Minnie

This post is written to celebrate the life of our dog Minnie who fell asleep 9/18/09 at the age of 16.

Her original owners dropped her off at the Humane Shelter when she was only 9 months old. She was discovered there by my father and youngest son Addam. At the time I wasn't in favor of a pet of any species. Until they brought her home. Once I saw her face and learned what a personality she had there was no way she was going anywhere. Pam and I always said "everybody loves Minnie". Family would visit the house under the guise of wanting to see us but they would always spend as much time with her.

Her looks defied her age. Always at the vets they would look twice at their charts to see how old she was and comment that she didn't look her age. She had the softest fur coat of any dog I've ever touched and used that to her advantage to get everyone to pet her. Needless to say she was a people dog. One fault she(we) had was that she loved table scraps and wouldn't leave the kitchen until she knew every crumb was either disposed of or given to her. One of her favorites was Happy Joe's Pizza which in the picture above you can see her cleaning the box on her birthday a couple years ago.

Minnie was always one to join in whenever we had company as evidenced by the photo taken at a small gathering of friends at our house a few years back. I can't explain the picture but alcohol may have been involved (except Minnie).

She wasn't a boat dog. The only time she spent on the boat was at the dock. Once the engines were started she would tremble and shake and the heat of the sun on her black fur would send her looking for shade. She loved her home and was content to spend all of her time there. She was truly the Queen of the house and had us wrapped around her paws. Needless to say we'll miss her but she'll always hold a place in our hearts.

Labor Day

Saturday thru Monday 9/5/09 - 9/7/09 Once again we awoke to thick fog over the river. But by 9:30 the sun popped out and started warming things up for a beautiful holiday week-end. Garnet Lake is just off the main channel of the Mississippi at mm632 near Prairie Du Chien, Wi. The area is a very popular spot for the outdoors man. So much so that a few years back Cabella's built a large store on the north end of town. It's not uncommon to hear gunshots in the distance while anchored at Garnet. Not from gang warfare. Just from normal people having target practice or hunting whatever may be in season at the time.

By noon the day boaters started coming into the lake. Houseboats, ski boats, jet skis, fishing boats, pretty much anything that will float and carry a person showed up for the day. As always very entertaining! We were expecting a few other boats from home to make the trip to Garnet and we weren't disappointed. The first to arrive was Eirean (Erin) followed later in the day by Vagabond and then Perseverance. The five boats made an impressive sight and received more than a few looks as well as being the focal point of several pictures from passing boats.

We spent daytime in the water in our "Princess Chairs" floating around the lake and evenings dining like royalty. There may have been a little alcohol mixed in there also! On Monday we took a raft ride through the back waters and at one point we had to row and push our way through the lillys. The picture shows Pam calling out the rowing cadence to Nancy and myself! Actually Pam had rowed just before the picture was taken. (Had to mention that!) Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and so it was for this gathering of friends. By 1:30pm we were pulling anchors and heading down stream to our various marinas in the Dubuque area. Travel was made easier because there was no tow traffic at either Lock 10 or Lock 11. Something that rarely happens. We all arrived back safe and sound with memories of a typical river trip and a great week-end gathering of friends.

10th Anniversary

Friday 9/4/09 Once again the day started with dense fog over the river valley. Nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the morning coffee while peering into the fog. Once Pam got up we exchanged cards for our 10th anniversary of wedded bliss! As usual my card to her was short and to the point while hers was just short of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Pretty much the same way we each tell a story! Once the fog cleared and we left the pit and headed down stream. First hurdle of the day was the dreaded Lock #8 where Aqua Villa hit the submerged object on the way up river. This time was uneventful and upon exit of the lock we spotted a tree sticking just 6" out of the water in the proximity of where AV felt the impact. A high speed impact could have holed the bottom or tore off the running gear. If there was luck in this unfortunate situation AV had it. It could have been a lot worse.

We continued on to Lansing, Iowa where we stopped to top off the fuel tanks and take on fresh water. From there we passed through Lock #9 and travelled on to Garnet Lake where we set up camp for the holiday week-end. The day ended with Aqua Villa hosting Pam & myself for a candle light dinner to celebrate our anniversary. The perfect ending to a good day! Thanks AV!

Can You say Trempealeau?

Thursday 9/3/09 Once again we woke up to dense fog. This time in Trempealeau, Wi. at Sunset Bay Marina. We had made our way through locks 7 & 6 yesterday after getting Aqua Villa back in the water. The original plan was to try and anchor behind an island somewhere but each cut that looked good either had a closing dam across it or was too shallow for our boats to traverse. Thus the overnight in Sunset Bay. We used this opportunity to walk into the town of Trempealeau and have lunch at the Trempealeau Hotel (http://www.trempealeauhotel.com/). Of course I had to have one of their famous walnut burgers. As close to Ewell Gibbons as I'll get! We have been here before for their concert series which takes place outdoors looking over the Mississippi. We've seen The Little River Band twice as well as Marcia Ball at this venue. Bring a lawn chair and have a walnut ball while listening to the music!

After lunch we decided that this was as far North as we will get this trip and still have a leisurely journey instead of just a boat ride. We left the marina and locked back down through locks #6 & 7 to end up at the sand pit near Brownsville, Mn. Just in time for cocktail hour.

Things That Go Bump

Monday 8/31/09 Morning started with a dense layer of fog covering the marina and surrounding river valley. So thick that you couldn't see across the fairway to the next row of slips. By 9 am it started to lift and at 9:30 the mechanics came to take Aqua Villa to the travel lift for haul out. Once out of the water the initial inspection showed little evidence of an impact. No curled flukes of the prop. No big bend in the shaft. Struts still in place. Then they turned the shaft and noticed it looked slightly out of round and had been pulled back about 1/4". After blocking the boat to make it stable they got to work pulling the props and shafts. By noon the props were on there way to Minneapolis to be checked and the shafts went to a local shop in La Crosse. Now we wait. You never know how long repairs will take. It always seems that the shops urgency meter never goes as high as yours. This turned out not to be the case here at North Bay. They stayed in touch with Moose throughout the process. By 5 pm we knew that the starboard prop had all four blades curled just a bit. By 10 am Tuesday we knew that the starboard shaft was bent, straightened and on it's way back. By noon the props were done and heading back to La Crosse. Amazing!

Once the shafts arrived they started putting them back in place and found that the engine/transmission had also moved a tiny bit thus goofing up the alignment. They worked on the alignment and got it back to an acceptable tolerance and by the end of the day the props were back.

Wednesday 9/2/09 Morning came along with the fog once again but by 9:30 am had lifted. The call came that they were ready to splash Aqua Villa. Again, Amazing! By 1 pm we were back on our way.

Just a note about the staff and service at North Bay. Fantastic! Friendly. Accommodating. Neat. Prompt. Informative. I would not hesitate to take my own boat there for repair work. The shop guys are even required to wear the little hospital booties on their feet when working in or on the boat. That's how it should be but isn't always the case!

River Travel

Thursday 8/27/09 We pulled out of Mid-Town Marina sometime after lunch and headed up stream to Lock & Dam #11. A quick call on the VHF and the gates opened! The run was good above the lock with no traffic for the first 20 miles. Then we hit Cassville, Wi. where we met 3 tows and a ferry all at the same time. Aqua Villa was leading the parade and for a time looked like it was going to be crushed between the J.B. Kleinpeter and the Show-Me-State but it was not to be. A hole opened and the Villa slipped through! Thinking that there would be no more tow traffic before L&D #10 we continued our Northerly travel only to arrive at #10 to see another north bound tow just starting her lockage. Minimum wait...1 1/2 hours! It's now into cocktail hour so the decision was made to drop anchor about a mile below the lock outside of the red buoy line and spend the night. Our location gave us a nice view of the lock as well as the picturesque town of Guttenberg, Iowa.

Friday 8/28/09 Due to our close proximity to Lock #10 we could see when our opportunity to lock through presented itself and so we were off at 8:30 am. By 8:41am we were exiting the lock and heading towards Prairie Du Chien, Wi. Our hope for the day was to pass through 3 locks and get to a new sand pit just north of Brownsville, Mn. Our cruise was calm and scenic with not much traffic. We passed PDC and arrived at L&D #9 around 11:25am. By 11:40am we were moving out of the lock and into the wide open area above the lock. If there is any wind from the north or the south this pool can be a bit lumpy, but today it was calm. The channel meanders from the Wisconsin side to the Iowa side and then back to Wisconsin. At points it's 2 miles across but don't venture out of the channel or you'll be stuck in about 2 feet of water and mud! Very scenic with plenty of wildlife to view along the way.

A quick stop was made in Lansing, Iowa at T.J. Hunters Marina (formerly Lansing Municipal) for Diesel fuel and we were back on the road. A word here about stupid people...If you have ever stopped at the Lansing Marina you know that the fuel dock can accommodate two 40 something foot boats at a time and that's all. All of the slips are north of the fuel dock and have a view of the fuel dock. So while we are fueling a couple on a houseboat which is moored at the first dock north of us unties and pulls out of their slip. Turns around and pulls up just off of Aqua Villa and asks if they can pump out yet!?! And then is upset when they are told the obvious that they won't be able to until we leave. What is it that the comedian Bill Engvall says...."Here's your sign!"

We pulled out of Lansing and headed toward L&D #8, about 12 miles away. This is where the channel goes back to the Wisconsin side and follows the bluffs up to #8 at Genoa, Wi. We had about an hours wait when we got to #8 and then the river let us know she is still in control. Just as Aqua Villa was approaching the lock she slid up over something solid. Moose described it as raising the boat out of the water like when I was a kid out stump jumping with my flat boat. We were behind and didn't see a thing pop up after he passed. We locked through and when he tried to get on plane after the lock the vibration started. After several ups and downs and even backing up the vibration was still there. We limped the next 10 miles or so to the Brownsville sand pit and called it a day. The weather was still cool so the pit was relatively vacant of boaters for a Friday.

Saturday 8/29/09 Again the weather was cool with temps in the mid 60's and winds around 25 mph. A call was made to North Bay Marina in LaCrosse, Wi. to arrange haulout for Aqua Villa and make the necessary repairs. Of course we knew that any work would not take place until Monday so once that was arranged we decided to drop the rafts in and go exploring. It was cool and the girls looked like winter instead of August! We spent a couple hours in the back waters watching eagles and exploring places the big boats can't go. If the girls had not gotten cold we may still be out there! By the time we got back to the pit the rental houseboats were starting to pull in. Always an uneasy feeling as these landlubbers try to maneuver a 60' under powered rectangle in 25 mph winds! First a boat load of three families pulled in and set up at the north end. They immediately got the chain saw out and proceeded to cut up some firewood for later. Then another boat with three couples landed just below the first. Then a boat load of Frat boys pulled in (this is when Pam & Lisa got the binoculars out!) followed by another boat with three couples on it which proved to be the most entertaining since it had a drunken blonde on it who in her swim suit, ran all around their side of the pit talking to everyone. She ended up jumping off the top deck of their houseboat with a couple of the Frat boys and then getting into the hot tub also on the top deck. Just when we thought the entertainment had reached it's peak a bunch of go fasts pulled in and cranked up the tunes. It was at this time that we were treated to a couple of girls dancing on the deck of one of the go fasts. It apparently got so hot on that side of the pit that one of the girls took her top off! She was apparently in a different latitude! Then just as quickly as they arrived all of the go fasts left. Even the blonde on the houseboat ran out of steam and the Frat boys went back to their boat. The remainder of the evening was peaceful with only a couple bonfires on the sand.

Sunday 8/30/09 We had a lazy day in the pit watching the rentals pull out and hoping none hit us. About 2 pm we decided to head up to North Bay Marina to be in position for the haulout of Aqua Villa. Ten miles later we were in our slips and sipping libations at Huck Finns, the bar and restaurant at North Bay. The whole facility is the former Beacon Bay Marina but is now owned by Skipperliner Inc. which builds steel houseboats and excursion boats. (http://www.skipperliner.com/). They have made many improvements to the marina as well as hiring a friendly staff.