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.

Summertime

Wednesday August 26, 2009 We're sitting here waiting for the hot muggy days of August to arrive. You know, those days where the only place to get cooled off is sitting in a princess chair in the water behind the boat with a cocktail! We had a brief touch of it back in June when we were still in Kentucky but since then it's been cool to comfortable and my princess has only been in her chair once! Maybe I'll place a call to Al and see when we should expect the heat to arrive?

Even with the cooler weather we managed to have the grand kids up for a weekend and made it to Chestnut Mt. (www.chestnutmtn.com) where we had lunch at their new Sunset Grill overlooking the ski slopes and the river valley as well as a couple of trips down the Alpine Slide. I either weigh too much or I'm getting too cautious in my advanced age cause the kids kicked my butt on the slide. Even Luke who had a broken arm at the time!

We've been spending time on the boat and more time at home taking care of projects that seem to go with home ownership. And to think that I used to like doing stuff around the house! The cooler weather has kept the grass growing to the point that it needs to be cut every 4 days. Uff Da! The good part of being home is being able to catch up with friends and family as well as spend time with Minnie our dog who is almost 16 and still doing well although slowing down a bit.

Getting ready to head upriver to who knows where. Tourist will be travelling with Aqua Villa a 46' Maxum. Personally I'm hoping to get as far as Hudson, Wi. to get some chocolate cake at the San Pedro restaurant. The best I've ever eaten! We leave Thursday and as river travel dictates, we have no itinerary! Less stressful that way.

It didn't take long to settle into life at home after 195 days on Tourist. Lawn mowing, weeding, painting, etc. I'm ready to get back on the boat! Pam has gotten reacquainted with Tommy at the nail salon and Patty at the hair salon as well as catching up on all the family happenings. She even went to the latest Harry Potter movie with her mother while I did some of the above mentioned chores. I did have time to get most of the river grime off of Tourist. The picture of the swim platform shows how grungy it was after plowing upstream on the Mississippi for 579 miles.

We got home in time to spend the 4th of July holiday (where else?) on the river with friends watching the fireworks, drinking, and eating. Once the sun goes down it's pretty cool to view all the boats with their lights on waiting for the show. Needless to say it's a mess if you're in the middle of the group. The 4th is one of those holidays that brings out everyone that owns a boat. We generally get a spot on the fringe and stay there all night to avoid the flotilla and not have to worry about drinking and driving.

This past weekend my Chapman's training came in handy once more as I was called to tow in a disabled vessel which had broken down in the main channel of the river with a barge approaching. Later the owner of the vessel decided to do his Bob Marley impersonation thinking that it would suffice for payment. I'd rather have cash but it was entertaining!

Next weekend we take the grandkids on Tourist. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can hit Chestnut Mt. and their alpine slide.

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.