River Tidbits

Our recent trip of 504 miles took us through 10 different locks, twice, making 20 lockages all together. Most of the chambers on the Upper River are 600' long by 110' wide which is more than enough room for us but not for a 15 barge tow. They have to split the tow into 2 sections to complete a lockage which can take up to 2 hours. If you're unfortunate enough to get to a lock as a tow is approaching, 9 times out of 10 you can figure on waiting. Find a spot off the channel, drop the hook, and have lunch or take a nap.

On the water you quickly realize that pleasure boats are the lowest priority when it comes to locking. Government vessels are 1st. For hire passenger vessels are 2nd. Commercial tows are 3rd, followed by us. It's a pecking order that upsets a lot of boaters who may arrive at a lock ahead of any of the 1st three types only to be told they have to wait. I've listened to many lock masters be verbally abused over the VHF by fellow boaters. In the end the lock master wins. End of story!

On our recent trip we were lucky. Tow traffic was light and the few that we encountered we met between the locks. This isn't always the case. Pam and I once only travelled 25 miles from 8 am till 4 pm. We traversed 3 locks but had to wait 2 hours at each for commercial traffic. Not what we had hoped for that day but by looking ahead before we started and having a plan A, B, & C, a lot of stress on captain and crew was avoided.

A typical lock on the upper Mississippi. This 15 barge tow will have to split and do 2 lockage's to transit the lock. The tow is driven into the chamber and then split. The towboat then backs out of the chamber usually leaving  9 barges to lock up or down. When the water level of the other side is reached the gates are opened and the powerless barges are pulled out by an electric winch and cable system. Once this group of barges is clear and secured the gates will close and the chamber will re-fill. The opposite gates will open allowing the powered end of the tow to enter and the process will be repeated. The 2 sections will then be reattached and the tow will be on it's way.

 

 

 







The locks fill and empty by gravity. The above diagram shows how it works just by opening and closing valves on either end of the lock.

 

There are 3 locks on the upper river that can handle an entire 15 barge tow in one lockage and they are Lock 19 in Keokuk, Iowa. And Locks 26 and 27 just above St. Louis.

 

Most of the locks were built in the 1930's with a life expectancy of 50 years. Here we are in 2015 and they are still operating! They knew how to build things back then. 

 

 

If you've been following this blog for a few years you may remember a post from late 2013 about the towboat Stephen L. Colby which struck a rock along side the channel near Davenport, Iowa and sank. The boat was refloated and towed to a repair facility near St. Louis. On our recent trip we saw that the Colby is once again back in service.

 

 

The M/V Stephen L. Colby passing through La Crosse, Wisconsin.

 

Harvest season always brings an increase in tow traffic on the river. This is due in large part because of the tremendous amount of grain that can be moved by one 15 barge tow. One single barge can take 58 full size semi's off of the road.  The 15 barges that make up one tow remove 870 semi's from our roadways. That's a lot!

 

Most of the locks have a viewing area next to the chamber. I would highly recommend taking time to visit one if you ever have the chance. You'll marvel at how gently these giants of the river guide their barges into and through the chamber.

 

 

 

North We Go (Part 3)

After two nights at Parkside Marina we untied the dock lines and made our way out to the channel. The wind was still blowing out of the northwest around 20 with gusts to 30mph but minus the rain.

We slid past the National Eagle Center (www.nationaleaglecenter.org) located right on the Wabasha waterfront and within minutes we were out of town. We passed by many sand dunes and in no time we were transiting Lock 4 at Alma, Wi.

National Eagle Center.

Sand dunes below Wabasha.

Power plant below Lock 4.

The channel winds from Wisconsin over to the Minnesota side through a sheltered course. And then a few miles above Lock 5 it opened up to feel the full effect of the wind. Kim did a great job of getting Vagabond into the chamber with the wind howling up her skirt. It was blowing hard enough to create white caps inside the chamber until the gates were closed!

Northbound tow fighting wind and current above Lock 5.

Once through the lock the channel narrowed and the wind was less of a problem. Lock 5A was ready for us and through it we went. A short while later we pulled along the Winona, Mn. sea wall and ventured into town to find a liquor store.

Fountain City, Wis.

Former sand pit above Winona that we used to stop at.

Vagabond at Winona.

Neat old building downtown.

We found the liquor store.

 

We new we were in trouble when the highest priced bottle of wine was only $5.95!

 

Lets just say that the liquor store isn't in the best part of town so once we made our purchase it was back to the boat for us.

 Just downstream we pulled into The Winona Marina, formerly the Winona Yacht Club. The wind was pushing us into the dock and there was no one around to catch a line. Once secured we saw the sign with a phone number on it. Kim called and found out the attendant was at lunch. Wait we did. Finally he slowly comes down the dock. A pumpout is what we needed so once he got the antiquated system primed the job was completed. Cost...$20.00! When the attendant was paid he went back into the hut never to be seen again. No help with lines. No help pushing us off the dock. Nothing! Must have been time for his nap!

 

We got off and worked our way south through Lock 6 and Lock 7 and on to our anchorage just off the channel across from downtown La Crosse. 

 

 

Our anchorage in downtown LaCrosse.

 

 

It wasn't long before Kim switched from captain to cook.

I did my part and held the plate!

The shoreline blocking the wind and anchored in a no wake area made for a very peaceful night.
Our travel the next day took us all of 1 mile to Pettibone Boat Club where we docked for the evening so we could check out a restaurant in downtown La Crosse.

Vagabond at Pettibone.

View of the channel from Pettibone.

Waiting for our meal at the Waterfront. It was worth the wait.

Fat and Happy we pulled out of Pettibone the next morning and made our way South. Destination...Garnet Lake.

Fleeting area below La Crosse.

Lonely day mark.

We met another river boat below La Crosse. The American Eagle. A new passenger vessel that none of us had seen before. (www.americancruiselines.com)

Headed towards the Minnesota bluffs near Brownsville.

Closing in on Brownsville, Mn.

Meeting a Northbound tow on a tight corner.

Exiting Lock 8 at Genoa, Wis.

Indians?

Blackhawk Bridge at Lansing, Iowa.

Once again we made a pit stop in Lansing for fuel, ice, and more Cow Pie.

Wide river below Lansing.

Mid channel dredging. Where do we go??

Our destination. Garnet Lake.

Once again it's time to eat!

We spent two nights anchored in Garnet and on the lay day took the dinghy for a ride through the backwaters on the Wisconsin side of the river. Just below Garnet the Wisconsin River dumps into the Mississippi. A great place to explore with it's sand bars and multiple channels. This time however we went towards Prairie Du Chien. Through shallow water that required tilting the motor up, and down dead end sloughs that had been dammed by the beavers. It reminded me of my childhood exploring the backwaters in my 14' jon boat and trusty Evinrude 3hp motor. We were all Huck Finn's for a few hours.

Looking towards Iowa as the morning mist raises off the water.

A lonely fisherman along the bank.

Slough that was dammed by the beavers.

The back way into Prairie Du Chien Marina.

A couple of cold campers who had just gotten splashed by a wave.

One of the things that I don't think I've ever mentioned about Garnet Lake is the large number of Bald Eagles that seem to reside there. Every time you look up or at the trees you can usually spot one or more scanning their territory. It's a sight that you never get tired of. Unfortunately my camera doesn't zoom in close enough to get a good picture. You'll just have to go there to see for yourself.

Our last night was a peaceful one on the hook and all too soon we were back underway trying to get home before the forecasted thunderstorms moved in.

A river all to ourselves.

Once again we were lucky at the locks with very little wait at either 10 or 11. The weather cooperated and only gave us brief showers for our final 50 miles luckily waiting until we were under cover of the dock, safe and sound at Mid-Town Marina. A great trip come to a close. We traveled 504 total statute miles. 464 on the Mississippi and 40 on the St. Croix.

Many thanks to Kim & Lu as well as Vagabond for their hospitality!





North We Go (Part 2)

So we survived the rain and cooler temperatures tucked comfortably in our slip at Red Wing Marina with as much ice as we needed! The only real excitement we had was a southbound 12 barge tow that missed the turn just above us and spent the next half hour backing and repositioning himself so he could make the corner. Supposedly Red Wing Bend is one of the toughest corners on the river for the big guys.

The new day dawned with cool temps and overcast sky's  as we made ready to continue our journey. Only two things were missing. Diane and Denny who were joining us for a couple of nights. Right on time they arrived and off we went.

Cloudy day on the river.

A fixer upper on the banks of the Mississippi.

Lock 3

Our luck at the locks continued as we arrived at Lock 3 and found no other traffic in the area.

Once through the lock it was a scenic cruise along the Wisconsin shoreline to Prescott, Wi. where the golden hued water of the St. Croix meets the muddy water of the Mississippi River creating what looks like a milkshake being blended together. Our course had us departing the Ole Miss and heading up the Croix. Destination...Hudson, Wisconsin and the St. Croix Marina (www.stcroixmarina.com).

St. Croix Marina, Hudson, Wi.

As we pulled up to the transient dock I saw a face I recognized from Florida. Jon Market was there with his boat and helped grab our lines when we got close to the dock.

Turns out Jon had just purchased the boat and was beginning to personalize it.

It didn't take Denny long to get into full relaxation mode once we were tied up.

St. Croix Marina offices.

One of the main reasons for choosing Hudson as our stop was our previous experiences at the San Pedro Café (www.sanpedrocafe.com). The food has always been good as well as the margarita's and the thing that we love the most is their flourless chocolate cake with a bit of habanero tossed in to give it a little kick.

San Pedro Café. An easy walk from the marina.

Happy Camper's!

As usual we gorged ourselves at the San Pedro and had to waddle slowly back to the boat. Fortunately or unfortunately, (depending on individual perspective), we had enough energy left to play a game of Cards Against Humanity before we all passed out.

Our Thursday morning departure was delayed while the women strolled back downtown to check out the shops. Finally sometime after the lunch hour we could release the lines and get underway. However the wind must have been ordered by the Hudson Chamber of Commerce because it was pushing us hard against the dock not wanting us to leave. Fortunately Vagabond has a strong bow thruster which enabled us to get away unscathed.

In need of a pump out Kim opted to make the short run to Bayport Marina and take advantage of their protected harbor to get this task completed.

Hudson RR Bridge.

The women were still in a food coma from the night before.

 

Entrance to Bayport Marina

 



Bayport proved to be the top of our trip North. After relieving the pressure on Vagabond's holding tank the bow was pointed South. A part of the trip that was always a bit of a let down for me in previous years when I was still gainfully employed.

 

With only a short distance to go to Afton we cruised at a slow pace enjoying the scenery and lack of boat traffic since it wasn't a week-end.

 

 The beautiful St. Croix.

 

I thought it only fair to warn Gordy & Kathy of our intentions to check out their establishment that evening in hopes that they would be around. Well it was only a few minutes after we had pulled into Cary's slip at the Yacht Club that Gordy showed up. He had been there once already to leave a splitter for us for the power receptacle and came back to see if we had made it in ok. We shot the bull for awhile before duty called and Gordy was off.

 

Our itinerary called for lounging around the dock before making the short walk to the Afton House for dinner. (www.aftonhouseinn.com)

 

Afton House Inn.

 

While Kim was checking on our reservation Pam & I started exploring and found Kathy in Swirl, their wine bar, enjoying Ladies Night.

 

Swirl.

 

Kathy & Pam.

 

The place was jumpin with people inside and out enjoying the weather and the wine.

 

We had a delicious meal topped of with Bananas Foster prepared tableside.

 

We ended the evening by joining the proprietor's outside for an after dinner drink before heading back to the boat. Thanks again Gordy and Kathy for your hospitality! Afton and The Afton House just became a mandatory stop for us on any future St. Croix trips.

 

The next day after returning the borrowed splitter we departed the Afton Yacht Club under overcast sky's and a brisk southwesterly breeze. It wasn't long before we left the golden waters of the St. Croix and rejoined the muddy Mississippi.

 

The Mississippi below Prescott, Wi. 

  

A small dredging operation mid channel.

The bottom is mostly sand in this area which is loaded into the barge and taken a few miles downstream where it is scooped out and deposited on an island and spread out by an earth moving machine. The eventual end result is a nice sand dune for the public to use.

Meeting a chemical barge below Prescott.

All too soon we were reluctantly pulling back into Red Wing to drop off Denny & Diane. The girls went to the grocery store while the guys moved Vagabond to the sea wall. Re-provisioned and good byes said we pulled back into the channel.

A tidy looking cabin below Red Wing.

Just a few miles below Red Wing the channel dumps you back into the vastness of Lake Pepin.

Point No Point in the distance.

Once we rounded Point No Point we felt the effects of the wind as the waves turned into small whitecaps. Further down the lake we pulled in behind Long Point to anchor for the night and escape the effects of the wind and waves.

Anchored in the lee of Long Point with Maiden Rock in the distance.

Legend has it that Maiden Rock got it's name as a result of Princess Winona jumping to her death from it's cliffs. Apparently distraught after finding out that her father, Red Wing, Chief of the Dakota Tribe had ordered the death of her lover who was a member of the rival Chippewa Tribe.

Long Point sunset.

The wind was still blowing the next day when we retrieved the anchor and made our way the short distance to Hansen's to top off the fuel tanks. Mission accomplished Vagabond headed back into the Lake with a destination of Pepin, Wi. and the Harborview Café (www.harborviewpepin.com). Always one of our favorite stops

Checking out the menu which is posted behind the bar.

The menu written in chalk.

You can tell by the clock we were early.

The view of the harbor through the front windows.

Vagabond secure in Pepin Marina.

We've stayed in Pepin Marina some years back. A comfortable marina until the BNSF train goes through. There is a crossing at both ends of the marina thus the train whistle at each crossing. And the trains run about every half hour, 24 hours a day!

With a deteriorating weather forecast we wanted to complete our Lake Pepin crossing before it got too snotty so off we went.

A few whitecaps

A northbound tow.

It's only a few miles across the lake to Reed's Landing where the lake funnels back into the much narrower river channel and protection from the wind. With the forecast in mind the decision was made to spend a couple of nights at Parkside Marina in Wabasha to wait out the weather.

The wind increased during the night and the rains came although we missed the brunt of the storm. By morning all that remained was the wind. 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35. A good day to stay in port. Of course after a lazy morning laundry was on the menu as well as a stroll around town.

Every day starts with coffee.

The downtown area of Wabasha is struggling with many empty storefronts. We did manage to find The Olde Triangle Pub open and stopped in for bloody Mary's and a bite of lunch.

Cheers!

Room for more.

We made our way around town with one more stop at an ice cream parlor before returning to Vagabond by way of the grocery store.

Buildings of Wabasha.

This couple looks a little stiff!

Once back at the boat Kim & I took a walk around the marina.

 The travel lift. Yep the cab is mounted backwards on the chassis.

A couple of comfortable Adirondack's to sit in and watch old man river go by.

The view of the channel from the Adirondacks'.

A nicely kept older 36' Egg Harbor for sale.

As with a lot of river marinas there is an area where the forgotten boats sit. Rotting in the weather awaiting their fate. Parkside is no exception although there weren't as many as we've seen in other marinas.