We're Home!

Tuesday 6/30/09 The last day of June and we're not home yet. I thought we would have been boating in our home waters for two or three weeks by now. Oh well! We've been having fun anyway.

We pulled anchor this morning in time to get to the Muscatine Municipal Marina by 8 o'clock to take on diesel fuel. The dock is not manned on a regular basis and a call must be made to get a city employee down there to pump fuel. No sooner did I call and two men showed up to get the fuel for us. Seems they were working on deepening the harbor when the office called them and as such were in close proximity. We took on fuel and got out ahead of the north bound barge that we had passed on our way to the fuel dock. This was our first break of the day because that enabled us to get right into Lock 16 just above Muscatine avoiding a 2 hour wait. Our second break came when we got to Lock 15 in Rock Island, Ill. They locked us through in the auxiliary lock which has been closed for the past few years. Again we avoided a long wait. By 12:30 pm we were arriving at Lock 14 and had to wait only 36 minutes before locking up. Probably the biggest break of the day came at Clinton, Iowa when we were able to get the train bridge to open for us. It seems that every time in recent memory that 100 plus year old bridge has been broken down or we have had to wait for a train coming from Omaha. We cruised on up to Lock 13 and our luck ran out. They had just started a southbound double which meant an hour and a half wait minimum. The anchor was dropped and we got cleaned up for what was going to be the highlight of our trip home once we got to Savanna, Ill. Finally at 5:26 pm we left Lock 13 for the last leg of the days travel.

Once we arrived at Savanna we dropped anchor and launched the raft. We were off to Mannys Pizza. A rough and tumble old bar that serves up the best thin crust pizza and tacos around. Needless to say we stuffed ourselves. This is one place where Pam can out eat me! No small task. You'd swear she was a trucker the way she scarfs the pizza down. It's almost embarrassing.

After returning to the boat we sat in the cockpit and enjoyed the rest of the evening with a sundowner.

Wednesday July 1, 2009 Today we slept in which for me means 6 am and for Pam 7. Once underway we backtracked a couple of miles to Island City Harbor in Sabula, Iowa. The winter home for Tourist when she's not roaming the high seas. We took on fuel and off loaded waste before pointing North for the last leg of our journey home. We passed the eagles nest that has been in a dead tree beside the channel for several years. Just as before there was an eagle keeping vigil over the nest. We arrived at Lock 12 in Bellevue, Iowa around 10:45 am and left at 11:30. Lock 12 was the last of 60 lockages we made on this trip. We cruised past Chestnut Mt. ski resort and pulled into Midtown Marina in East Dubuque, Ill. at 1 pm.

Since November 1, 2008 we have travelled 5608.3 statute miles. Burned 5076.3 gallons of diesel fuel. And passed through 60 locks and over 2. Tourist performed like a champion and delivered us safely back home. An oil change and a wash job and she'll be ready to go again!

Travelin North

Sunday June 28, 2009 We had a brief thunderstorm last night which helped to cool things down a degree or two. Since leaving GTB we've had temperatures' consistently in the mid to upper 90's with humidity to match. Hot!!! Today was a get home travel day. We passed through four locks and rose a total of 2'. Took on fuel and travelled 110 miles ending our day in Quincy, Ill. We spent the night tied up to the Quincy Boat Club dock located just above The Adams Pier Restaurant which is built on an old bridge support. The Boat Club dock is an honor system pay format. Get the envelope, put your money in, and drop it through the slot in the door of the building. Just remember to block the gate open that separates the dock from the street when going to pay or you'll be swimming back to the boat. We had cocktails on the back of the boat and watched the parade of boats coming in from a weekend on the river. It's always fun to watch the launch ramp antics after everyone's been soaking up suds and sun and today was no exception!

Monday June 29, 2009 We left Quincy at 6:18 am (yes we left our envelope in the door!) and headed upstream. Morning is one of my favorite times on the river. Calm water and no traffic. It reminds me of making the first tracks in fresh powder from back in my snow skiing days. We made it through four locks again today and only had to wait a total of 1hour 50 minutes. Not bad when you consider that you could wait that long at 1 lock. We passed through our last bollard lock in Keokuk, Iowa and now we're back in the land of I got to get off my butt and handle a stern line in the locks. Our travel today got us to a point 7 miles below Muscatine, Ia. where we anchored outside the buoy line just off the channel. A great spot to block the wind with a killer view down river. Another good day knocking off 119 miles. Only 132 left to go.

Against The Current

Friday 6/26/09 Today we continued our journey against the current. We passed by Cape Girardeau, hometown of Rush Limbaugh and continued on upriver to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River. Just upstream about a quarter mile is Kaskaskia Lock which has a floating lock wall on the downstream side of the lock chamber. In addition to being somewhat unique the wall is available to pleasure boaters to tie to for an overnight stay free of charge! There are no amenities and you can only get off the boat and onto the deck of the wall. Since 911 no one is allowed to go ashore which would mean climbing up a ladder and crossing the lock gates to get to shore. Even so, it's a good, secure spot to spend a night. On the way in to the lock I thought I was going to lose Pam. As she was putting out the fenders and lines she let out a scream that could be heard back in Ft. Myers. Seems I forgot to tell her about the Asian Carp that jump out of the water as the boat passes. These fish can jump at least 6' in the air and they pop up like popcorn all around the boat. She thought she was being attacked! Several fish mistimed their jumps and hit the side of the boat. Once we stopped they went back into hiding.

Saturday 6/27/09 We pulled away from Kaskaskia Lock at 6:55 am and immediately ran the gauntlet of Asian Carp. Guess who screamed again?! Once in the Mississippi we were away from the carp. I guess even they can't swim against the current. We continued North to Hoppies Marina/gas dock at Kimmswick, Mo. and took on much needed fuel. If you remember back in November we stayed at Hoppies and found some great pie at the Blue Owl Cafe. Not this time though, we're headin home. Just for comparison in November the run from Hoppies to Green Turtle Bay consumed 177 gallons of diesel. This time we pumped in 328 gallons.

We continued on to St. Louis passing more moored barges than I have ever seen in my life. Fortunately the debris which is usually prominent in the area was minimal. Quite a bit of it was caught in front of the barges like you can see in the picture. We passed through Lock 27 and rose 7' and then on to Mel Price Lock at Alton, Ill. where we had no rise in water level. You can see in the picture that only one gate was opened for us to enter the chamber and at the other end you can see the gate and the water beyond. The upper gate lowers into the lock and you drive over it. Amazing structures! We continued on to Port St. Charles Marina in St. Charles, Mo. for the night.

On The Move Again

Thursday June 25, 2009 After being at Green Turtle Bay for nearly a month the Mississippi has finally dropped to a level that I feel we can handle. It's still not for the faint hearted but if you don't mind strong currents and occasional channel wide debris it's not too bad. So with that in mind we pulled out of GTB at 6:15 am. I wanted to cross back over to the Tennessee River and travel that river to Paducah but a quick call to the lock squashed that idea. They had just started a double (barge that has to be locked in 2 sections) and had another one waiting which meant us sitting for a minimum of three hours before we could lock through. Fortunately the Barkley Lock was open so to the Cumberland we go. The only bad part of the Cumberland route is that it adds 22 miles to the day. Oh well! Down the Cumberland we went at trawler speed + to conserve fuel. The current was moving pretty good so we got a little boost from it and hit the Ohio at 9:42 am. Once we entered the Ohio the water turned to a nice thick milkshake brown. We cruised over, yes over the dams at Locks 52 & 53 since the water was so high and they are the type that can be lowered to the bottom of the river. The lock chambers that we came through back in November were completely under water.

We entered the Mississippi at 2:45 pm and turned North. Only 579 miles left to go! The current was every thing I expected but not much debris yet. Of course our timing was perfect in that we made the turn onto the Miss at the same time as the Raymond Grant Ekstein pushing 35 barges was heading upstream from the lower river. Yikes! A quick conversation on the VHF to let him know our intentions and upstream we went. The water was calm but the current was ripping and the color of the water would have made any farmer who works the land want to get his planter out. There can't be any dirt left in the Midwest. It's all in the river! We made it to our destination near Cape Girardeau, Mo. and anchored off channel in the Little River Diversion Canal. The same spot we anchored in on the way down but with 15' more water. A nice days run.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Tuesday June 23, 2009 The heat is almost unbearable down here. Almost. Mid 90's every day with humidity along with it. The good news is that I now weigh in at a svelte 125 lbs. I've been eating like my tape worm came back to life! Any projects we have take place in the AM then we hibernate in the AC after that. The good news is that we've been getting some things done that were going to be put off until we got home.

Anchored in what the locals call cheap skate bay last week end. They call it that because it's only 2 miles from the marina thus not much fuel is used to and from. Even with that moniker hanging over us we had a good time. Our location offered us a good view of Barkley Lake and all the boats coming and going without feeling much effect from their wakes. On Saturday we had a visit from Bruce and Leda Brubaker who slip their 48' Sea Ray at GTB. We had met Bruce earlier and told him where we would be anchored. It was fun visiting with them and comparing boats since theirs is the same model as ours. Bruce is a Ford dealer here in Kentucky (and happy to be one!) and a former pro ball player. Their nephew is the current catcher for the Yankees. We later had dinner with them at the Commonwealth Yacht Club back at the marina. I think they know everyone there! Both are very hospitable people who exude Southern Hospitality.

Back here in the slip I spotted the above pictured turtle trying to eat a nectarine. I'm either bored or just enjoying the simple pleasures of nature.

On the river front I thought I'd give some comparisons taken from the NOAA web site about the volume of water passing by Dubuque, St. Louis, & Cape Girardeau, Mo. today. Dubuque river stage 9' and flowing at a rate of 52 thousand cubic feet per second. St. Louis 25' stage and a flow of 404 thousand cubic feet per second, and Cape Girardeau at a 33' stage with a flow of 455 thousand cubic feet per second. Not sure how that translates to mph but I know it's pretty fast!

Don't Mess With Mother Nature

Thursday 6/18/09 Our plan was to leave last Friday and start for home, however Mother Nature wants us to remain here for some reason. Heavy downpours have been occurring almost daily at different locations all along our intended route of travel causing flash flooding of the tributaries that feed the Mighty Miss. The river has been rising ever since we arrived back at Green Turtle Bay. At St. Louis although not closed, traffic has been limited to daylight hours only and towboats must have a minimum of 250 horsepower for each loaded barge in addition to the warning about heavy drift (logs & debris) severing buoy moorings and moving them off station. Currently the river is rising to or above flood stage from Alton, Il. to Cairo, Il where it joins the Ohio River.

Since we can't move North we've been taking advantage of our situation by doing some of the boat chores that we were putting off until we got home like waxing & polishing. Not a fun job but one that needs to be done to keep Tourist lookin good. I feel like the Karate Kid. On a personal note I got cleaned up yesterday, rented a golf cart and drove into town to Janice K's salon and got my hair cut for the first time since Ft. Myers. (at Pams' insistence) I was hoping to wait until we got home for the shearing but it was beyond time. Since we're still in the South I thought I'd surprise Pam and get a more traditional Southern haircut. I'm now sporting a Billy Ray Cyrus Mullet! She's thrilled y'all!

Temps are in the 90's and forecast to stay there for the next several days. I think we'll cut the dock lines and find a cove to drop the hook in. It's Princess Chair time!

Superman and a Small World

Saturday June 13, 2009 Last night while sitting at the bar of the yacht club here at Green Turtle Bay two things of interest happened. First off we were sitting there talking to a couple about boating, where we were from, etc. We learned that they had lived in Metropolis, Il. some years ago and had once held up a bank there. Neither of them looked menacing so we kept up the interrogation and found out that the bank job was done as part of the annual Superman Festival held each June in Metropolis. Further questioning revealed that the festival was taking place this week-end. Hmmmm.

Our conversation continued to where we had spent the winter and our travels en route to GTB. Seems they spent the winter in Ft. Myers at the City Marina just a few blocks from Legacy Harbor where we were. Our conversation continued to talking about coming up the Tombigbee in high water and when I told them how much we raised in the Coffeeville Lock Bill said that's what they raised. He then asked what our boat name was, started laughing and told us that they were on Lorelei at which point we all burst into laughter. We had run in sight of or within radio range of them from Mobile to Bashi Creek below Demopolis, pointing out logs or buoys that were bobbing below the surface. We even both anchored in Bates Lake and Okatuppa Creek together as well as locking through Coffeeville Lock together. They are spending the summer here at GTB on their boat which they have lived on full-time for the past 10 years. Small world!

After the first paragraph you probably guessed that we were going to the Superman Festival. I wanted to go in costume. Me as Superman of course and Pam as Wonder Woman. Well that didn't happen. Pam nixed the idea when she realized that WW wore a tiara which of course would mess up her hair. We drove to Metropolis (about 40 miles) and enjoyed an afternoon watching people of all shapes and sizes parading around in their favorite superhero costume. In addition to the people watching I scored a personal first which was to eat my first corn dog! I know you probably think I've led a sheltered life! From there we made a stop in downtown Paducah for a libation before returning to GTB.