Planning for the Great Loop

 

October 5^th,

On 9/29 we left Alton Marina heading down the Mississippi. Within a few minutes we went through the first lock of the day and then passed the point where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi as the Illinois River did further north. Soon after, we came to a “fork in the road” on the Mississippi where there is a very narrow canal to the left and the Mississippi runs to the right. One would logically think we should keep to the right, but a very large sign read KEEP LEFT. If we had followed the river to the right, we would soon find ourselves going down very strong rapids that could surely tear our boat apart. We followed the sign to the left!!!

It wasn’t long before we went through the Chain of Rocks Lock that would be our last lock for the day.

The next event for the day was passing the St Louis Gateway Arch that sits right along the Mississippi River. At 630 ft tall, it is the largest arch monument in America and it pays tribute to the western expansion of the United States.

Barge traffic continued to build as the day progressed and educated us on how important the rivers still are to our national commerce.

That afternoon we arrived at Hoppies Marina. When I say marina it is using the term as loosely as I have so far on this blog. The “dock” consisted of an old rusted barge. It supported a fueling station and can hold about 6-7 boats. There were no electricity or water “hook ups” available. But shortly after tying up and conducting our chores, our group of 3 couples walked into town and were pleasantly surprised to find restaurants and a group of shops.

The highlight was a restaurant called the “Blue Owl” that is only open until 3PM. Not only was the food delicious but their deserts far exceeded any place we had visited yet on the Loop. Their Levee Apple Pie was the best I have ever had and was so huge I could only eat ½ of it even with Jack’s help. The other half came back to the boat to be enjoyed the next day. Suzy, Evan and I enjoyed some retail therapy as the boys patiently sat in front of one of the shops.

Monday morning, we were off by 8 AM to face another day of dodging barges. The tugboat masters, for the most part, were very pleasant as we called for permission to pass them. The day was sunny and in the low 70’s. That afternoon, we tied up to the Kaskaskia lock wall with 7 other Looper boats. Again, no electricity or water but thanks to our generator and water tank we were comfortable.

On Tuesday morning we woke to a light fog and a morning temperature in the high 50’s. Fortunately, the fog burned off quickly. We had a 69 mile cruise ahead of us that day to our next stop which would be an anchorage in the Little River Diversion Canal. When we were in Canada this summer the Windless that lowers and raises the anchor broke down. Which means Jack has to manually lower this 60 lb anchor and 100 ft of chain down and up each time we anchor out. Fortunately , Jack was finally able to locate a replacement in Australia and it is being shipped to us at one of our upcoming marinas.

Wednesday brought another day of heavy barge traffic. It is interesting to listen to the tug boat masters’ chatter on the radio. It sounds like they use code words so the  “pleasure craft boaters” can’t understand what they are saying.

The 3 + knot  currents on the Mississippi gave us excellent fuel mileage.  However, that ended when we made a hard left turn off the Mississippi River onto the Ohio River which was taking us up river. Then we were fighting the current. At 2:30 that afternoon we anchored again in a cove just before the Olmstead Lock.  This was our last stop in Missouri. Again, Jack had to manually lower and raise the anchor. This fortunately, will be our last anchorage before we get our new Windless and install it in Birdsong Marina on October 8^th.

On October 3^rd, we arrived in Paducah, Kentucky. We tied up to the city dock which was very simple but had electric and water access. We walked into town that evening and had a great dinner at Max’s restaurant and walked around long enough to find an ice cream shop for those addicted to that creamy, delicious treat. The next day we spent a half day working on the boat, cleaning it inside and out and then ventured out to explore the city some more. Our first stop was at the “Quilt Museum”. It was quite an exhibit of top quality quilt art. There were plenty more shops to visit that included a music shop that had a large inventory of guitars. Michael owns and plays guitars very well. The city of Paducah has endured many river floods over the decades, so they built a huge wall along the shore of the Ohio River for protection. The walls have become canvases for artists to create murals depicting the history of the town and river.  We wrapped up our day in Paducah at a Cajun restaurant and, of course, a stop at another ice cream shop. Walking back to the boat we were entertained by  father and son magicians on the street corner.

This morning we awoke to an infestation of adult mayflies that essentially covered the outside of our boats. We were able to sweep some away but others hitched a ride on our boats as we head towards the Cumberland River and Green Turtle Bay Marina.