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.