Heading down the Mississippi

Rafted up on the Kaskaskia River Lock and Dam

Along the Mississippi River

Familiar Sight!

Fern holding court - great information

Tuesday, September 20 – We left Grafton (IL mm "0") finally about 10:30 a.m. and entered the Mississippi River. We were ready to leave much earlier but the fog was so bad we had to wait. It was as thick as pea soup! You couldn't see the across the river to the other bank. No one left early. We hoped this would be the exception and that we wouldn't encounter this every morning on the river. When the major exodus started about 12 or more boats headed out. Some planned to stop at Alton only 20 miles downriver. Some planned to go a bit farther. Sweet Pea and NautiNell were those planning to go as far as Hoppies Marina. It was only about a 60 mile run. We would have plenty of time even though we had a late start. BUT, first we had to lock through the Mel Price Lock and Dam. We waited for over two hours at the lock just to get to lock through. They were locking up a barge and paddle-wheel tour boat. It seemed to take forever! We then knew it was going to be a long day…..

Finally we were on our way on the Mississippi! Wow! Who would have ever thought that we would be chugging along in our own boat down the Big Muddy! Mike and I still keep asking ourselves if this trip is for real. It's still hard to believe.

As we approached the Chain of Rocks area – where the Missouri River converges with the Mississippi River we found what it meant to be in turbulence. We were rockin'! Once we were in the Chain of Rocks Canal there was no problem. We also had no problem locking though the Chain of Rocks Lock – the second and LAST lock on the Mississippi River where we rejoined the main channel. Within just a few miles we were spotting familiar signs of St Louis – besides lots of barges. You could see the Gateway Arch standing proud from miles away. There are so many sights to see in St Louis, but absolutely nowhere to stop. If you want to go to the city, you need to rent a car and leave your boat in Alton or Grafton. I think St Louis is really missing the boat (so to speak) here. They should take a lesson from other cities that have the Municipal Docks. Oh well………..

We finally made it to Hoppies Marina which is near Kimmswick Mo. Here the owner, Fern, who has been around this area forever, holds "court" for all the Loopers. Fern is a very sweet older lady that has a lot of experience on the river. She sat us down and explained to us what we would encounter on our voyage on down the rivers to Mobile, AL. She was a bundle of information. The marina itself is not much. It's just three 100 foot barges tied up together. She does have power but there really isn't much of a breakwater. When the barges went by during the night, it would get pretty wavy and could be pretty loud. However, you have to stop here – its tradition! Also, it's the last marina for over 225 miles! There are only about four good places to stop from here and all of them are anchorages – not marinas. Hopefully we would have good weather.

Wednesday morning around 9:30 Sweet Pea and NautiNell headed on from Hoppies. There was no real hurry. We only had about 48 miles to go till our next stop. A lot of the Loopers had stopped in Alton the day before. Only Sweet Pea, Old Faithful and NautiNell were at Hoppies. We met a lot of barges along the way – both going up and down the river. Could they churn up the water! But the current really helped us along. In fact at the same RPMS we had been running we went from our usual 8 knots to 13.5 knots! That's a big push! Saving that fuel!

Most of what we saw on the river was industrial. However, we could tell we were in Missouri by the cliffs and trees that became more frequent. There was quite a bit of turbulence, but NautiNell could handle it. Most of it was caused by the bend weir dams. These are for the prevention of erosion by controlling the flow of the water.

We made it to the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam where we were told we could tie up for the night. We aren't to lock through - just tie up above the lock on the wall. They let boaters do this for FREE! The Lockmaster was very pleasant. In no time we were secure for the evening, Oh, and Old Faithful was already there. The Kaskaskia River is a small river that is navigable up for about 35 miles to Fayetteville, Illinois. There are marinas up there but none of them can handle boats our size. About an hour after we arrived we got a call from Awe Spray. They were all headed our way. Awe Spray, Black Tickle and OokPik had stayed in Alton but passed on Hoppies because they were full. This made a long run from them but they would be staying the night with us on the lock wall. Great! A party was about to start! Before they even got there, Coconuts and Tourist arrived. We helped everyone get settled and when the last three got there, they rafted up. Another Looper reunion! Oh, and one small note - this lock is only about 17 miles from Chester, Ill. – And Chester is the home of the infamous "Popeye"! Just a bit of trivia that I thought I'd throw in. You can learn a lot from the blogs, eh! We visited on the lock wall for most of the evening. What fun!

Thursday morning was cold and rainy! Yuk! We headed out anyway to a recommended anchorage (from Fern) about 70 miles away. There were no locks so we made pretty good time. It was pretty much an uneventful day except an occasional "whirlpool" that wanted to send NautiNell down the river the wrong direction….. LOL! All eight boats that ended up on the lock wall the night before were pretty much traveling together. We made it to our destination in plenty of time – Little Diversion Channel. You had to enter it from downstream! And was there ever a current! We weren't sure Old Faithful would make it in. But true to her name – she did! Five of us rafted up together on five anchors. The others anchored by themselves. It was a nice night and a fairly nice anchorage. – once we got in!!

Tomorrow we are headed on down the river!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"