Grafton-Alton-Kimmswick

Sunday, September 18

Fireworks in Grafton last night were good, made better because we saw them from the fly bridge of a fellow Looper's boat that was in an ideal viewing spot.  Thanks to Rich and Carol of Salt and Sand.  Also met Wayne and Francine from MY Way.  John and Mary from Passport were there, too.  I tried to get pictures of the pyrotechnics but none of them turned out  :(

We decided to layover in Grafton ... I did laundry and Kerm changed oil in the injector unit.  It was a nice marina and Sunday is a day of rest so we goofed off for the remainder of the day!

The pirate ship came and went all day long giving kids rides.  This all happened right across from where we were docked so we had a great view 

 

Captain Jim, the chief pirate

Grafton Harbor -  The bar over the ship's store was really noisy...but fun

Monday, September 19

Left Grafton Harbor at 7:52am and at 8:09am we made an important turn.  We decided to go south on the Mississippi and head to Florida, rather than going north to Minnesota for the winter.  Fighting a 4-6 mph current for over 600 miles was just too much for us to undertake.  We will have to bring 'The Belle' to the St. Croix River at another time.  This year it is south for us...I want to explore the Florida Keys and, hopefully, the Bahamas.

This is the split in the River...the barge is going north...we are not...bye,bye

The topography has changed to include some pretty bluffs and interesting rock formations.  A nice diversion from the Illinois waterway which we found a little boring.

A look back at Grafton

Misty cliffs

A little further along we passed a local landmark on the shore called Piasa Caves and Painting.  Indigenous people painted a huge picture on a cliff face as a warning sign and it has been restored.  The caves were special to them as well.

Piasa Caves and Painting

By 10am we arrived at Alton Harbor and pulled in for the day...short day and only 16 miles but it works out better for hitting locks and marinas for the next couple of days.  Beautiful marina and super shower suites, good temp and pressure.  Also, they provided herbal body wash, shampoo and conditioner.  See how important the creature comforts become???

There were flowers everywhere

Can you find Warren?

I washed the boat and scrubbed the bumpers which were very schmutzy from being in the water so long when we were in Minnesota.  During the day, more and more Loopers arrived.  There is a big Looper Rendezvous in Alabama in late October so boats are bunching up now and heading south.  It is fun to see old friends and to get to meet new Loopers and share stories.

Went to dinner at Fast Eddie's where you can get half-pound hamburgers for 99 cents.   It was a bizarre place but lots of fun because Mary and John from Passport joined us.  They come from Rolling Meadows, outside of Chicago, which is right next door to Arlington Heights, were I grew up before we went to England.  Small world.  Nice people.

There's a sense of excitement in the air because there are so many loopers about and a somewhat limited supply of marina spots coming up.  We plan to wake up early and dash for the Lock and Dam.


Tuesday, September 20

Woke up early, ready to go but there was dense fog outside.  Back to bed for a while.  Then Mary and John were kind enough to take me to the grocery store in their rental car so I could get some more supplies for the upcoming gnarly stretch of the journey.  After that, we took on fuel and water and got pumped out. We also adjusted the upper throttle station for a lower idle speed.  All is ready!!  Just want to have good weather tomorrow so we can get to Hoppie's Marina in Kimmswick..last marina stop for three days.

Fellow Looper, Sonata, in the background.

 Wednesday, September 21


Left Alton Marina at 6:11 with Sonata and Passport after hearing that the Lee Price Lock would be opening at 6:30 for us.  We joked with the lock tenders and I ending up giving them the bag of candy I had gathered from the Grafton town parade. By 7:02 we had locked through.  A great start.

Mary on board Passport

 

Leaving Lee Price Lock

The Mississippi runs much faster than the Illinois and we were 'flying' along at 10-11 mph, 3 mph faster than normal. It is a working river and we pass many barges, tows and industry along the way.

The tow boats look like wedding cakes

Easy way to lose money

Lock #27

Sonata in the lock

Lock gate going up

and out we go!!

After clearing Lock #27 at 8:55am we were headed into St. Louis.  But, before you get there you see this...

Biggest wing dam I've ever seen...aptly noted on the charts as "Mother of all Wing Dams"

The Gateway Arch was taller, shinier and much more impressive than I had expected.  It was very cool to see it from the river.

Nice iron work

Pretty arches on an old bridge

Army Corp of Engineers HQ

After saying goodbye to St. Louis we were glad to pull into Hoppie's Marina at 11:35.  We made great time. 

Hoppie's is not the nice white house. It's that rusty barge thingy to the left

Hoppie's Marina is physically no more than a couple of old barges anchored to the cliff by the side of the river in Kimmswick, Mo.  However, it is a very important stop for Loopers.  It's the last stop before three days of difficult river conditions with no services (marinas and fuel) and very few places to anchor safely.  Hoppie (the old man) is the last living River Lamplighter from when men actually had to light lamps before electricity.  His wife, Fern, gives a daily seminar on how to get through the next three days safely.  A stopover at Hoppie's is a quintessential part of The Loop.

The Belle tied up to the barge/dock

 Hoppie talking to Kerm

Fern holding court and providing very good information to Loopers on the upcoming river conditions

The town of Kimmswick is very cute with lots of old houses that are on the National Registry of Historic Places.  The Blue Owl Restaurant is excellent and we enjoyed lunch there with Mary and John.  There are lots of little gift shops, too.

After Fern's talk, the crews of Passport and Southern Belle got together to talk about our plan as 'buddy boats'.  We will all sleep better tonight knowing we have a plan for tomorrow.

Don't be surprised if there are no updates for a few days...we go where few wise people have gone before. Just some melodramatic humor there folks!!

Christie