Metropolis, Il.

55 low / 78 high Mon.   62 low / 68 high Tue.  1 lock today / 62 for 2014

A short post with marginal internet to let you know we still love you all. a 9 hour day yesterday to an anchorage in Little Diversion Channel. The Mississippi continued to look like a chocolate milkshake with currents up to 7 mph and tons of debris. I'm talking trees! Nice quiet anchorage and off early this morning for the last 49 miles on the M. When we turned up the Ohio River it was a different world, the water turned color, no debris and a lot fewer tows. We pressed on for a total of 8+45 which cuts our time tomorrow to Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina. Pictures will be added to the last few posts once we get there.

Normally the speed is about 8mph

The wake of a tow!

Thanks Dad crew in Little Diversion Channel.

This was the entrance as we left the next morning.

The run to Hoppies Marina

43 low / 74 high                           2 locks today / 61 for 2014

We left the dock about 700 am for the run to Hoppies Marina. Our first roadblock came at the first lock which was just 15 min. away. These next few locks have 2 chambers, 1 for the barges and 1 smaller one for pleasurecraft. The debris from the flooding was so bad at the entrance to our chamber that we could not break through it. We had to wait almost an hour for the main chamber to clear before we could use it. The next lock sits on a long canal that bypasses the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers which is very turbulent. Here we had 3 tow ahead of us so everyone was stopped miles from the lock. This wait was about 2 hours. Once through there we traveled past St. Louis. The flood stage here is 30' and the river was already at 26.4' and projected to rise another 6'. That will close the river down to pleasure craft. The flooding also cause massive debris fields which we dodged all the way down as well as about a 5 mph current. 3 of us arrived at Hoppies and after being tied up we had a briefing from Fern, Hoppies wife on conditions to expect down river. Fern is a legend on the river for her knowledge. We then got invited to the marina's Sunday night pot luck dinner. During dinner we found out it was Hoppies 78th birthday so cake and songs followed. The people here are extremely friendly and helpful. We continue to watch the debris flow downriver. My internet connection is to weak to add pictures. I will add them to this post in a few days.

1st lock of the day.

This canal takes you to Chain of Rocks Lock around the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri.

St. Louis

Debris at Hoppies.

Hoppies

The 5 o'clock briefing.

Ann & Fern

Frying chicken

Dinner

Happy birthday Hoppie!

Another Alton Day

43 low / 63 high

Yesterday got off to an early start at 800 am we visited the farmers market and stocked up on fresh vegetables. From there it was off to the grocery store for last provisioning for about a week. The sun was out today and even though it only got to 63 it felt a lot warmer. A call to Fern, the owner of Hoppies down river and to the next 2 locks confirmed we could leave today and continue southbound. There are so many loopers stacking up behind us and Hoppies only has room for a certain number each night. Reservations are a must and it's the only spot to tie up or get fuel for the next several hundred miles. We watched football in the afternoon and found a sports bar to watch the Gator game. I lost all the sports channels when DishTV reset my reception to St. Louis. It turned out that the SEC channel was the only one the bar didn't get. So we had munchies and watched another game then back to the boat.

We may not have internet service again for a few days so the posts may be spotty. The SPOT check-ins will still be there.

Alton day 2 & St. Louis

55 low / 59 high

Yesterday we had a rental car and the four of us drove into St. Louis to visit the Arch. Before we took the tram to the top we watched a movie of the actual construction. The tram consisted of 8 small pods connected together. It took 4 minutes to go from underground to the top which is 630' high. It took 3 minutes to come down. The views from the top were unbelieveable!

Our pier in Alton Marina.

The Arch

The tram pod.

At the highest point!

The views!!

Afterwards we went to the Anheuser Bush Brewery. This is the oldest and largest brewery in America. We took a walking tour which took us to see the Clydesdales horses, the brewing room and the fermentation tank room.

After that we took a tour of the Melvin Price Lock and the museum there. It is the next lock that we will go through and we can see it from the marina. This one has 2 chambers, 1 for the pleasure craft and 1 for the commercial.

Debris in the chamber from the flooding.

A small tow.

Alton, Il.

58 low / 59 high

The day started out cold and misty and didn't change much. Our plan was to head to Alton which was just 15 miles down river and across from St. Louis. Just before 1100 we headed out for our first day on the Mississippi River. With all the rains to the north it was flowing fast and lots of debris. It reminded us of last years trek up the Hudson. This marina is almost identical to Grafton with floating covered docks and pool with 2 hot tubs. We were lucky to gat an outer slip which is not covered so we can use the satellite tv. A must since there is a gator game on Sat. Thanks Dad is right next to us. We picked up a rental car late in the day and the four of us will venture into St. Louis today to the arch and other undecided destinations.
It looks like we'll be here for several days waiting for the water levels to drop.

Grafton Day 2

77 low / 86 high

The rains started Tue. night and the downpour continued through mid morning yesterday. It cleared a bit for a while but several lines passed during the afternoon. Ann took advantage of the break and walked the town. We had lunch at Big Kahunas at the marina. Visited several small pubs for docktails and dinner on the boat. Since we are under a roof in the slip we have no satellite TV. 3 more boats came in yesterday so there are now 20 loopers and the marina is full. We are just about at flood stage here and it won't crest until Sun. and be back to todays level next Thur. This creates a stronger current and lots of debris in the water. The boats that were going to leave today have decided to stay. We are just going 15 miles so we haven't decided yet. There are boats back on the barge in Beardstown that have no place to go.

Down to the marina office.

Floating docks and structures.

Party barge!