Sun Oct 29: Emerson to Turner’s Landing/Olmsted Lock Anchorage

It rained all night AND, when it came time for me to bring up the anchor, it continued to rain.  Fortunately, I have excellent rain pants that Betty-Mom bought for my birthday one year.  Shameless plug for REI and my mother-in-law!!

The other boats we are traveling with decided on the little creek anchorage, and they had a lot of debris wash down on them in the night.  The creek was narrow enough that the debris just piled up on the boats, and it was hard for them to get out.  Here is a pic they sent me of that fandango.

It was a totally dreary day, and we had the running lights on.  All the attractive sights along the way were also lit up...

The MS River is just one big obstacle course.  The channel is narrow, and VERY twisty.  The big barges, often  3 X 5, can take up the entire path as they try to navigate the turns.  We stay tuned to VHF 13 in order to hear them, or to ask which side to pass on.  Rick is constantly trying to get me to understand about passing on the 1 vs the 2.  Port is 1 and starboard is 2.  If the barge is coming at you and says 'I'll meet you on the 1', that's very clear - we are going to pass port to port. But for someone (me) who gets confused by even 'left' and 'right', it can get super hard.  For example, what if you are both down-bound and he says 'pass me on the 1'.  Is that his 1 or my 1? Each time I overthink it and have a synapse blow out and Rick has to take over... ARRRRGGG....

The side of the channel is a continuous line of parked barges.  Which would drive me crazy - I hate it when people leave their stuff everywhere.  Is someone in charge of knowing where all these little barges ARE?????

 

Once in a while, if you haven't been challenged in a few minutes, something like this giant stationary dredging complex will get thrown it.  Then you and all the barges have to figure out how to get around it... One of our friends often  says 'you're killing me, Smalls' (which I guess is a well known movie quote unknown to me) when she is frustrated..  After a few of these obstacles I started saying 'you're keeling me, Smalls' ... which made Rick laugh.  And THAT, people, is the secret to 30 years of marriage.  Saying stupid stuff that amuses only one other person on the planet!

 We felt like we had been cruising forEVER, and I felt like most of my adult life had been spent getting around this giant oxbow bend.  With some fun narrow bits where we had to negotiate with oncoming barges.

At one point we were going North, and even NW - the EXACT OPPOSITE of the direction we are generally trying to travel. 😖

 

FINALLY, we came to the confluence of the MS and the Ohio Rivers! You can see us below at the mouth of the MS, which continues on to the right, while we take a sharp left and start up the Ohio. We were so excited to be through with the MS, but celebrating had to wait as barge traffic in the area triples, with major 'fleeting' areas (areas where the barges sit until they are needed - lots of them chained together) to get through. And the wonderful push we were getting from the MS abruptly stopped and we began to fight up the Ohio AGAINST current. It was a bit discouraging, but we knew this would be the longest day of our Loop, and we fought on.  In the rain and gloom... Because we are brave.  And, to be honest, there is no other way to get home!

Finally we got to the base of Olmsted Lock, the only lock we will do on the Ohio River.  There was a nice open anchorage just short of it, and we led our little ducklings (today we had 4) to it, as planned.  For some reason COMPLETELY UNKNOWN to us, they decided to all raft together.  This was a head scratcher for us as we never raft at anchor. We might, if it were a calm, warm day with no wind, and we wanted to socialize.  But this was not that day.  Four boats with three anchors out is just asking for trouble in wind/current, and we don't need more of that shit.

I called the lock to get details for tomorrow, and became BFs with Lock Master Kyle.  That reassured us that Ohio locks are different and we won't have to wait for hours tomorrow morning.

Goodnight...

Sat Oct 28: Kaskaskia to Bill Emerson Bridge Anchorage

We all basically jumped off the wall at the same time, with that nervous competitive energy of 'what if they get there before us', etc.  But Rick/I felt pretty chill, and had confidence that the anchorages (we were debating 2) would have plenty of room.

It was a grey, gloomy day with lots of rain so I don't have many pictures.  INSTEAD I have a treat for you.  I'm going to get Rick to tell you a bit about the poor Mississippi River, and how, thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers, it is the most tortured, manipulated river... Over to you, Rick:  

 

Actually this whole river system - the Mississippi, the Illinois, the Missouri, the Ohio, the Tennessee, the Cumberland and many other tributaries have been completely transformed from their natural state.  These rivers are the reason that the US has been so economically successful starting from back in the 1700's.  The rivers allowed for easy and inexpensive transport of agricultural goods and raw materials to economic centers on the coasts, and then to be sent around the world.  As industry and agriculture grew so did the industrialization along the rivers.  Once the whole economic structure grew to be so important the natural cycles of the rivers (flood - drought=very high water and very low water) became inconvenient.   Also, rivers naturally migrate as the river bed accumulates silt and the water course moves to a different area.  So, over the years, the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has completed many many massive flood control, damming, locks and water course "improvements".   All these to help prevent flooding, control the water levels, and minimize silting so that commercial barges could run up and down the river and people who live along the river aren't flooded out.

We have experienced many of these improvements.  Along most of the banks on the Mississippi river you see very high dikes and walls to prevent flooding, and to keep the water in its banks.  We have gone through locks and seen dams.  One of the most prevalent things we see are earthen "wing" dams that stick out from the banks pointing downstream at a 30 -40 degree angle.  These wing dams are designed to funnel the flow into the center channel to keep the water speed up.  Normally a river runs slowly, meandering along its course and taking its time.  This allows particulate matter to settle out and the riverbed fills with silt.  The wing dams force the water into the center and speed it along downstream. You can see on the chart below the green things protruding into the river. These are the wing dams all along the sides and there must be hundreds of them.  There are two other types of dams - weir dams and chevrons, also designed to funnel the water and speed the flow. Weir dams are usually underwater, so we don't see them except on our charts.  So far we haven't noticed and chevrons.

 

It is just very interesting to see how we have manipulated nature and so dramatically changed these rivers from their natural state.  It would have been interesting to see the area back in the early 1800's. There is a school of thought that many of these 'improvements' have led to devastating flooding and worsened the impact of hurricanes.

As an fyi, I recently read a fascinating book that talked about how these river systems have made the US much more economically successful then other countries of similar sizes.

Me again - Usually we get bored around 11am, and that has become ‘chip-o’clock’, where we have a snack.  Today I was so bored by 10am, I declared it to be ‘lollipop-o’clock’ and had a Tootsie Pop…

Look-I got a boat!  That’s rare, and very good luck. According to me.

We miss the comedy of the crew on Regular Eggs (they are now 1-2 days behind us).  Besides the husband and wife there was a dog, a cat and a bird.  Doesn’t that sound like a handful?!  Or like it should be a sitcom?!!  Our friend, Roger, on the boat Shorthanded started the loop with a wife and cat on board.  Once it was clear that the cat was going to be permanently seasick the wife threw in the towel, and wife and cat went home.  Now he is, well …. literally Shorthanded.  We do meet some interesting people along the way!

We had a spirited debate about which anchorage to choose: narrow sheltered river or off the channel of the main river.  The latter is what we chose, and it was a good decision.  There were only 7 other boats, and with our nose pointing up-bound the current kept us firmly anchored, and from swinging.  Plus we had this awesome bridge view - which was super at night.  It rained almost all day, and all of the night.  Rick had anticipated this, and we factored debris washing down the river in our choice of anchorage.  Remember tomorrow that I said so...

Good night!

Fri Oct 27: Hoppies to Kaskaskia L&D wall

This was today’s route, and all started well with everyone smoothly off the dock.  But things got awful quickly-so I’m very sorry this will be a disturbing post…

Seven us were traveling today, spread out quite a bit. Three passed a big piece of debris in the river (there is a ton) but the 4th boat felt it didn’t look right and went to examine it further.  It was a floating human body. A couple of other boats stopped to verify (we were the last boat right behind them) and the Coast Guard was notified, as well as Hoppies. Hoppies wasn’t surprised by the news; I guess the Mighty Mississippi sees its share of bodies-but it’s not something any of us has ever expected or encountered while boating… We were all very shaken up, and I cried as we went down the river, thinking of him all alone, floating in the dark river last night.  If a barge had hit him he would never have been found-I guess the good outcome is that his family will have closure. Maybe this was the bad news the lost flag was indicating….

It seemed awful just to leave the body behind, but the Coast Guard told us to continue on.  They warned the active tugs in the area, and noted the coordinates and drift.  Soon we saw the fire/rescue zodiac on the way to recover him. We were a quiet, sad group down bound. Our adventure suddenly didn’t seem very important. 

Once in a while the scenery was nice-usually it was industrial; interesting in a different way…

At the Kaskaskia Lock/Dam wall the mood lifted a bit as everyone worked together to get 19 boats to fit in the space. We felt really lucky to have a tie-up spot off the river. Starting Monday this spot will be closed for dredging. There was room for everyone, including a surly delivery captain in a 75’ boat who refused, at first, to let anyone raft to his boat. That didn’t last long as he really had no other option.  We ended up rafted 2-3 deep, with at least one boat anchored near by. That boat had the quietest night!  The wall was a LOT of people in a small space - there was no way to get off the wall or to launch a dingy.  

Today was the last hurrah for shorts - it was HOT (I’m not complaining , I’ll be wishing for the heat tomorrow).  I hung out in the shade inside the boat, while Rick sat in the sun right outside.  I enjoyed listening to everyone stopping to talk to Rick.  People appreciate his input and ideas; people we haven’t traveled with in several days still text him for advice!  That boy…

Just one more lovely tie-up, in a week full of them…

We shared hugs all around-especially with the couple who did the terrible job of discovery up close and personal.  We kept our chins up as a group, but I know we each, in our own way, were thinking of the lost soul behind us.  Stay safe and hug your loved ones…

Thurs Oct 26: Alton to a Hoppies Marina

Exciting day - we got to pass St. Louis...  But first we had to get through the notorious Chain of Rocks Lock, the busiest lock in the country.

We were up early - but I didn't grump, I'm ready to get down this river!

Good morning!

From the marina Rick was able to hail the first lock of the day - the Mel Price Lock, so we only had a little wait, along with a super nice (trust me, they aren't usually) delivery captain.  He took this picture for us!

On the approach to the Chain of Rocks Locks they REALLY want you to take the left to the lock, rather then go down the right hand channel which is literally the main river channel and full of rocks.

This lock is so busy they have two chambers, one 1200' and one 600' long.  The lockmaster was super cranky (to be fair, he is 97 and only still working because they can't find enough workers) and first put us on a 2-hour hold in 25 mph headwind in a long narrow channel where it was tricky to dodge the barge traffic coming out of the lock.  Finally he took pity on us and opened the auxiliary chamber and away we went. And not a minute too soon - Rick had hit his boiling point (what with waits, wind, etc), that almost never happens. AND-out flag blew away, AGAIN.  Last time that happened it was a harbinger of bad things.  So now we were all anxious and on the lookout. 🥺

We shared boat pix with the little Ranger Tug across from us.  Aren't they ADORABLE?!

This is an interesting rear lock door. Most lock doors swing from hinges on the side of the lock. This lock door comes up out of a slot in the floor.  As soon as the top of the door gets above the water they begin letting water out of the chamber. It is much quicker than a normal swinging door (at least it seemed that way!)

Shortly after that final lock on the MS River we arrived at St. Louis!  It's an armpit from the water.  It's water front has only ever been a working port, with no pleasure boat docks or riverwalks.  The only park is the Arch Park, high above the flood wall, and mostly out of sight to us.  All we could really see was the homeless encampment and industry.  It was a terrible day for pictures, but we did our best - taking turns with Merry T to get photos of our boats under the arch (or, as our new boats friends from Maine say, the ahch).

Then it was a pretty quick run to Hoppies "marina", where we had lucked into a spot after being on the waiting list.  There are not many place between Alton and Paducah to tie up, and there are many, MANY Loopers.  A lot of whom do not like to anchor out.  Hoppies continues our run of really unattractive places to tie up!

Hoppies is just a few old rusty barges tied together.  They can hold only about 10 boats. It was much nicer a couple of years ago but a flood washed everything away. This is the temporary rebuilt dock and an important stopping point for Loopers.

But it is a great group that runs it, and they gave us a helpful briefing about the rest of the Upper MS River in the afternoon.  We walked around the small but cute town, enjoying their Halloween spirit.

The little town is famous for the Mile High Levee Pie, which the Blue Owl has trademarked.

We got a mini version.  We were the only boat there in time to get to the Blue Owl before they closed at 3pm, so we were the envy of all!

The dock was full by the end of the day.  It was really fun to hear people we hadn’t seen for several days greeting Rick. Wherever we go he’s known!! Many folks went up to have dinner at the winery, but we were happy in our little cocoon, just us. 

Wed Oct 25: A Day of Rest in Alton

We have been moving every day, so it was time for a day of rest.  Which is why Rick jumped up at the crack o’ dawn to change the fuel filter.  Of course he did... 🙄

Then it was time for another load of laundry, before the next glut of Looper boats arrived, and a visit to the hardware and grocery stores.  The hardware stop gave Rick a chance to buy the wrong-size part in yet another state, so that was a plus.  We really know how to live it up!!

This is what I was noticing while Rick was buying the wrong part!  We could really have used this a couple of years ago Aug in FL…

Because this part of the trip has a new issue every other day, it came as no surprise to hear that the marinas from here north will shut off water on the docks Oct 31. Winter is coming, people.  It remains to be seen what will happen at the marinas south of here.  We also got the awesome news that it may go from 80 degrees to snow next week.  Arggggggg-we can only go so fast each day.  Trying. To. Get. South.

Later we walked into the ‘rode-hard-put-away-wet’ town and found a brewery that charmed us with a pretzel & yummy beer cheese sauce!

Alton is located at the confluence of the IL, MO and MS Rivers-and was once the site of several major brick factories.  It still has an unusually high number of streets paved in brick. That’s all I got as far as history blah blah because Rick is so busy organizing he can't help me out here…

Commodore Rick arranged a 5pm meeting for any boat doing the two big Mississippi locks tomorrow.  It is a measure of how beloved he is that ALL of our 9-boat flotilla (plus some other boats) showed up - even though only ONE of them was actually going to leave with us tomorrow! It was super fun to be back together; from here we will split apart on different agendas.  But we made a tentative plan to see some people in the Bahamas in March.

Big highway bridge behind the marina…

 

Goodnight!

 

Tues Oct 24: Mel’s to Alton Marina

We had a short cruising day - so my plan had been to sleep in (my single overarching life goal) …. which was ruined by the 2 boats in front of us firing up their engines a 6am...  Grump grump...

This was the route - please note that we JOINED THE MS RIVER!!!  We are JUST like Mark Twain!

Breakfast of champions - left over mud pie from Mel's...

AGAIN, the sun was in our face last night when it set, and in our face today as it rose.  I feel like we're in a Black Mirror episode...

Yikes - all he houses are like this.Flooding is a way of life...

It sure was purty, coming up toward the MS River!

Right past Grafton (where we saw the boat with the medical emergency sitting in the marina - we heard later that he had chest pains, hope all is well), there were wonderfully scenic cliffs:

You know me - I do love a boat with a red hull!

The Blessing of the Fleet is held here every year.

And suddenly, after all this planning and waiting - we were on the Mississippi River!!! It was really an amazing feeling.  When we look at the Looper map it finally looks like we are making progress.  Go us!!

We pulled up to the Alton Marina fuel dock, to make sure we were ready for the run down to the Ohio/TN Rivers - it's a long stretch with no fuel.  We re-mortgaged the house and filled up.  This little guy was on the boat next to us - he really' occupied his space with considerable authority', running around like he was in charge!

Here is the main office - see the TALL poles?  That is so the entire structure can rise during floods.  We are used to docks with 12' poles.  This is just crazy...

All of the docks, and even the roof structures, will rise with the water.

It's one of the few times we have been in covered slips.  It's very strange.  Dark and full of echoes.  We're not really sure why it's covered.  It seems too far north to leave boats in the water.

I WISH we were in Key West already...

There are a couple of boats here that we met long ago in Canada.  Fun to see familiar faces.  We did a quick load of laundry and took a nap.  Then it was bedtime!