Month: September 2019

We left Kaskaskia Lock & Dam on Thursday morning and planned to anchor out at Little Diversion Channel. It was a nice calm spot after traveling on the Mississippi River, avoiding tows/barges and logs. This is popular anchorage and we were not surprised to see two other boats there by the end of the day. Once again, we rafted with Bahama Voyager and Paddy Wagon and Peter and others took advantage of the calm water for a swim to cool off.

Friday we would once again travel on the Mississippi and by Saturday, we would enter the Ohio River towards Paducah, KY. However, after we locked through the Olmsted Lock, there was radio chatter as to our next stop since there were a few anchorages available but no one was thrilled with the possibilities. Peter suggested Paducah and the responses required about 30 seconds of thought and we all concluded that we would travel another 4 hours to get off the Mississippi. We already had reservations for Paducah for Saturday and were able to secure space for Friday night too so that meant an unexpected night with power and water. Another very long day but definitely worth it.

As we continued towards Paducah, we entered the Ohio River. It was amazing to see the color of the water change so dramatically from brown to blue. Before we left in June, John and Gabby from the Peekskill Yacht Club gave us a gift of a Message in a Bottle and we were to complete the form and launch the bottle and hope that someone finds it. We decided to use the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to launch our bottle. Paddy Wagon took a few photos and actually caught a frame that shows the bottle dropping into the rivers. It’s marked in the posted photos. We’ll let you know if anyone finds it!

Paducah proved to be an interesting stop – plenty of history, a nice town to walk and lots of activities going on. We were able to take advantage of a large farmers market and bought produce for the next few days. In addition to produce, there were craft stands and horse drawn carriage rides. Peter was able to visit the Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum. Since no one else is a Civil War fan, we toured the town and visited the floodwall murals, a large project that displays the history of Paducah in colorful graphics and plaques with thorough descriptions. All the art work is on the town side of the wall and the side facing the river is only concrete. We have been told that the water level has reached to the top of the floodwalls and that is a scary thought. When you view the photos below, take particular notice of how high the pilings on the dock are and how long that ramp is to get to ground. Also notice the one with the land peninsula behind the docks – apparently that wasn’t visible a few weeks ago. The National Quilt Museum is also in Paducah and this was a special week as the fall convention was taking place. They also hosted a number of activities from a Pop-Up Quilt Party, instructions and techniques, quilt exchange, etc. While I do not quilt, I do appreciate the art of the craft.

While we were at the docks, another Manatee arrived. This is the second Manatee that we have seen since we began the loop. The couple just purchased the boat and it is hull #2, made in 1984 and that makes it the oldest Manatee on the water. Only 99 Manatees were made and the first one sank on its maiden voyage.

When we were in the Illinois Valley Yacht Club we were given a recommendation to visit Doe’s Eat Place when we got to Paducah. Both Bahama Voyager and Paddy Wagon were more interested in BBQ but we were unable to find anything open that was nearby so we went to Doe’s. The steaks are enormous and are actually designed to be shared. Some are large enough to feed 3-4 people. Peter, the carnivore, was very happy with his steak as were the other guys. Kodey was happy to chew on the bone the following evening.

We left Paducah on Sunday and headed towards Green Turtle Bay Marina on Lake Barkley in Grand Rivers, KY. We planned a week at the marina, a looper favorite, for R&R and of course, to take advantage of mechanics for routine+ maintenance. Over the course of the week, on a daily count, there were 10-12 looper boats at transient docks. We all had the same idea. One night we had docktails under a tent that was set up by the mayor for an event. When he found out that we were looking for a place to hold docktails for a large group, he allowed us to use the tent and stated that if loopers wanted to use it, he would leave it up a few more weeks. As we have mentioned, loopers travel at different speeds with different time frames and loopers will probably show up in Green Turtle Bay until the end of October.

The marina had two courtesy cars, a 6 passenger golf cart shuttle, and numerous golf carts (4 person) for rent. The town was close by and allowed the use of golf carts on the roads. However, since there were six of us, we made arrangements for the courtesy car for two days so that we could just drive around the first time to see what was available locally and the second time so that we could find a BBQ place for dinner. Patti’s 1880’s Settlement is well known for it’s 2″ pork chops so that was one place on the list but it had a fire last year and had expected to be open this year but it is still under construction. There was a small cafe on the grounds but did not offer many menu items and two other local places that were recommended were closed the beginning of the week when we had planned to eat out. We drove around a bit and found a local BBQ place with a limited menu but we decided to give it a try. The food was just OK so the search for a BBQ restaurant will continue.

Peter had arranged for a mechanic to check a number of things on the boat: the steering on the boat as it was “sloppy”, the dink motor as it was running rough and was stalling, figure out why the refrigerator propane is not working, and look at the AutoPilot that has never worked since we bought the boat. The mechanic was able to adjust the steering a bit but advised that we needed a RAM rebuild kit to really fix it – not a part they had in stock so suggested we purchase the kit and have it fixed at another marina in the future, no experience with propane so that continues to be a problem, adjusted the dink motor so no stalling, and still awaiting the person who works on electronics for the AutoPilot.

We still have a few days left at Green Turtle Bay so will continue to enjoy the pool and relax before our next multi-day travel to Chattanooga.

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We left the Illinois Valley Yacht Club on Thursday and headed to Quiver Island on the Illinois River. We would be facing a few nights either anchoring out or tied to docks that did not have any services. That meant making sure we had ice in the cooler and gas for the generator. We bought ice before we left and hoped that we would be able to replenish as needed.

Quiver Island was recommended as a good place to anchor. Bahama Voyager set anchor and we rafted on one side and Paddy Wagon on the other. Since we had no power, Bahama Voyager powered up his gas grill and we grilled burgers. Of course, in the morning Peter would start the generator since we needed to make coffee.

It was a quiet night except when I woke up at 4;30am and noticed lights that looked like they were coming right at us. There was a dock down the channel and one of the work boats had tied up and had their lights on along with the dock light. As the boats swung during the night, we were at a different angle to see the dock/lights. Seems like I was the only one who noticed while everyone else was sleeping. We were fine but the lights did give me a start.

The next stop was Logsdon Tug Service in Beardston, IL. We tied up to some old barges but there were no services. They did have a restroom with a shower that the workers use and we were informed that it would be available if we wanted to use it but we decided to use our own facilities.

However, we were close to town and there were a number of interesting sites. We visited the Lincoln Courthouse and Museum. For, Peter, a big history lover, this was a thrill. It is still an active working courthouse. Since court was not in session, we were able to tour the courthouse and sit in chairs that Lincoln may have actually used. After the tour we headed back to our boats. Instead of cooking, we had leftovers and the others decided to try some local dining.

Another day on the Illinois River and we arrived in Hardin, IL. Once again we tied up to some old barges without service. However, the docks belong to Mel’s Riverdock Restaurant that is recommended highly by others. We ate dinner at the restaurant, large portions, reasonable prices. Since it had started to rain and the projection was for rain in the morning, we decided to leave later than usual and go back to Mel’s for breakfast. We didn’t have a long run the next day and we knew we were heading to a marina, for two days, with power and all the other amenities that we did not have for the prior three days.

After breakfast, we left the docks to go to Alton IL. It would be our last stop before really traveling along the Mississippi River. While Alton is on the upper Mississippi, it is also the last place to fuel and provision for another 200 miles. We took advantage of the local supermarket that provides rides to/from the marina. In addition to the usual provisioning and laundry, there were a number of other looper boats planning the same thing so we all got together for docktails at the pool on Monday night.

We left on Tuesday and knew that we were facing another few days without services. Unfortunately, the ship store was not open before we left so I knew that I would be running out of ice and we would need to run the generator more often to keep our food cold.

The Mississippi River has earned its nickname as the Big Muddy. The river is brownish in color with lots of debris – many logs that you need to avoid while still remaining in the channel and avoiding the numerous barges. The one nice thing is the additional speed you pick up because of the current. Our boat has never gone this fast, nor is the engine capable of running at that speed but the current, at times, practically doubled our usual speed. The current will make our journey over the 218 miles of the upper Mississippi shorter in time and for that, we are thankful.

You cannot travel down the Mississippi without stopping by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO for pictures. The arch is downtown on the riverfront but there is no place to stop. so that you can get into town. So, as many other loopers, we coordinated our photo ops so that we could all have pictures of our boat in front of the arch.

We had reservations at Hoppies Marina (right on the Mississippi) that is actually listed as temporarily closed. The town is still recuperating from high water/flooding. This used to be a stop that loopers would routinely make so we thought we should experience it also. However, it was a stop that could have been skipped. The one advantage was that it was a place to tie up and they actually had a few power pedestals so we had unexpected electric for the night but there was no place in town to replenish our ice.

A walk into the historic town of Kimmswick, MO was interesting. There were a number of cute shops and a few restaurants but most were closed. It seems that most of the town establishments close at either 3pm or 4pm. We found a place that closes at 4pm but since it was 3:45pm, they said they would be able to serve us. Except for rolling from one large barge, the night was uneventful.

Next stop was to the Kaskaskia Lock & Dam. While we would not be going through this lock, it provides a long wall for boats to tie up and be safely off the Mississippi River. We were the first boats to arrive at Kaskaskia but another few looper boats arrived later. As it turned out, one of the boats was planning the same anchorage as we were for the next day but the other boat planned to travel further to another anchorage but we weren’t thrilled with the description of the anchorage and didn’t think it was good spot for three boats. The channel we selected had been used by others we knew who were ahead of us and told us we would be fine rafting our three boats.

We had a peaceful night at Kaskaskia, enjoying a calm river and prepared for the next two nights of no services.

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Weather still has us waiting in St. Joseph.  The wind has been consistently high with waves we didn’t want to tackle in addition to the small craft warnings.  We thought there may be a window later Thursday morning and we hoped we could leave to get to Michigan City.  Our target was to get to Hammond, IN by Saturday to meet up with Bahama Voyager and begin our journey down the rivers.  One of the boats, Breakway II, a fast 50’ Prestige, left the marina since he felt it would be manageable.  He returned within the hour and stated that the wind and waves were too much for him and that it would be nearly impossible for us and Paddy Wagon, our traveling buddies.  We looked again on Friday but same weather.  There was a sailboat race scheduled for the weekend and we were going to need to leave the marina so we both looked for the best window of time to leave on Saturday and decided to skip Michigan City and cut directly across the lake to reach Hammond, IN.  It would shorten our trip a bit but would also mean that we would be traveling further off-shore.  We felt it would be worth it since it’s been a week since we were able to make any progress.

St. Joseph is a nice town but not for a week. The marina is a bit far from town so that makes everything more difficult. I took advantage of the down time to give Kodey a haircut and bath – his first boat bath! The rest of the time was primarily reading, doing laundry, etc.

Paddy Wagon had rented a car since they had a few appointments to keep before our trip down the rivers (they are originally from the Chicago area).  Since they didn’t need to return the car until Friday afternoon, the four of us went to visit a few local wineries.  The first one was Dablon Vineyards and we did a tasting.  The atmosphere was nice and the wine was good.  The next was Lemon Creek and once again we did a tasting.  It was before lunch so we figured that this was the best way to sample their goods.  After these two tastings, we went back to St. Joseph to have lunch at Silver Beach Pizza.  It is a well known establishment in St. Joseph located on the Amtrak line and we were told that it was a “must” to visit.  Once again, we were not steered wrong and had good pizza for lunch.  The pizza was larger than expected so it also became dinner.

We finally left St. Joseph on Saturday morning to cut across the bottom of Lake Michigan to get to Hammond.  The water was not the best but we have traveled in worse.  We finally reached Hammond and reconnected with Bahama Voyager.  This marina is massive with over 800 slips so there was no problem with reservations.  However, we made them earlier in the month since we were concerned about the holiday weekend but there were still plenty of open slips.  A few of the boats we traveled with earlier on the journey were there – Done Diggin and TxAu.  While the boats were there, the couples weren’t.  Done Diggin decided to go home for a visit and wait for the locks to open later In September.  TxAu crossed his wake – the accomplishment of completing the loop – since they started from Chicago in early September 2018.  However, they will now be taking the boat to their new home in Cape Coral, FL and are also waiting for the locks to open later this month.  They wanted a few weeks home to visit friends and family.  We anticipate seeing both of them again later on.  One thing about this journey is that you continually leap frog and travel with some of the same boats from before and sometimes continue to travel with those you also meet along the way.  We have traveled with Bahama Voyager off and on since June and consistently with Paddy Wagon since we met them in Petoskey the middle of August. 

  We continued to enjoy some live music. While not as extensive as the blues festival in Port Sanilac, Hammond sponsored a free Motown concert with Sheryl Youngblood and the Say Yes band. It was great to hear some of the old Motown hits.

The original plan of staying in Hammond changed – we would be leaving on Sunday to head to Chicago and the locks. Originally the Marseilles Lock and Starved Rock Lock were to be closed to pleasure craft (known as PCs) from 6:00am to 6:00pm until September 10^th or 12^th (the date kept changing).  However, they decided to open the window for the Labor Day weekend and we definitely decided to take advantage of the opportunity.  We figured we could get through the Chicago Harbor and Lockport locks on Sunday and stay on the Joliet wall that evening.  That meant we needed to go through two other locks (Brandon Road and Dresden) before reaching the two locks that were to be closed.  Even a long day would be worth it but we weren’t sure whether we would get through because barges are still the priority or where we would be able to stay since there weren’t many possibilities but we felt it was still worth a try.

We were fortunate that we were able to get through Chicago and Lockport on Sunday and space was available on the Joliet wall. Monday was another good day – we got through all four locks on Monday with very little wait time and I found a small yacht club that would be able to accommodate the three of us for the evening. 

We were optimistic so we had already booked slips in another marina in Peoria Heights for Tuesday & Wednesday for down time.  While the marina, Illinois Valley Yacht Club aka The Ivy Club, was a number of miles from town, it had a restaurant on site and also a pool.  There was a local mechanic nearby who also came to the marina to complete some maintenance on all three boats.  Another issue we had was the propane tanks that supply my stove and run the refrigerator when there is no electric. The problem started in St. Joseph but no one there was able to fix it. Here, one member recommended a plumber he knew and while he was able to fix the stove, there are still problems with the refrigerator. You can hear that it is trying to turn on but since it hasn’t been used much in the past number of years, there is probably some blockage in the lines. I’m happy that it works on electric and will depend on the Yeti to keep food cold when not connected. In all, while not a typical Labor Day Weekend, it was good and much was accomplished.  

Next week we will continue down the Illinois River and then enter the Mississippi River.  According to what we have read, the Mississippi River will be the most unpleasant part of our journey.

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Just a quick post to let you know that we’re fine and traveling down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Services (including marinas) are practically non-existent – we have stayed at a few but we have also been anchoring out and using the generator – a few days last week and today (9/11) until Saturday night when we get to Paducah.

On Sunday we will arrive in Green Turtle Bay Marina in Kentucky. We plan to stay there for most of the week so I will have an opportunity to update my blog, including photos.

We will need to figure out a new plan as to where to go next as there was an oil spill (9/9) in one of the locks on the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Clean-up is expected to take 1-3 weeks. Hopefully the clean-up will be ahead of schedule.