October 8, 2013 Ohio River near Metropolis, IL

The precise area where we have anchored tonight  is here

We all managed to rise and begin departing by 8:30 am.  We with Arin E left last because we had the anchors down.  Finally got out in the channel to meet up with the others and we ran under the bridge and after a brief disorienting moment involving buoys we made the left turn up into the Ohio river.

Rain had fallen in the Tennessee Valley a few days before and it was a large amount.   Debris, both large and small was flying down the river on the punishing current so we were dodging around the whole day trying to avoid the large logs.  The current near the mouth was keeping our speed over the ground down around 5 mph even with the throttle near max.  It was a long day.

Up on the Ohio at the river junction is a very large fleeting area where barges are assembled or stashed for later use.  It took us several hours to clear out of there ... remember we were doing only 5 mph.

The Ohio was as muddy as Big Muddy,  And as wide and with currents just as fierce.  The only difference for us was orientation.  We were headed up stream.

Olmsted Lock

We finally reached Olmsted Lock , which is under construction and slated to replace the 2 existing locks number 52 and 53.  Here is where your supposed to call lock 53 on the radio which we did.  And  we discovered the damn was down and the lock was basically not there.  Well, its there but not functional. The high water levels essentially rendered the lock unnecessary.  We sailed right over the damn and could only see the lock wall posts.  The depths were in the 30 foot range.

Yes, this really is lock #53 but underwater

Since our progress was in the "creeping" range we picked an anchorage at mile 48.5 along the Kentucky side of the river.  Conflicting directions and landmarks made locating the exact area an inexact exercise.  But we found the general area and I went in with the forward looking sonar and found plenty of water.  We selected a spot laid out 125 feet of  chain and the snubber while the others waited in the channel.  The current was swift and it had the anchor chain pulled tight in a matter of seconds.  We wont be worrying about wind swinging us around tonight!

Field Trip coming alongside

Field Trip came in last and tried to lay out an anchor before backing alongside but the didn't work.  So for about 30 minutes all 4 boats were hanging off our anchor which appears to be able to handle the load.  But being cautious folk, Jeff launched his dinghy and took Field Trips anchor out and set it.  Then he and I started to take his anchor out but the outboard died  as we were making our way along the side of his boat!   Luckily, and I do mean LUCKILY we just caught the rub rail of his boat before the current could sweep the dinghy and us down stream.  Whew!  Close one.

Field Trip, Arin E taken from our bow

So with two anchors set we should be ok for tonight.  Although the swishing of the current past the boat is tad loud we aren't moving an inch so I'm hoping it'll be a good night for slumber.  I think I need the rest having acquired a cold which is rendering me hoarse within in hours.   The ensuing cocktail party did help though.

Tomorrow ... well it'll be up river somewhere.

October 6-7 2013 Anchorage at Mile 77 and Angelo Towhead the next day

Sorry, no pictures since I cant upload pictures very easily.  The internet is a fleeting concept down here I think. But if your curious where we are, just follow this link to our journey map.

We left Hoppies with three other boats but only after we figured out a water / bilge problem we had which I thought was burst water line but turned out to be a rain and an an overfilled water tank from making water the night before.

It was a long day, about 90 miles but at least the Mississippi current was adding about 3 knots to our speed so at times we were cruising along at 11 mph.

Mile 78 wing damn anchorage

Aside from the all the tows, and there were many of them, it wasn't that spectacular of a trip.  The river is big, muddy and lines with banks behind which grass and forest.  We finally reached the anchorage and Jeff went in first since and set his anchor.  We followed but there wasn't much room to set it so as to avoid a possible collision with Jeff on Just Faking It so we all decided to raft together.  Worked out great.  Had a nice cocktail party on board and then went to bed after we planned on getting up at 7:30 so we could leave by 8.


The next morning, Monday October 7, we actually did get up by 8 and after Field Trip and Erin E left the anchorage, Just Faking it (Jeff) and I got our anchors up and off we went down river for another 88 miles to a place neat the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio.  It was another dull day of 20+ barges to pass or meet, and same old muddy scenery.  But....  we were still doing over 10 mph!

Looking out towards the toe head 

We pulled up to the nights anchorage, Angelo Tow Head.   I  ducked in first and set an anchor.  The reset followed in and we repeated the same 4 boat raft up we had the previous night.

Jeff and Chip in the dinghy getting Arin-E's anchor 

Our anchor is pretty beefy and would most likely hold all four of our boats however prudence, and the promise of solid nights sleep dictates we set another anchor against the strong current.  So we deployed Arin-E's anchor with Jeff's dinghy.









Tomorrow we have to figure out what to do if the 2 Ohio Locks are busy and to complicate matters, the Ohio is running faster the next few days from all the rain in the Tennessee river valley.

October 4-5, 2013 Hoppies Marina Kimmswick, MO

We did a few things around the boat this morning but had to decline a brunch invitation for the Blue Owl restaurant  since we had gotten up a bit too late.  But I was busy getting some resistance readings on the cat 5 cable for our wifi booster which has been malfunctioning much to the surprise of my self and tech support.

Looking down at Hoppies dock

In the afternoon, Mary and the ladies all returned to the Blue Owl for a late lunch while  Bob, Chip, Jeff and myself headed out to the local grocery store and Walgreens to buy, well, basically buy booze.  The counties down in Tennessee are dry so it's wise to stock up on essential items.  We all procured sufficient quantities for several weeks but had to haul it all down the rather steep embankment here at Hoppies.  Made it though without any broken containers

On it's way down stream

We got everything put away and then proceeded to have a few drinks out on the dock.  Shortly before the festivities began though I noticed a huge log jammed between the dock and the boat.  I only noticed because the open distance between the dock and the boat had grown by several feet as the log sandwiched it self in the open gap.  I talked to Fern and Hoppie who immediately came down for a look.  Hoppie mentioned that it was a baby.  To my eyes it was a tree trunk of epic proportions.  Anyway they somehow wedged it out and back into the river where the current just swept it away.  I'm wondering how long it'll be before we run into it again as we follow it down stream tomorrow.

Once it became dark we all retired to bed.  Guess it was a long day.

Blue Owl

Saturday October 5th  we all traipsed back up to the Blue Owl for breakfast and a quick walk around town.  The Blue Owl is a really good place.  It's home to the "levee high apple pie".  Yummm.

Mary with Bob, Jeff, Judy and Martha to the right

Downtown Kimmswick

We made reservations at Green Turtle Marina earlier in the week.  Green Turtle Bay is in Tennessee and reported be a 5 star marina and the place to stage a journey down the rivers to Mobile.  Guess we'll find out. We had to make a few calls to confirm and sort out some details.  We  plan to stay there about 5 days before heading down the Tennessee River.  We're still undecided on the AGLCA rendezvous which is taking taking place in at Tennessee's, Joe Wheeler park.  There are a few slots open yet and we know several friends we've made along the way will be attending.

The infamous and delightful Fern, me, Pat (Arin-E)

We are leaving here tomorrow though and will be planning a destination and departure time tonight during cocktails.   Actually I think we have pay Fern for the two nights we spent here too!

October 3, 2013 Hoppies Marina Kimmswick, MO

Once Upon A Time called me back around 8:30 relating their decision to depart Hoppies for points south.  So we started making preparations to leave.  There are four boats in our little flotilla and we were all ready to go by 9:45.

We hit the Mel Price Lock which was ready for us.  In a flash of brilliance we called ahead!   This lock has 2 chambers.  Tows usually use the large one while recreational craft and smaller commercial craft enter the smaller chamber.  After locking down about 20 feet we exited at the exact moment the large tow in the adjacent chamber was leaving.  We had to do some speedy maneuvering to get out of his way since stopping something that big isn't possible.

Once we cleared the barge it was easy cruising except for the increasing velocity of the winds from the south.  Did I mention we were heading due south?

We followed the convenient sign Chain of Rocks Canal  and had an easy few miles up the narrow canal until we came around a bend into barge and tow boat rush hour.  The radio began crackling with numerous conversations on channel 13, the standard ship-to-ship communication.  I had our other radio set to the channel for Lock communications which was also suddenly alive with overlapping communications. It was an exciting time highlighted by a situation where our little 4 boat flotilla was being asked by the Lock master to enter the Lock  chamber (which was 2 miles away) not realizing we were behind one large tow with two other tows moving towards us from the other direction.  And to complete the picture a mile ahead of us was a one barge tow perpendicular to the channel trying to get himself pointed upstream.

Passing in Chain of Rocks canal

We could only snap a few pictures which doesn't do justice to the 20 minutes of extreme excitement.  Needless to say we made it without incident and entered the Lock which was a easy 15 foot drop.

After a few miles we entered the St. Louis.  Great I thought.  Some easy cruising on a wide river with plenty to see.  You'd think I'd learn ....







There were some great sights including the arch but along with the sights came a solid, densely packed 10 mile long stretch of  barges and tows.   The channel here is sort of wide but in most areas, barges are parked along the bank sometime 6 or 8 wide which infringes in the channel.  I should mention outside of the marked channel one finds more mud than water so most of us try to remain inside the markers.  In some instances this requires nerves of steel since 15 barges in one tow takes up a lot of water especially when swinging around for a turn and we are but a gnat on the water to these guys.  Unfortunately it's frowned upon to bolster nerves of steel with rum.  Although ....

Some of the tows we encountered were comprised of large green barges 3 wide 6 long.  The green signifies a barge is carrying some petroleum product.  When loaded they are drawing 9 feet.  Huge.

The infamous Hoppies

Eventually we slid away from the concentrated traffic of St. Louis and into more rural sections of Missouri.  The current remained impressive having first appeared shortly after leaving the Chain of Rocks lock.  It was pushing us about 4 mph faster than our normal cruising speed.  Many wing damns and basically muddy banks of water.  After an hour or two we finally came to Hoppies marina, an iconic stop for anyone doing the loop or just traveling down the Mississippi.  It's really just three old barges lashed together forming a dock.  But oh, the magic of the place all due to Hoppie and Fern.  Not to be missed by anyone coming down this way.

Hoppies from the air

Fern and Hoppie were on the dock as we pulled alongside and they provided very specific instructions on line handling etc.  No one, save a few pathetic souls, disregard Fern!

Fern giving her talk with Jeff to the right.

We got tied up as did the others and later sat down and proceeded to listen to Fern give her synopsis of what to expect down river.  The lady sure knows her stuff!  We, as a group, also made the decision to remain at Hoppies until Sunday to avoid what appears to be a rather intense storm making its way across the Midwest.  We'll see what  Kimmswick has to offer over the next few days.

October 2, 2013 Alton Illinois

No, I didn't go in.  It was closed

We got up mildly early this morning and after doing some boat chores like washing the hull (Mary) fixing things (George) we went off and took a long walk through Alton's downtown. A typical river city downtown but with a Casino on the river front.  Mary left after a few miles to head back to the boat but I continued on in a quest for frozen yogurt.  All I accomplished was finding the Torture Museum and a McDonald's close to the marina which, thankfully, had yogurt.

Alton Casino

Later in the afternoon I received a call from the boat, Once Upon A Time.  They left this morning for  Hoppies marina, about 50 miles down stream.  There was bad weather forecast for Friday and they were calling to see if we, as a group would consider staying in Alton for another day.  We have reservations at Hoppies tomorrow which means Once Upon A Time and the other boats there today would have to vacate the limited dock space.

Group decisions require a dockside cocktail party so we can deliberate these deep questions in the proper environment.  I wonder if all the think tanks have stumbled on this idea?

We all decided (in about a minute) we would stay in Alton another day and immediately eased into to swapping boating yarns.  I called Once Upon A Time back and we agreed they would call me in the morning with their final decision on whether they would be leaving Hoppies. And so we may be departing or remaining in Alton tomorrow depending on what they decide. 

October 1, 2013 Alton Illinois

On the way to Alton Illinois

We brought in the lines and left the Grafton marina around 9 AM with Field Trip.  It was only 20 some miles to Alton and the uneventful trip tool us a few hours since we’re only moving along at about 7.5 mph.  I should point out that we are now on the Mississippi River having left the Illinois River back at Grafton.

Marina entrance is right after the bridge

We got within hailing distance of the marina at Alton and when I called them on the radio was instructed to head to the “T” end of H dock.  Nice since it’s a side tie and we are a bit too wide to fit into the slips they have there on the transient dock. 

Fuel dock with Field Trip in front of us

But first we headed over to the fuel dock.  There we pumped out and started taking on fuel but at a rate of 1 gallon every minute.  Most fuel docks can pump 10 gallons a minute.  So our 181 gallons took some extra time although I did notice a surprising increase in the flow rate after we switched from the starboard tank to the port tank.  No clue why that would have triggered a change but it did.  By the way we are still seeing about 2 miles per gallon even with the gen set running.  Of course we aren't galloping off in a cloud of dust either.  Trade off's 

Tied up at Alton Marina

We left Field Trip at the fuel dock and headed over to the "T" head on H dock and tied up leaving enough room for Field Trip to tie astern of us.  We found a few other looper boats here at the marina including  Arin E, Just Faking It, and a few others.

The harbor hosts here, Robert and Patty off of Orinoco gave a talk on what to expect down river.  Very informative!  After the meeting we went out to dinner and had more discussions.  We were luckily enough to seated near Robert which proved to be a windfall of information!   They have been through the loop routes many times and have been to the Bahamas’ where we are planning on going this spring.

Ironically Robert spent considerable time in Appleton running an airplane maintenance operation, and the couple on Field Trip are from Lodi, WI.  Small world?

   

We got back to the boat eventually and saw the last episode of West Wing before heading off to bead.  Since we aren't going anywhere tomorrow it was a sleep late night except for me who had to be up around 7:30 to figure out what to do if Hoppies marina couldn't take us on Thursday.

As it turns out the group of loopers that left from Grafton today for Hoppies would be kicked out if we all (4 boats including us) came in to Hoppies tomorrow since they only have about 300 feet of dock space.  There is reportedly some weather heading in tomorrow and being the kind hearted bunch we are, wont head out unless the group down at Hoppies decides to leave tomorrow morning.  9am is when we decide.  And lucky me is handling the call.  I am retired aren't I? 

September 30 2013 Grafton, Illinois Grafton Harbor Marina

Morning fog

We woke up to a heavy  blanket of ground fog but since we decided to eat breakfast at the Riverdock restaurant again we figure it would burn off before we left the dock.

Mary and I ordered omelettes.  I wasn't prepared for the massive edifice laid before me.  I couldn't even come close to finishing it and lying in wait was the cherry pie they had so carefully set aside for us the previous night..  So there I was with this gargantuan omelette accompanied by an enormous piece of cherry pie.  Life is not dull out here.  Did someone mention blood sugar?

Heading towards Grafton

We wound up leaving around 10 am and made it to Grafton around 1 pm.   Easy run, no locks, no barges basically just a winding river which began to widen the closer we approached Grafton and the junction of the Mississippi.

Grafton marina

There were pretty strong winds at Grafton but luckily  we were docking where the winds were blowing us into the dock so I just brought the boat parallel and it drifted in without any interference with me.  Easy in, but possibly not so easy out.  We'll see tomorrow how the winds play out.

We passed on a group going on a Walmart run (there are several loopers here).  The marina courtesy van is a big full sized, old red Dodge van complete with the typical courtesy van decor: well worn, not pretty but  perfectly functional.  My kind of vehicle.







While our fellow loopers scampered around Walmart we attended to unfinished laundry and many email and software updates that have been languishing of late.

Later that evening we got together with the other loopers for drinks and dinner across the street.  What began as a planing session evolved into a looper tales event.  We did though end up agreeing to leave for Alton tomorrow morning around 9-10 am.  Alton is about 20 miles down stream, but down stream on the Mississippi river now not the Illinois river. We will probably end up staying there 2 days as we wait for some packages to arrive at Hoppies (another marina) down river

Grafton marina laundry room

Here at  Grafton  is the junction of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.  There is an impressive amount of barge traffic chugging through on both rivers.  The Mississippi is visible even though we are technically still on the Illinois river

The city itself is a typical small river town.   We had to walk 6 blocks to the yogurt stand!   The marina staff here are really fun and the river traffic makes it a pretty interesting.  We do have a floating pool and hot tub but what lured us was the snug little laundry room.  Hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do :-)




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