The Mississippi River

 TRAVEL DAY 126 - Hardin to Alton

October 16, 2023

4.13 Hours/ 36.5 Miles

    The weather turned, although the mornings remain cool, the afternoon warmed to the upper 60's. Our plan today was to go to Grafton but with Runaway's transmission problem and a family issue for Sidetrip, the River Rats decided to go just a little further down river to Alton. We moved in the same formation with Runaway in the middle so we could monitor their progress. We pulled away from the dock and into the Illinois River current at a few minutes before 9 am.

 

Pau Hana

    Our crew was happy for an easy travel day and looking forward to 4 days in a marina, downtime, laundry, provisions and unlimited hot water! At noon we turned on to the Mississippi River at Grafton, with Illinois on our port and Missouri to our starboard. This marks another milestone on our epic journey. The trees are just starting to turn color and we're hopeful for beautiful fall foliage down the rivers.

 

Mississippi River

 

    I pulled back on the throttle and made my way into the basin at Alton Marina behind Sidetrip. Runaway hovered outside waiting for the fuel dock before moving to their slip. We went straight for our slip and figured we would get fuel before we left Alton as it would be the last fuel stop for 287 miles in Grand Rivers, KY. With a hot engine I changed the engine oil and filter, which is always the best time to do it since the oil is thin and well mixed.

  

Fall colors on the way

    The next day with the help of the other River Rats, I moved the boat to the fuel dock and topped off the tanks, then we did the same for Sidetrip. Once we were all settled, we walked across the bridge to town and celebrated with dinner and beer at the The Old Bakery Beer Company Awesome food and great craft beer!

  

The Old Bakery Beer Company

    

Hardin to Alton

Grafton

    Since we skipped Grafton and had access to a car, we went for the afternoon with the crew of Runaway and rode the lift up to the mountain top.

 

Sky Tour

  

Pau Hana & Runaway

    While we were there, we contacted the crew of  Better Together and we were all able to meet downtown for dinner. River Rats reunion time!

  

Better Together River Rats parked in motorcycle parking

Grafton - The "Keywest of the Midwest"

St. Louis

    Although we will travel by water right by St. Louis, there is no dock there and no way to stop there by boat. We took a day and traveled to St. Louis to see some of the sights. We went downtown to Blueberry Hill restaurant and music club for lunch. A St. Louis landmark and where so many bands & artists have played, folks like Chuck Berry and many more. The walls are lined with thousands of pictures and nostalgic items.

 

Blueberry Hill - Restaurant & Music Club

    We also visited the Gateway Arch. The iconic "Gateway to the West". The 630' tall monument clad in stainless steel, is the tallest manmade monument in the western hemisphere. The arch faces the Mississippi to the east & St. Louis to the west. An inside tram brings you from the base of the arch, to the top.

 

St. Louis from the Arch

  

Mississippi from the Arch

    Afterwards we went to Anheuser-Busch and had a couple beers in their Biergarten. We wrapped up the day back in Alton.

   

Anheuser-Busch

TRAVEL DAY 127 - Alton to Kimmswick, MO

October 21, 2023

4.92 Hours/ 42.7 Miles

    After 5 days in Alton, we were ready to get moving down the Mississippi River. The day before we were able to get Runaway's transmission problem fixed. Turned out it was a bad ground. Most of the times it is the simplest things. Our plan was to pull away from the dock at 7 am and travel down river less than 1 1/2 miles to the Mel Price Lock. I checked the AIS and saw a tow in the lock. I also checked Army Corps Lock Que to see what vessels where scheduled. Once I had an idea, I called the Lockmaster on VHF 14 (VHF radio is "line of sight" so I was close enough to communicate). The Lockmaster was not the most helpful and replied "I'm pretty busy here, call me when you are outside the lock". So off we went.

   

Alton Sunrise

    As we approached, and about a 1/2 mile out, I called and informed the Lockmaster we were outside the lock. He relayed back that he had a tow coming out & then would get us in and "...get in here quick". The River Rats got the green light and swiftly moved in. Two boats on port "pins" (floating bollards) and 2 on starboard. The chamber dropped 15', the doors opened, the horn sounded, and we were out and on our way.

 

Mel Price Lock

    Just before mile marker 194 we headed to port at the Chain of Rocks Canal. Missing this turn would prove to be a serious error as not making the turn would have placed us into, well...a chain of rocks and a dam. A 44' sailing vessel did just that in October of 2021. The crew was rescued but the boat was destroyed. There is a large blue arrow that says "LOCK" and points to the left, they missed it anyway.

 

Chain of Rocks Lock Sign

    At the Chain of Rocks Lock #27, I called the Lockmaster and we moved right in. This was the last lock for sometime and these locks have held several of the flotillas up for hours, we were lucky. The next big milestone on this trip was passing the St. Louis Arch. I turned Pau Hana back up river into the 2.5 mph current and we snapped pictures of the other 3 boats, then we whipped around and got our photo taken.

   

St. Louis Arch

    With not a lot of stops on the Mississippi River, Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick Missouri is pretty much the only choice. We called the day before and reserved spots on the dock. Did I say dock? It is a series of old rusty barges held stationary in the current by ropes tied up the steep bank. The crew here is good about guiding boats in and getting them tied up in the swift current.

 

Hoppies

    We were lucky today as it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and the town of Kimmswick, MO (our 14th state) was very active. The River Rats walked the 15 minutes to town and went to LaChance Winery We had lunch and listened to some great live music.

 

Climbing Hoppies Hill

 

    At 5:30 pm, the owner of Hoppies gives a briefing for the rest of our trip to Green Turtle Bay. The river is constantly changing so local knowledge is key. We will have no choice but to anchor the next 3 days, so it is imperative we get up to date info. After the briefing we all got together and planned the next few days of travel.

Alton to Kimmswick, MO

TRAVEL DAY 128 - Kimmswick, to Kaskaskia

October 22, 2023

4.25 Hours/ 42.1 Miles

    A pretty restful night on the old barge at Hoppies and a short travel day planned for today. What would normally be a 5 1/2 hour day, thanks to the swift current of the Mississippi would be much shorter. At 9:30 we started the engines and loosened the lines. Pushing our bows out into the river and letting the current crab us away from the dock, we swung around and continued south. We couldn't have asked for a better day and although it started out 58 deg, the forecast promised higher temperatures.

  

Low water levels but beautiful scenery

  We passed very few tows and commercial traffic today. We witnessed many bald eagles flying over and down onto the river, at one point 5 were soaring back and forth in front of and beside the boat. A pretty uneventful day on the water with Pau Hana still leading the pack & communicating with the tows.

   

Hangin' with the band

   Around before 2 pm I motored just past the Kaskaskia River and then turned into the current and moved into the Kaskaskia and toward the Jerry F. Costello Lock & Dam. I called the lockmaster to be sure our group could tie up to the lock wall. We received permission and a few pointers for approach. I set the Camano on the 2nd wall section, far forward with the bow at the large concrete piling. The large concrete wall is actually a series of chambers that float and rise and fall with the water level.

   

Kaskaskia Lock Wall

    Our crew helped each of the other boats tie up in succession. By dark, there were a total of 10 boats on the wall. The River Rats shared a meal and had a blast until "Looper Midnight". 

Kimmswick to Kaskaskia

  TRAVEL DAY 129 - Kaskaskia to Cape Girardeau, MO

October 23, 2023

6.43 Hours/ 69.6 Miles

    The River Rats pulled away from the Kaskaskia Lock wall at daybreak, facing a long travel day. For nearly 2 hours we had the sun and glare directly in our eyes, but knew the day promised 75 degree plus weather. The Mississippi River churns on at times pushing us up to 4 mph over our normal speed. 

 

Early Departure

    The river has been low for the past 2 years, the wing dams and sand beaches we see would normally be underwater. This makes navigation for the commercial traffic tough. Today we passed several more tows, all heading up the river. Don't make the mistake of calling a Tug a Barge. The barge is the container and the Tug is the boat, the two together create a Tow. Rounding Potato Bend, we met one of the largest tows we have encountered yet. Pushed by the Theresa L. Wood, this unit had 28 barges. With the capacity of 15 times greater than one railcar, and 60 times greater than one semi-trailer truck, this behemoth was pushing a load equal to 1,680 semi's!

  

Theresa L. Wood on the "1 Whistle"

    If we pay attention, we see a so much wildlife along the shore. Today we were treated with 3 Coyotes at the edge of the water on a sandy bank.

  

Exposed Wing Dams

    As our group came around the corner at Cape Girardeau, we were close to the end of the day's trip and our anchorage for the night. Little Diversion Canal is a popular stop as the current is minimal and the canal is protected from both wind and the wakes from passing commercial boats. Turning into the canal, I had to gun the engine to overcome the the force of the Mississippi. Once in, the water was calm and I traveled back to almost the bridge keeping 9' of water under the boat. The crew dropped the anchor and I backed down to plant it in the mud. Sidetrip came up behind us, turned 180 degrees, deployed his anchor and backed down beside us as we tied their starboard to our starboard. This anchoring technique leaves more room in the narrow canal and eliminates the need for a stern anchor, thereby canceling the possibility of swinging to the shore.

 

Little Diversion Canal

    

The Crew of Sidetrip & Pau Hana

    With the ground tackle set, we played a game of Dominoes and a card game before dinner. The galley crew made chili in the crockpot on the day's journey and we had a hearty meal before turning in. We typically run the generator for an hour or two before bed to watch TV and charge the batteries.

  

Cape Girardeau, MO

Kaskaskia to Cape Girardeau