Day 104 October 2, 2022

Day 104 Sunday October 2, 2022 

Kaskaskia Lock to Little Diversion Canal

6:30am start.  Chilly night, condensation on the strataglass windshield making it a bit difficult to see, and a little fog.  We traveled from Kaskaskia Lock with Arion, La Vida, Grand Wazoo and Call Me Curly.  We passed several tows but benefited from the 2-3 knot push from the Mississippi River current.  We even reached 10 knot speed -- we usually run 7-8 knots. 

 

Strong current                                                                    More wingdams

Rock shore instead of sand

Scenery along the way kept us in awe of just how low the water level is.  Especially in contrast with the walls towns have built to protect themselves.  Hard to imagine the water was ever high enough to threaten the town! 

 Town wall at Cape Girardeau

Our anchorage for the night would be Little Diversion Canal. The canal is fairly long with about 10 foot depth and about 30 feet wide.  The entrance has a very strong current that required us to approach downstream and then turn in.  La Vida and Call Me Curly led the way, followed by Arion, The Grand Wazoo and lastly Eric's Inheritance.  Everyone put out a stern anchor so that we wouldn't swing into the banks.  Joe spied a snake swimming across the canal so we made sure to close our transom door.  Seemed strange that we were all so close, but yet so far.  Grant on Call me Curly fixed that situation -- he came by dinghy and transported everyone to their boat for boat tails.  Fun!

We were joined in the canal by Cavu, Patriot, Encore and Grand Plan.  That made the canal pretty full with 9 boats.  Hopefully they planned on leaving early because we wouldn't be able to get by them.

Steak on the grill and a nice call with Eric and Courtney.  Quiet and peaceful night.

Day 103 October 1, 2022

Day 103 Saturday, October 1, 2022

Kimmswick Missouri to Kaskaskia Lock

We waited for a tow to pass as we left Hoppie's.  Our destination today was the Kaskaskia Lock at MM118.  We would be cruising 41 miles.  

 The landscape has changed. 

  This is the shoreline due to low water, not a beach.

 A wing dam used to "train" the river and decrease shoaling from the current.

 

                 Barges being loaded.  Looks a bit over loaded to me!

Kaskaskia Lock is on the Kaskaskia River just a bit off of the Mississippi. We don't need to go through the lock but recently dredged, it has plenty of water and is a good stopping point for the day.  Many loopers take advantage since 3 anchorages are required  before reaching the next fuel stop in Paducah Kentucky.  

Traveling with Arion, Grand Wazoo, La Vida and Call Me Curley we arrived at 1:15 -- a 4.25hr cruise.  We were later joined by Patriot, Stray Cat, Cavu and Encore.  

 

Kaskaskia is a floating dock wall that is at the mercy of the water level and the flow of the Mississippi River.  The dock actually floats on huge cement pillars.  Our boats were nestled in between the pillars.  You must get permission from the lock master to dock or anchor at the lock. 

Day 102 September 30, 2022

Day 102 Friday, September 30, 2022

Alton Marina to Hoppies, Kimmswick Missouri

We left Alton after a 6:30am call to the Mel Price Lock.  We were the spokesman for the group to ask when we should head for the lock.  Only a short distance from the lock we arrived at 07:30.  Our group of 8 boats waited outside while we waited for the tow Charles Southern to go into the lock.  The tow had given the lock master permission to let us lock through with him.  It was really perfect timing and the tow let us pass him once we were out at 8:40am.  We met 2 more north bound tows, the Randy Anderson (6 barges) and CW Fraser  (15 barges), and a south bound tow with hazardous cargo behind us.

 

The Charles Southern

 Eric's Inheritance inside Mel Price Lock behind the Charles Southern

Our next lock was the Chain of Rocks Canal Lock.   Boaters must pay attention to their charts.  At The Chain of Rocks it's VERY important to  take the left hand channel even though the right side looks like it should work too.  A sailboat met a very unfortunate ending last year when it took the wrong one. If you want to see its fate go to  https://youtu.be/jcw1gj8JZNc 

  Entering the Chain of Rocks Lock.

Our travels brought us by the St. Louis Arch.  Buddy boats take turns taking pictures of each other in front of the arch. 

 

Grand Wazoo and Arion

Eric's Inheritance -- photo taken by Laura

We traveled on to the infamous Hoppies.  Hoppies is the first and only fuel stop available between Alton and Paducah Kentucky.  Hoppies consists of 2 barges tied together - one for fuel and the other as dock space.  The barges are rusty and derelict but a welcome sight when you need fuel. Fuel was a bargain at $5/gallon for diesel.  

 One boat at Hoppie's fuel barge. 

 

                                                                Our fleet tied at Hoppie's.

 You need to walk through the barge to get to land.

 

The water level is so low that the building is no longer floating!

The Blue Owl Restaurant is another draw to Kimmswick. 

The restaurant is known for its levee high apple pie covered with caramel and pecans.  They serve breakfast and lunch in addition to a variety of their well known deserts. We were finally fueled and tied at the dock by 2pm -- we had to hurry our walk to town because the restaurant closes at 3pm.  Have no fear, we made it!  The Blue Owl Restaurant started as "From the Kitchen of Mary" with baked goods sold from Mary's home and at craft fairs and festivals.  It has grown from their to a free standing restaurant and bakery that serves over 300 customers a day.  They have been featured on  The Food Network, The Travel Channel, The Oprah Show, The Today Show and many magazines.

 

 

Famous levee high apple pie.

Lunch was so good and filling, we left with leftovers. 

Hoppies offers a daily briefing covering the state of the river, water depths and anchorages.  After that we discussed travel the next day and enjoyed the "atmosphere"!

Day 100 & 101 September 28 - 29, 2022

 Day 100 Wednesday September 28, 2022

I can't believe it, ONE HUNDRED DAYS!

We have seen so much, learned so much and met so many great people -- boaters and in each town.

Our path from Lake Michigan so far.

Alton has proved to be very relaxing. We are taking advantage of our time here to do boat maintenance and much needed chores.  Provisioning is always part of the equation since we  don't eat at restaurants all the time (even though it may seem that way).  That can be a major chore if stores are at a distance from the marina.  

Since we got that pretty much out of the way yesterday today was wash day.  I did 3 loads of laundry and Jerry washed the boat!  I had the easier job --  both are thankless jobs but chasing spiders and all the dirt that seems to find its way onto a boat is endless.

Of course there was docktails at the pool and then we enjoyed a great dinner of pulled pork prepared by Laura.  What a great cook, and we are the lucky benefactors!

Day 101 Thursday September 29, 2022

Last day in Alton.

Jerry continued boat washing while I joined Laura and Joe for MORE shopping.  Who said that I was done provisioning??  After all, we needed milk and who knows what else I might find.  This time we Ubered to Schnuck's grocery store.  Very nice store.  I definitely found more than milk -- 2 bags of goodies!

Today was the day for docktails with the Mayor.  Tuesday when he got home he shared his excitement about docktails with his wife; she promptly reminded him that they had another commitment.  Mayor Goins showed up even though he had a conflict.  After all, one of the boaters changed their flight to be able to join the fun!

 Loopers meeting the mayor at Alton Marina Pavilion

 All smiles with Mayor David Goins

Tomorrow, on to Hoppies!

Day 98 & 99 September 26-27, 2022

Day 98 Monday September 26, 2022

Alton Marina, Alton Illinois

After an 11 hour day on Saturday and an 8 hour day on Sunday, it was great to sleep in and take it a little easier.  We treated ourselves to a hot breakfast at the marina deli cooked by Kim.  The deli also has ice cream and serves frozen margaritas and other "boat" drinks. We checked out the facilities and then spent the morning chilling at the boat. 

 

Adventure for the day was a trip to Schwegel's with Joe and Laura.  Schwegel's is a neighborhood grocery store that has been in business for many years. The store is struggling to survive; selection was quite limited.  They are known for their butcher department and homemade bratwurst.  Of course we bought some.  Best part was the store owner picked us up at the marina, brought us to the store and even gave us a ride back!  Really nice man, I hope that they can turn things around.

 

We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary with dinner at The Old Bakery Beer Co.  We were joined by Laura and Joe from The Grand Wazoo, Rachel and Greg from 2nd Chance, Ann and John from Blue Yonder, and Rachel and Don from Beyond.  Very good food and great company!  Back at the boat we were treated with homemade cheesecake made by Laura.  We are spoiled.

Day 99 Tuesday September 27, 2022

More Alton

There are currently 30 Loop boats at Alton Marina.  Although there is a pool and 2 hot tubs, it is too chilly to enjoy them.  Instead I spent the morning doing boat chores.  The first highlight today was a road trip to Walmart, this time by Uber.  Jerry, Laura and I shopped to our heart's content while Joe washed his boat.  We were also entertained by the number of Amazon packages that get delivered to the marina -- us included!

Back at the marina it didn't take long to get invited for another adventure, this time dinner at Fast Eddy's Bon Air.  It's famous for it's cheap food and nightly live music.  Rumor has it if you aren't there by 6pm you can't get in.  Our group set off early and a mile walk later we arrived. Lots of fun.  

 

Your waitress takes your drink order but you must order food at the grill when you decide that you are hungry.  Limited menu of brats, chicken or pork on skewers, hamburger, peel and eat shrimp and fries.  Nothing over $4.  The twelve of us enjoyed ourselves -- 2nd Chance, Blue Yonder, The Grand Wazoo, Call Me Curly, La Vida and Eric's Inheritance.

Our walk back to the marina included some less pedestrian traveled areas. We found ourselves being followed -- the driver asking us where we were headed.  He introduced himself as the MAYOR OF ALTON! 

   Mayor David Goins was curious about our travels and really appreciated our excitement about the town and Alton Marina.  He was happy to accept our invitation to docktails.  After checking his calendar, Thursday was the day!!

  Our walk back to the marina.