9/29/2010 GIRARDEAU, MO TO OHIO RIVER LOCK 52

ANCHORED AT LOCK 52 ON OHIO RIVER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERYL HANSON!!!

MILES TRAVELED TODAY:   78 NM

What a blissful night! We again awoke to wisps of fall fog that burned off to a sunny day. Before 9:00 we were done with our morning chores and ready to pull out of our snug anchorage in the Little River Diversion Channel. Kirt and KelLe make great crew, always willing and able to lend a hand and there was a lot of Mississippi mud to be cleaned up from pulling anchor. Dan made his announcement over the VHF that we were intending to exit the hidden channel. When we received no cautions from approaching tugs, we hauled ourselves out and entered back into the Mighty Mississippi.

KIRT AND KELLE PULLING UP THE STERN ANCHOR

SWAB THAT DECK, KELLE

Within a couple of minutes of clearing out of the channel we discovered that, low and behold, we had not anchored in the recommended Little River Diversion Channel!! After investigating, we discovered that Quest had spent the night in Cape La Croix Creek. Too funny! Oh well, we loved our little, private hideaway and had no problems there. Might have been a different story had we run aground or hit something.

We were back in the river “freeway”, passing by more huge barges being navigated up the river by their tugs. This “floating island” was 4 wide by 7 deep.

COMMERCE  ON THE RIVER

Two big milestones today. At 11:30 we had traveled 10,000 nautical miles since commencing our journey. Can you believe it!

10,000 MILES TRAVELED

With Kirt at the wheel, we also made our fasted speed ever this morning. Due to the traveling “”with the rushing current, we were being pushed along at an amazing rate. Our top speed was 16.0 knots while still only at 15 RPMs.

GO SPEED RACER!

A WHOPPING 16 KNOTS PER HOUR!

Image via WikipediaAt noon, the Mississippi River merged with the Ohio River and we experienced an immediate relief from the chocolate pudding like waters in which we have been traveling. We are no longer dodging the floating trees and the channel buoys are not disappearing under the water’s surface due to the drastic pull of the current. I am much happier boater here on the Ohio River!

The mileage numbering system has again changed, starting with MM 981 when we merged into the Ohio. At MM 964.5 we passed by the construction site of what will be the new Olmstead Lock when finished.

CONSTRUCTION ON THE NEW OLMSTEAD LOCK AND DAM

We made our anchorage just prior to the Lock 52 at MM 939 and were joined by four other Loopers. It was a perfectly delightful evening with KelLe and Kirt teaching us to play “Butt Darts”. It’s one of those things that you “gotta be there” to get.

SUNSET AT OUR  PEACEFUL ANCHORAGE

9/28/2010 KIMMSWICK TO CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO

LITTLE RIVER DIVERSION CHANNEL

TUESDAY

MILES TRAVELED TO DAY: 91 KM

It must be fall. This morning we woke to find wispy webs of fog clinging to the water’s surface while the sun crept up to find its place in the stringy clouds. The trees are slowly beginning to change from their normal verdant color to a mixed bag of candy corn and the migratory birds are gathering with their traveling companions, milling about and waiting for a sign to begin their long journey south. Nice!

We were off by 8:30 and ready for a day of cruising with no time consuming locks. There were fewer floating forests and we were able to relax our vigilance just a tad. Dan spotted these OMYA cars on the RXR tracks to our starboard.

OMYA CARS

OK, so that reprise was short lived. Once again we were dodging the floating trees and sometimes we just didn’t quite manage to avoid the bump-bump caroming off a collision. The river traffic fluctuates. Sometimes we go miles without seeing one of the tugs with their huge rack of barges and sometimes we are weaving in and around several at one time. We have even seen barges so massive that there are two tugs laboring to move them in this swift current. Not boring, for sure.

LOGS JUST FLOATING ALONG

MAS GRANDE TUG!

The skies are blue with scattered puffs of clouds and the temperature is in the 70s. My favorite dress code is appropriate now, shorts and a sweatshirt. Just about as good as it gets.

Here, the Illinois side of the Mississippi is seems to be a bit more forested and the Missouri side has a few scattered homes and some farms.

SILOS ON THE RIVER BANKS

We passed under the Memorial Bridge (MM 51.5) that connects Cape Girardeau, MO to Illinois, taking time to appreciate her beautiful lines.

MEMORIAL BRIDGE

Now it was time to be on the lookout for the tiny, hidden Little River Diversion Channel that should be somewhere near MM 48.8. Boy, I got to tell you, if you didn’t have detailed instructions and a specific mile marker you would never know it was there. We made our approach, just like Fern at Hoppie’s told us to, and nuzzled into this ¼ mile “short” and 100’ wide little haven. We dropped both our bow and stern anchors and we were all set for the night. We could watch the river traffic from our back door but were safe in the confines of our little channel.

LITTLE RIVER DIVERSION CHANNEL

Kirt and Dan each caught a catfish during the evening but Dan’s was really weird, pale and colorless like an albino.  We won't be eating any fish from these muddy waters!

WHITE CATFISH

We pulled out the cards after dinner and taught Kirt and KelLe to play Fan Tan. The list is growing!

9/26/2010 GRAFTON, IL TO KIMMSWICK, MO

KIMMSWICK, M

MONDAY

MILES TRAVELED TODAY:   52 KM

We were all fed and ready to travel by 8:30 when Dan pulled away from the Grafton dock. The confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers followed almost immediately and we pondered the importance of these water highways that transport so many commodities.

THE MISSISSIPPI JOINS THE ILLINOIS

The Illinois River ended at her MM 0 and we began charting our progress on Mississippi miles that begin here at MM 218.

The towering rock cliffs loomed over the shore to our port and soon we passed under the Alton New Clark Highway Bridge that Kirt and KelLe drove over to leave Missouri and arrive in Illinois. This was followed closely by the colorful Argosy Casino. As Kirt said, “Just enter, give them all your money and leave”.

IMPOSING CLIFFS

ALTON NEW CLARK HIGHWAY BRIDGE

ALTON'S ARGOSY CASINO

By 10:00 we had been welcomed into the smaller of the two chambers of the Mel Price Lock (200.8 MM). The kind lock master saw us and held up his lock-down of another pleasure craft. He cheerfully and authoritatively reminded us that everyone on deck must have on their life jackets. “Aye, Aye Sir.” We locked through with a flotilla of debris; a sheet of plywood, general trash and bobbing trees. Ugh!

KIRT AND KELLE ALL DECKED OUT

LOG FLOATING WITH US IN LOCK

We ran into churning water when the Missouri River joined us at MM 195.5. Run off and sediment made their way into the Mighty Mississippi. We are now on a constant lookout for the floating debris that sometimes lurks just beneath the water’s surface. Kind of like tiptoeing through a mine field.

At the Chain of Rocks Lock (MM 185) we locked-down with a canoe holding two young men who began their journey 500 miles upstream at the Mississippi headlands and plan on continuing all the way to New Orleans. Hang in there, boys!

ROUGHING IT

Whoa! There she is, the towering St. Louis Arch. She stands shimmering guard over her city and ports. An impressive sight to behold, this renowned 45 year old structure. The Goodyear Blimp passed right at her side for an up close and personal look before moving on to other tourist attractions.

THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST

GOODYEAR BLIMP AND THE ARCH

How appropriate for Kirt and KelLe to be with us during this leg of the journey. As we passed Kirt’s old stomping grounds and former employer, Anheuser-Bush, we snapped a few photos of their world headquarters for old times’ sake.

ANHEUSER-BUSH WORLD HEADQUARTERS

Since there is no dockage near St. Louis, we paid our respects from the water and moved on with our tour, dodging the immense barges both anchored and traveling this huge Mississippi. We saw one big tug pushing a raft of 6 across and 7 deep. That’s a lot of cargo!  The huge amounts of trash being pushed along by the barges was amazing.

FLOATING TREES BEING PUSHED ALONG

About 23 miles south of St. Louis we pulled into Kimmswick (MM 158.8) and found our way to Hoppie’s Marine Service where Fern and Charles Hopkins greeted us and took our lines. We are tied to their dock made of a 100- ft. barge. A bit rustic but our kind of place. Fern is a wealth of information that she is more than willing to share with us “Loopers”. Legend has it that the Hopkins men worked on the river for years as lamplighters. Young Charles worked with his father and may be the last living Mississippi lamplighter.

HOPPIE'S MARINA

THIS IS IT FOLKS!  WE TIED UP TO THEIR BARGE

WITH THREE OTHER LOOPERS

Kimmswick is the second oldest town in Missouri and has an abundance of historic buildings. Unfortunately, every business in the tiny town is closed on Mondays but it did make for an interesting walk.

KIMMSWICK TOWN BANNER

TOO, TOO TACKY!

JUST PLAIN SILLINESS

DAN'S NEW FRIEND

There ended up being 4 other Loopers at Hoppie’s for the night Fern got us all together and gave us a comprehensive rundown of what to expect down the rivers and how best to prepare ourselves for the barrage of commercial travel and the swift currents.

FERN SHARING SOME OF HER KNOWLEDGE

OF THE RIVER

Bernie and Myra Kovack drove down from St. Louis for a short visit and we all piled into their car and found a Chinese Restaurant for dinner.  They had just returned from New York where Bernie’s daughter had gotten married over the week  It was a short visit but we enjoyed getting caught up with their news.

BERNIE AND MYRA VISITING THE QUEST

9/26/2010 GRAFTON, IL AND A CREW CHANGE

LAVENDER FLOWERS AND VIVID PURPLE PODS

ANYONE KNOW WHAT THESE ARE?

SUNDAY

MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 0 KM

Crew change today so we were up and at it, changing linens and doing laundry. Looking out the windows, we found a flock of swallows swooping around the Quest. Soon they were perched on the railings, cocking their little heads and checking us out through the window. Cute little fellas. I think they were eating all the insects. At least I hope they were!

OUR CURIOUS VISITORS

ALL IN A ROW

Chores done, the three of us took of to explore the area. We found a little orchard stand where we stocked up on apples then walked through the Sunday morning flea market. We found breakfast at the historic Ruebel Hotel and Restaurant which first opened in 1879.  It experienced a fire in 1912 but came back to life after being. rebuilt in 1997

THE RUEBEL HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

Once back on the Quest, I made Debbie figure out the external hard drive “thingy” before I would let her go home. We had started this process when she first came on board but got frustrated and just put it aside. Of course, she got it all working quickly and hopefully I can remember how to use it.
Kirt and KelLe arrived without a hitch and turned their rental car over to Debbie. She drove it back to the St. Louis Airport where she caught her flight to Boise where she would be forced to re-enter into the mundane “real world”.

DEBBIE HEADING OUT

KIRT AND KELLE HAPPY TO JOIN US

The four of us paid a visit to the Grafton Winery Restaurant Tasting Room where we sampled their wares and bought what we liked. A trio was making some beautiful music and we plopped down to enjoy their melodies and one of our bottles of wine. We had it all; live music, football on the big screen and a big paddle boat cruising by in the river. Another great day!

FINE WINE WITH GOOD FRIENDS

LIVE MUSIC WITH OVERTONES OF FOOTBALL

CORVETTE IN THE FOREGROUND AND

PASSING PADDLE BOAT IN THE RIVER