Hangin Out in Lake Barkley

9/25/11 Sunday     Today started with my anchor alarm going off. Seems the wind had shifted and we had swung around the anchor causing it to pop out of the bottom. It reset itself but we were now too close to shore for comfort. Time to move.
The first order of business was to untie Coconuts from us since we were rafted together and then raise our anchor and move back towards the center of Nickell Bay. Coconuts decided to head over to Green Turtle Bay for a pumpout since we were moving anyway.  We reset the anchor and closed up Tourist since it was beginning to rain.  By the time Coconuts got back it was an all out downpour and they decided to anchor on their own rather than have all of us get wet. The rain continued throughout the afternoon and into the night. No tanning today! We did have popcorn though!

Popcorn Princess

9/26/11 Monday     Good news. We stayed in place all night and awoke to a beautiful clear sky! We spent a lazy morning on Tourist before saying so long to Coconuts who was headed up the Cumberland to Nashville and a quick trip home from there.
For a little while now we have been having issues with our fresh water system. The pressure has been very inconsistent and was now flowing like a dried up stream. Hmmm! I don't think I'll be able to convince Pam to bathe in the lake. What now?
I called Green Turtle Bay to see if we could get a slip which would enable us to hook up to dockside water. Their response was "Sorry. We are all filled up until Friday". All of the Looper's who were held up by weather on Lake Michigan were arriving in packs and since GTB is the first marina out of Barkley Lock it gets the traffic. Additionally it is a nice spot and one of our favorites.

Out comes Quimby's cruising directory. I new of Kentucky Dam Marina a few miles away but thought I'd see what else was available. Buzzard Rock Resort and Marina (http://www.buzzardrock.com/)  popped up about 7 miles from our location. A call to them and a slip we had. .65 per foot including water & electric. A laundry facility and a loaner car. What more can you ask for? We're on our way!

Upon our arrival at Buzzard Rock we took on fuel which was .21 per gallon cheaper than at Green Turtle Bay. A nice savings. Even better was that we have the whole marina to ourselves. Not one other transient in the place. That means no laundry wars for Pam and access to the courtesy car when we want it. They also have a bar/restaurant that is now only open on week-ends which they bill as the only wet spot between the lakes since all other marinas are dry.

Empty Transient Dock.

Marina Bar/Restaurant/Office @ Buzzard Rock

9/27/11 Tuesday     Another sunny day at Buzzard Rock. But even with the abundant sunshine it's a day I've been dreading for the past few weeks. It's time to change the seawater impellers on the main engines. That means I become Gumby and wedge myself in between the fuel tank and engine in order to get to the port engine impeller. The picture below shows the exhaust disconnected so I can get back out.

Same picture as last time I did this job.

While I was in Gumby form I changed all of the engine zincs in preparation for heading back into salt water. By the end of the day I was ready for a shower. A drink. And 3 ibuprofen for my sore body!

9/28/11 Wednesday & 9/29/11 Thursday     What do you do while waiting for the water pumps to arrive via FedEx? Get your hair cut. Snoop around the hardware store, and just hang out in Eddyville, Ky. You can't beat fun for a good time! That pretty well sums up our activities for Wednesday. The marina is still all ours so we haven't had to fight for the courtesy car.

Eddyville, Ky. Hardware & Farm Supply.

Let's Roll Salon & Day Spa (Mullet's are their specialty!)

Thursday we took the courtesy car in to Paducah for supplies and lunch. Since most of the area we are headed into is dry we stocked up on alcohol. Made a visit to Wally World and a stop at Sam's Club. This is where I realized that I sometimes suffer from Cranial Rectal Inversion. I was strolling around killing time because Pam was listening to some guys sales pitch so she could get a free knife when I stumbled onto the motor oil section. OK. I've been in Sam's before and knew they had oil but have never considered it as a source when I needed it for an oil change on Tourist. With each engine taking 8 gallons I need this stuff in bulk. Guess who sells in bulk? Duh! Guess where I'm going next time I change oil? And oh by the way. Pam got the knife!

C.R.I. Relief

Back at Buzzard Rock I had to get a picture of my Princess and the Mascot.

Princess Pam, The Buzzard, & Tourist in the background.

Tomorrow we leave Buzzard Rock and head over to Green Turtle Bay for a night to pick up arriving guests. I can't begin to describe what a pleasant surprise Buzzard Rock and the staff have been. If we're ever back in the area this will be a must stop!

St. Charles to Lake Barkley

9/16/11 Friday thru 9/19/11 Monday     The past four days have been filled with work and company. On Friday the Cummins mechanic showed up to do a valve adjustment on Tourist and the crew from PCH started waxing and buffing the exterior. Something I should have been doing all along but it's hard to find the time when constantly travelling.
Saturday the crew showed up to finish the exterior waxing and Pam & I took the marina courtesy car to the grocery store to re-supply. Doesn't cruising sound exciting?

Sunday afternoon my daughter Angela and her husband Doug arrived for a short visit. They had planned on visiting while we were in Mackinaw City but life got in the way. Somehow St. Charles, Mo. isn't quite as exciting as Mackinaw.

Angela & Doug escaping reality!

Of course Pam had enough food ready to feed a barge crew for days. All very good I might add! Ange & Doug spent the night and most of Monday visiting with us before they had to head home. It was great seeing them and it marked the second time any of our children have visited since we've been Looping.
We had Ange take the photo below before they left.

Gold Loopers.

We finished off Monday by taking on water and doing laundry in anticipation of leaving on Tuesday morning.

9/20/11 Tuesday     We awoke to every boaters nightmare. FOG! So thick that I couldn't see the other end of the marina. We waited, and waited, and finally it looked like it was lifting. We untied the lines and headed out of the harbor. Once into the slough separating the marina from the main channel the fog came back in. With no point of reference to go by visually other than our instruments we opted to drop the anchor before we could get ourselves in trouble.

Tuesday morning fog.

Lifting fog in the channel.

Finally the fog lifted enough to continue. Our destination Kaskaskia Lock at mm 117 if we can get through the next 2 locks without delay. During this time Pam had been in contact with Coconuts and somehow persuaded me to stop in Alton for the night since we had such a jerky start to the day. (It didn't take much effort on her part). Upon our arrival we were treated to a great lunch on Coconuts. I bypassed a nap after lunch and got right to work by making and installing a new gasket for the seawater pump on the generator.
That evening a bunch of us went to Mac's for dinner. Nothing fancy. Just good food and plenty of it for a modest price. Every loopers dream!

Alton Marina welcoming committee!

Alton Bridge.

9/21/11 Wednesday     A quick call to Mel Price Lock and we were on our way at 7am. We idled down to the lock and by 7:35 we were exiting the lock headed for the Jct. of the Missouri and then the Chain of Rocks Canal which by-passes the rapids in the main stream of the river.

Heading into the big chamber at Mel Price Lock.

The river becomes very commercial from Alton to the south side of St. Louis with repair yards. Grain terminals. Oil and gas terminals and barges everywhere.

In for repairs.

Entrance to Chain of Rocks Canal

Lock 27 at the end of the Chain of Rocks Canal.

We passed through Lock 27 and slid down through St. Louis picking up 4 mph from the current once we re-entered the main channel.

New bridge construction in St. Louis.

Bridges and the Arch coming down stream through St. Louis.

This trip through St. Louis didn't seem as hectic as previous trips. The water was lower thus not as much debris to dodge and the commercial traffic didn't seem as heavy. It wasn't long and we were passing Hoppie's, the last fuel stop before the Kentucky Lakes area. Fern and Hoppie make their money this time of year. Nearly every looper makes the stop at Hoppie's for Fuel and Fern's river report of what to expect ahead.

Hoppie's, already filling up for the night.

We continued on past Hoppie's to mm 117.5 and turned into the Kaskaskia River to stay tied off of the floating lock wall at the Kaskaskia Lock. By the end of the day there were 8 boats spending the night. Two of the boats we had met earlier on the Loop. Nauti Nell back in Manistee, Mi. and Sweat Pea in Trenton, Ont.

Approaching Kaskaskia Lock.

9/22/11 Thursday      With available stops being limited along the river below St. Louis today would be a short day of around 70 miles to The Little River Diversion Canal just below Cape Girardeau, Mo. We were the last to leave the lock wall at 8:15. Before we got back in the channel we received a frantic call from  Coconuts who had come to a dead stop. While sandy was bringing in the fenders and lines an Asian Carp jumped over their side to greet her! Once Bru escorted it back to the river and cleaned up the mess we were underway.
The trip down river was relaxing as we enjoyed the scenery and the banter on the VHF between the boats in front of us.

 Tower Rock near Grand Tower, IL.

  Bluffs along the river.

Cape Girardeau bridge.

Boats in Diversion Canal.

The entrance to the Diversion Canal will test your boat handling skills. The current from the river is moving swiftly past the small opening to the canal and as you turn you're carried past it. As you climb your way back to it you must juggle your speed and be vigilant to the effect the current is having on the boat as it pushes you toward shore. One wrong move and you've got trouble. Once inside you're rewarded with a quiet stream and a remote setting. By the time evening rolled around there were 12 boats anchored here.

9/23/11 Friday     A big day ahead of us with a planned departure of 6:30am. Mother Nature had other ideas. Fog! So thick that you couldn't see the channel. Finally at 10:20am it lifted and we all departed the canal.

 Diversion Canal am fog.

As we travelled past Thebes, IL. we watched as a salvage crew worked a raising a sunken barge that had collide with the bridge.

Salvage work near Thebes, IL.

The river gets quite curvy in places as it nears the Ohio causing the current to swirl in the tight bends which tosses the boat around like driftwood. Not a place to meet a towboat. We survived and entered the Ohio River at 2pm. Immediately our speed dropped from 13.5 mph to 8.5 mph since we were now travelling upstream. We travelled through Cairo, IL. which is a huge staging area for barges from the Ohio and the Upper and Lower Mississippi Rivers.

Moored barges in Cairo, Il.
We ended the day anchored off channel at mm 953.3. Not where we had hoped to be but a good spot none the less.

Evening sky on the Ohio.

9/24/11 Saturday     Anchor up at 7am and on to Lock 52 below Paducah. 52 is one of the busiest locks on the Ohio and so it is today with tows pushed into the shore for miles below the lock awaiting their turn. We motored up to the lock and gave a call. We were in line after 2 north bound tows and a south bound paddle wheeler. The lockmaster told us to head toward the red buoys and anchor until he called us. We arrived at 8:45am and we were through the lock at 11am. Not bad for 52.

We slid past Paducah and turned up the Cumberland River at 12:49pm.

 Bluffs along the Cumberland.

At 4pm we approached the Barkley Lock and by 4:30 we had been lifted 53' and were exiting the chamber into Barkley Lake.

My deckhand in Barkley Lock. Going up!

We travelled a couple more miles and anchored in Nickel Bay for the next couple of nights.

Illinois River

9/12/11 Monday     Last night was a quiet night behind Sugar Island once the week-end boaters went home. Today we got going at 7am. We made it through the Marseilles and Starved Rock Locks before anchoring out side the buoy line across from Chillicothe, Illinois.

North bound tow exiting Marseilles Lock.

Former towboat converted to a bar/restaurant.

Saw this barge waiting for the water to raise.

Today also marked a first for us. We caught a fish with the dinghy. Yep. An Asian Carp jumped right into the dinghy while we were travelling! He flopped around in there for a few hours before moving on to carp heaven. Once we got secured at anchor the clean-up began.

Bloody mess.

Hey Pam. Should I clean him for dinner?

9/13/11 Tuesday     Once again we were underway by 7am. One thing we've noticed while travelling the Illinois is that it seems to be the final resting place for old barges, towboats, and old casino boats. The lower end of Chillicothe was no exception.

End of the line.

Shortly after leaving Chillicothe we started across Peoria Lake, a wide expanse of water to the eye but only a narrow channel through it. We soon were passing through Peoria. Hometown of Richard Pryor and of course Caterpillar.

Coming into Peoria.

A few miles below Peoria is the Peoria Lock. I had been monitoring the commercial traffic as well as the lock on the VHF and knew it was going to be busy at the lock. Once we rounded the last corner and had a clear view to the lock my suspicions were confirmed. A quick call to the lock and a response of," it will be at least 2 hours, maybe more." The lockmaster suggested we anchor between the I-474 bridge and the dam, outside of the channel, so that's what we did and began our wait.2 hours and 20 minutes later we locked down with the towboat M/V Julie White.

Some of the traffic waiting to lock down at Peoria.

Our view of the Peoria Lock while waiting.

Our day ended at anchor behind Sincarte Island. A narrow anchorage with a great view of the channel.

9/14/11 Wednesday     We slept in this morning and didn't get going until 7:05am! The day was overcast as we arrived at La Grange, our last lock on the Illinois. A call to the lockmaster revealed that there was no traffic at the lock and that we could enter once they were done greasing the hinges on the gates. It wasn't long and we were going in. The lockmaster gave us the choice of hanging onto lines from the lock or floating in the chamber. We opted for floating. 15 minutes after arriving we were watching the lower gates open for our departure. A record.

La Grange Lock.

If this lock looks similar to Peoria you're right. Both locks have wicket dams which from the upstream side gives the appearance of an infinity pool. In this photo the dam is to the left of the little tug boat. The wicket dams are lowered when the water gets high enough allowing the traffic to go over the top of them and avoid locking through. At that point most if not all of the lock structure would be under water.

View of the wicket dam from the lock chamber.

At one of the towns below La Grange we happened upon this old Navy LST pulled into shore and open for tours. It turns out LST 325 had served in WWII at the D-Day invasion and in fact had made 44 crossings of the channel by wars end. It has since been restored by an ex-Navy group and is travelling around giving tours.

LST 325

Just like the day before, we caught another Asian Carp today. This time on the swim platform. Also like yesterday we passed another old derelict commercial boat rotting on the riverbank.

Left to rot on the Illinois.

By the time we pulled into our anchorage behind Willow Island it was raining steadily and the wind was blowing out of the north at a pretty good clip. Time to turn on the generator and get some heat in the cabin!

Thus far our travels on the Illinois have been interesting. Once out of the Chicago area it becomes a pretty river winding through the countryside. This time of year it is shallow, even in the channel. At one point we were meeting a barge and we agreed to pass on the one whistle (port to port). It was at a slight bend in the channel and as we neared one another he hit a shallow spot and it forced the towboat and rear barges over into my lane of travel. Watching this unfold it didn't take long to figure that we were going to get hit if we didn't move. With shallow water just outside the channel all we could do was back up, and fast, until we were out of his way. Once the crisis was averted the towboat pilot and myself had a laugh about it on the VHF.
On another corner we had to wait while a 15 barge tow jockeyed his way around a tight and shallow corner. It seems that the Illinois is either above flood stage with more water than is needed or at near draught conditions as it is now making life miserable for the towboats.

I've mentioned our success with catching Asian Carp. It has apparently become a sport along the Illinois. We witnessed a small boat with 2 guys bow hunting the carp as they idled along stirring up the carp with the sound of their engine. Sorry, no pictures.

9/15/11 Thursday     OK. Today we really slept in. Departure time today was 8am. Only 30 miles to Grafton and the Mississippi River. The sun was shining after a night of temps in the 40's. Still cool but bearable in shorts and sweatshirt. We eased on toward Grafton passing a car ferry that was quite busy before we got off the Illinois.

Car Ferry

We passed Grafton Marina and at 11:03am we hit the Mississippi River and crossed our wake completing our water journey around the Eastern United States. We continued upstream on the Mississippi to Port Charles Harbor in St. Charles, Mo. where we will get Tourists engines tuned up and some other minor maintenance issues taken care of before we continue South back to Legacy Harbour in Ft. Myers.

Upon pulling into Port Charles Harbor we spotted two other looper boats. Sweetgrass who we had last seen in the Dismal Swamp and Seamoore who we had bumped into at different times while crossing Canada and who we later had dinner with at the Duck Club next door  to our marina.

Now that we have completed the Loop we can display the Gold burgee that signifies a loop completion.

Including the miles from East Dubuque to Grafton on our initial trip down river we travelled 5938.2 miles by the time we crossed our wake.

Finally Moving!

9/9/11 Friday     Today was a relaxed day with only laundry and topping off the fluid in the batteries on our slate.

9/10/11 Saturday     Finally the wind died down and so did the wave height. With the break in the weather we were up and out early before it changed back. There was still a small swell on the lake but nothing severe. It was a nice ride down to Chicago. We took a spin in to view the city from the water.

The Windy City

Chicago Harbor Light House

Navy Pier

Soldier Field

Water Intake for Chicago

After our photo shoot we continued on to Hammond, Indiana Marina for our overnight and fuel.

Hammond Marina

9/11/11 Sunday     Up early and underway. It's just a short distance to the entrance to the Cal-Sag Waterway. Of course today the lake is flat calm! We picked up a hitchhiker just out of the marina.

Don't Poop!

At 7:20am Tourist entered the river system for the first time in 2 years.

Heading into the Cal-Sag.

Chicago Skyway

Lake Freighter on the Canal. (He backed in from the lake!)

Sign at our first lock just in case you didn't know the pecking order.

Nowhere to go!

Notice of fish barrier in place to keep Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan.

We locked thru at Lockport with the Lemont Trader.

By the end of the day we had passed through 4 locks and travelled 76 miles to our anchorage behind Sugar Island.