been gone all day, our contributions were 2 home made peach pies. Not from my home, but from the produce shop. We all appreciated them!

On  Saturday we returned the car. Diane organized an outing to one of the wineries. After tasting their wines, we all ordered a beer and listened to the music. Afterward we went back to the marina and met with the rest of the loopers; a van from the restaurant up the hill, The Aeries, came to pick us up. The view from this restaurant was spectacular! Pizzas seemed to be the thing to order! It was a great evening.

Sunday we hung out. A group of loopers had left the day before to start down and we were thinking about going but there was another leaving on Monday and so we visited with the new friends that we had made.

Category: 2010, Cruising, Illinois, Missouri, Rivers  | Comments off
August 23 – Day Four
September 06th, 2010 | Author:

We left Tall Timbers Marina at 8. More river, more speeding small boats, more fishermen in anchored boats, more nature, more barges….we have to both be attentive during these days on the river.

The La Grange Lock had a wait. I hate having to wait near the locks. There are dams there and there was current pulling us towards it. I couldn’t encourage my captain to wait farther up; back and forth, back and forth with the controls for over an hour. Once the barges were reconnected to the tow the tug has to power up to start pushing this weight in front of it. The lock walls are hit with its wash which then bounces back into the waterway. We were so close that we were tossed around. We had to wait for the surge to stop before we could enter the lock. This was a short drop and therefore was a free floating one; you enter and keep the boat away from the massive walls…. I must admit that I had a meltdown. Stopping that day could not come too soon.

We passed several possible anchorages. In front of us was Noah Genda (another Ocean Alexander) and Tom and Diane were going to Buckhorn. Their reasoning was that it was hot and to keep moving meant that they could stay cooler.

Steve and Liz were already anchored when we arrived. Tom and Diane settled in and then we anchored. Our generator was immediately started and the air turned on. We all yelled our hellos and then, brilliantly, I might add, Liz announced that she was going below into her air conditioned salon. Diane and I did the same and eventually the men followed.

This was a quiet anchorage. We saw barges pass in the night. They are all lit with huge spotlights. It is amazing to watch these tows push on.

Illinois Waterway: Mile 120.3 Tall Timbers Marina to Mile 46.5 Buckhorn Island Anchorage

Miles covered: 73.8         Bridges: 8            Locks: 1

Left at 8 am        Arrived at 4ish

Category: 2010, Cruising, Illinois, Rivers  | Comments off
August 22 – Day Three
September 06th, 2010 | Author:

The Peoria Lock is having major work done on it. It is closed from 7 am until 5 pm Monday through Saturday. It is open all day Sunday. Commercial boats have priority over recreational boats. There is a lot of traffic here, remember this is a working river. The tows were backed up needing to lock down and up. Although tows can and do travel 24 hours a day, we pleasure boaters, especially those of us that are unfamiliar with this area are off the rivers at night. Kelley had called the Lock Master a few days before and explained that the Loopers were planning on coming through today. He finally understood that we were not able to travel at night. Although he could not guarantee that we would get through, he would do his best.

We left at 7:15 and we were at the lock by 8:15. With us were 4 other loop boats. After calling in we floated until 10ish. The lock finished lifting a barge (which was broken into 2 parts) and decided to take us down before lifting the next tow. (There were tows waiting to go down but the order is based on when the tows arrive – perhaps not efficient, but that is their way). We were pleased and all of us thanked the lock master for his understanding. We also think that he was pleased to have the 5 pleasure boats out of the way!

Once again the smaller pleasure boats were out enjoying the day. This area is a mixture of nature and industry. There were many anchorages along the way, but three of us were planning on staying at Tall Timbers. We had stories to share and an early day would be appreciated.

Illinois Waterway: Mile 167.9 (IVY) to Mile 120.3 (Tall Timbers Marina)

Miles covered: 47.6         Bridges: 8            Locks: 1

Left at 7:15 am       Arrived at 1:30

Category: 2010, Cruising, Illinois, Rivers  | Comments off
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