1 October through 4 October

We left Alton early in the morning on Wednesday, our second day on the mighty Mississippi. At Alton Marina we had met the crew from Corkscrew they also wanted to leave first thing. So we talked about 7AM and were on the water at 7:30. The first lock was only a mile from the marina and we got right in. This was the second lock on our trip (the other was on the Erie) where we didn’t tie up, we just floated in the middle. There was a ton of trash outside the down gate in a swirling mess, so it took time for both boats to pick our way through it.

From that lock to the next is a no wake zone, so it was slow going through the industrial areas. Seeing all the barges and company docks really drives home how busy the river is and how much commerce is still done by water. The next lock was empty and we were quickly into it. Inside we found that two of the floating pins were missing so that made tying up to the wall a small issue. Eventually both boats found working pins and were ready for the 20′ drop. .

The Missouri river enters into the Mississippi just below the second lock. We were able to feel the current pick up and push us along the river. Our average speed on the river was about 10 knts, but we use only about 3.5 gallons for an amazing 11 MPG. We should get that again when we leave for the next 158 miles. So my calculated fuel burn of 140 gallons will be far less. As we turn up the Ohio we will be battling a 3 knot curren, so it wull be higher. I still feel comfortable about being able to do the entire leg on 400 gallons.

We got to Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick about 2 PM. All of the Loopers stop here, it’s the last fuel, food, etc for the next 250 miles. The marina is five long flat top barges that are tied end to end. We get smacked around some by the barge traffic that comes up and down the river. Hoppies is important to the Looper world, if they close then Loopers will need to go from Alton Marina to Grand River KY marina. Depending on your speed 4-7 days without a marina does not make it fun.

Since it was early in the day we walked to the “Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery” with the crew of Corkscrew. The “Blue Owl” has been shown a number of times on the Food Channel, it’s a popular place for people to come. They are known for their baked goods. They are only open for a late breakfast and lunch until 3PM. After a great lunch (and why yes, we did have strawberry-rubarb and Snickers pie!) we headed to sightsee. We walked around the town of Kimmswick to look at all the little shops and stuff.

At 4:30 there is a daily briefing on what the river is doing and how to navigate it. Fern has lived on the river and she gives a great briefing on what we can expect. You can read the entire Fern Briefing here.

There was a small Docktails with the crews from Toba, Midas Touch,Corkscrew and Quo Vadimus and of course Fern. Corkscrew brought some salted snacks that had Wasabi on them, I have not breathed this well in years …

For dinner Susan reheated the ribs we had purchased in St. Louis at “Pappy’s Smokehouse”. They wonderful, there is enough for another meal. When they wrapped them, the used foil and plastic wraps so the juices were still in the meat.

Starting Thursday night it rained off and on, we got about ½ inch over night. It was clear in the morning, with the storms to the north of us. Our friends on Toba took advantage of storms moving NE and headed down the river. I’ll need to find out later if that worked out well for them at the anchorage that night, since there was another band of storms heading toward Cario, IL

About noon a Riverboat landed and disgorged 150 people. They were part of a package to ride the boat then eat at the “Blue Owl”, shop in Kimmswick and then take a bus home. The companion trip was to take a bus here, eat, shop and then take the boat home. If you want to do this trip, pick “down on the boat” since that takes 2 hours. Up on the boat in the current takes 3-4 hours.

The rains continued on and off all day long. It’s a concern since they got lots of rain in the north (in Grafton, about 7”) so the water levels are rapidly rising and will rise across the next few days as the water moves down the river.

Side note: I’ve never really cared much for hydrology, the study of water on the planet. Before the trip I was pretty much limited to tides and watching water pushed by storms. I’m now on the government sites watching the rise and fall of water levels, current flows, rain fall and what it’s doing to the water levels, etc. I can now follow the lumps of water as they head down stream and what their effects will be on my plans. For example, we plan to anchor out in a river that will have a 5′ rise in a 24 hour period. That means I need to remember that I’ll move up at least 2′ while I’m anchored and need to compensate for it.

Once the riverboat left we walked into town to get a mid-afternoon pie snack. There was pie left, but the 300 person lunch crowd had left their mark. Susan had pecan pie while I had cheesecake. On the way back we mailed postcards, getting back to the dock moments before it started raining again.

The briefing at 4:30 was brief, since it was all repeat boaters. The big concern of rising high water and trash had us decide to stick to our plan to stay over one more night.

On Friday Susan and I slept in some, since sleeping through the barge traffic had been fitful. About mid-morning we got a taxi/van and with the crew of Corkscrew did some shopping. The nearest town was about 6 miles away, all in all we went to four different places. The taxi bill was only $30 ($2 a mile) , pretty decent for all the running around we did.

We napped in the afternoon. Just before the 4:30 briefing, the Roxanne arrived from Alton. Two more boats are scheduled for later.

Around 6:30 PM we had potluck dinner with the crews of Diablo, Hotei, Roxanne, Midas Touch, Corkscrew and us on the Quo Vadimus. It was good conversation and we broke up about Looper midnight for bed.

Sleeping was rough, lots more tows were on the water moving up and downstream. The downstream tows pretty much go with the flow, but the upstream ones really struggle to make headway. For that reason the wakes behind them are very very large. Not looking forward to passing these guys in the next few days.