Topless for a Day!

I'll bet that heading got your attention! Well it's true.....but not in the way you may have hoped. Not wanting to dive into the winterization of Tourist too quickly we jumped at the suggestion from Nancy to go topless touring for a day to check out the fall colors and maybe hit a few places we had never been.
To start the day we met at Dillon's in Galena for breakfast before dropping our tops and heading out of town. Our first stop was just off Blackjack Road at Horseshoe Mound for a terrific view of the tri state area.

Galena with Iowa in the far left and Wisconsin to the right.

Sorry. No one topless.

Backwaters of the Mississippi near where I grew up.

Goin topless past my old house.

My old house with a few changes since I lived there.

Although we hadn't travelled that far the crew was already parched and needed a break! We stopped at Chestnut Mt. Resort to quench our thirsts and enjoy the view. (www.chestnutmtn.com)

Looking over the ski runs.

View of the Mississippi and a south bound tow.

Looking south from one of the lookout points of Chestnut. (I used to lead trail rides to this point when I was in Junior HS.)

Looking north from that same point.

We enjoyed our time at Chestnut but it was soon time to move on.

Back country roads.

The Flanagan's showing their skill by driving with no hands on the wheel!

Since we were in the lead I decided to take them on a road that led down to the river.

West Diggin Hill Rd. One lane through the woods.

Passing through a tunnel under the BNSF RR tracks.

We made a stop at Blanding Landing. A public area with campground and launch ramp.
The sign is for those who didn't realize they were close to the river.

 Just in case you missed the first sign. Hello Mr. Obvious!

A few miles down the road from Blanding the terrain flattens out.

Our travels took us into Hanover, Il and onto Hwy 84 which we took south to Palisades State Park just north of Savanna. Palisades offers some spectacular views of the river valley from its lookouts.

Walkway to the lookout.

Tourists.

More tourists!

The view.

Looking south toward Savanna.

We've been out there!

Looking down on Hwy 84 and the BNSF RR tracks.

Another look at the southbound tow. We occasionally anchor in the cut just behind the tow.

A topless picture for your viewing pleasure!

Only God knows what's on her mind!

We rolled back down the hill to 84 and went into Savanna. It had been quite awhile since our thirst had been quenched so with that in mind we headed to Poopy's. (www.poopys.com)

Ok. So it's a biker bar.

You can tell it's a classy joint!

M & N picked up a hitchhiker back in the park. He looks quite happy to have found a new home.

Thirsts quenched we drove back through Savanna and took a left across the Hwy 52 bridge which is being replaced. It's easy to see why when you get on the bridge. It's narrow and the decking is a metal grate that you can see through.

No room for error.

A view from the bridge looking north.

Hwy 52 took us through the island town of Sabula, Iowa where Tourist will be stored for the winter. From Sabula we turned north and headed for Bellevue State Park for another breathtaking view of the Mississippi.

The path to the lookout.

Mike & I were rewarded with this lovely view!

We all enjoyed this view of Bellevue and Lock & Dam 12.

By now we were all getting hungry so we slid down the hill and through Bellevue to the Offshore Grill located on the north side of town. Offshore is a nice bar/restaurant located on the bank of the river with a nice view of the channel.
Offshore was our last stop. It was reluctantly the end of our topless outing as the tops went back up to keep us all warm on our journeys home. Guess Pam & I will have to focus in earnest now on getting Tourist ready for a cool rest. Uff Da!

Other Happennings (Fun and not so fun)

One of the events that kept us from getting one more week-end on Tourist was my 45th year class reunion. I haven't been to a reunion since my 25th so I wasn't sure I'd recognize any of my classmates. In most cases it took me only a few seconds to identify them without looking at name tags.

Pam & I had a great time catching up with everyone. Even our sophomore basketball coach showed up. Turns out our sophomore team was the only undefeated team he coached in his storied career which includes several Wisconsin State championships and the designation as the winningest coach in Wisconsin High School history.

Coach Jerry Petitgoue and a few former players.

Our reunion was held at a funky place out in the hills of Jo Daviess County known as Council Hill Station. Beverages are pretty much on an honor system. Help yourself and pay as you go. Most of our event took place in the old milking barn converted to a reception hall.

Of course once the band started playing Pam drug me out on the dance floor to prove once again that I have no rhythm.

Class of 71 minus a few. 

 

The day of the class reunion also marked the start of my dietary watch for my Monday colonoscopy. Soft foods then Sunday I had to drink the 55 gallons of tasty jungle juice and keep close to the head.

 

 OK. So maybe it wasn't 55 gallons.

 

Instruction pamphlet.

 

The last time I had this procedure done they put me out. I slept for 4 hours and didn't remember a thing about it. This time I was awake and watched the whole operation on a video monitor. Only once did I feel slightly uncomfortable when I thought he had the probe near my throat.

 

I watched as he snipped off 5 pollops which turned out to be benign. That's good news however it means that I'm no longer a perfect asshole!

 

On the Tourist front we started the winterization process by taking a short cruise to fill up the fuel tank and warm the engines for an oil change.

 

 

The marina is popping boats out like popcorn.

The American Queen at Dubuque.

 The American Queen at Dubuque. The Queen had been held hostage by the high water and just recently headed back downstream.

 

Arriving back at the marina we hit the pump-out dock before going to our slip. Once secured I headed to the engine room while Pam started separating items that may freeze from those that wouldn't. Arrrgh! Are we really doing this?

 

One Last Weekend

For some reason as we progress in years it becomes harder to schedule times when there isn't something else already on the calendar. It was for this reason that we enjoyed our last weekend on the hook in early October.
The river was still high but receding allowing us to get out of the current and back in protected waters. It was also still high enough to let us take one last dinghy run through the backwaters.

Our first stop as we headed across the channel was to stop for Pam to touch a green buoy so we could take a picture to show the grandkids. What she didn't plan on was touching it in a place that was just painted by the USCG buoy tender Wyaconda less than an hour before. Of course the realization produced an "ooey" from Pam and a mad scramble to find something to wipe off her hand.

From there we headed down Menominee Slough. Mike of course didn't get the memo that it was cool outside!

See what I mean? Even the dog has a fur coat on!

Kim checking for seaweed around the prop.

This log jam created by the high water prevented us from advancing any further. We had been through this route earlier in the season with no trouble.

We had no choice but to turn around and find another way.

Our path took us across an island and past this concrete foundation rumored to have been used as a hideout by Al Capone.

The view of our boats as we came back to the anchorage. Hard to believe the current is ripping by just a few yards behind us.

Kim & Otis relaxing.

I thought I was reviewing the photos in the camera and took this by mistake. Selfie?

Sun setting through the trees.

Of course we finished off the day with dinner and perhaps a libation!

Mike was still in a cooking mood the next morning. Grilling breakfast under the close supervision of Nancy!

One last dinghy ride for the Flanagan's.

All too soon it was time to break apart and head back.