Day 8 - Great Rivers Museum

Saturday was our third day in Alton and we took it slow, still fighting the intense heat and humidity.  The marina gave us a ride to the nearby Melvin Price Locks and Dam for a tour and visit to the National Great Rivers Museum.  It started with a movie about the importance of the Mississippi to the country’s food and transportation system.  Then we walked over the 2 lock chambers, one smaller for recreational boats and the larger for commercial traffic.  We watched a tug and small barge “lock through” as the control tower raised the water level about 22 feet.  Very interesting and educational.

 

When we returned to the marina, we went straight to the pool to cool off.  Several other loopers were in the pool and we spent some time talking about their experiences on the loop.  Randy called ahead to Hoppie’s Marine Service – our next stop (several barges in the Mississippi) – to make sure they had room for us and to see if there is anything we should be aware of as we travel there (there have been a series of barges running around and sinking so there are some salvage operations on the river that we have to be aware of).

We finished the day at a busy restaurant in downtown Alton, Bossanova, with an eclectic menu combining Spanish, Italian and American cuisine.  The tequila lime mussels were excellent! 

 

Tomorrow is Randy’s family reunion and his brother has graciously agreed to transport us back and forth, and stop at grocery store so we can stock up because we will not have another chance before arriving at Green Turtle Bay later this week.

Day 7 - "Head-Bangers and Hoopers"

We started our day downloading and sorting pictures, and writing the previous day’s blog post.  We ended up posting the entry at the marina office since the internet access on the boat is not great.  Help Me Rhonda and Mooring Dove arrived this morning from Grafton and we met another looper from New York. 

The Argosy Casino provides a free shuttle from the marina, so we took that to get to town.  The casino does not allow cameras in, nor do they check cameras, so we did not go in.  We stopped in the Visitor Center and got a brochure on Lincoln and Civil War sites in Alton.  Right across the street is the plaza where the final Lincoln/Douglas debate for the Illinois Senate took place in 1858.  Lincoln lost the debate and the race of the Illinois senate but the debates put him in the national spotlight for his successful run for President in 1860. 

 

 

Most of the shopping in Alton is on Broadway, which runs parallel to the river.  Lots of antique stores but not much else.  There is a pottery studio called Mississippi Mud whose specialty is clay fish.  They make molds from actual fish, cast the fish in clay, and then paint them.  The whole process takes months.  There was only 1 in the studio as the rest were taken to an art fair in St. Louis.  If there are any left on Sunday, we may be able to persuade one of the family members to take us over.

We had a very good lunch at Just Desserts, a casual restaurant in the Ryder building, which was used as a courthouse for trials.  Simeon Ryder was a client of Lincoln’s and Lincoln practiced law in this courthouse.  The specialty here was pie (same as at the Riverdock Restaurant – seems to be a southern Illinois thing).  Randy and I shared a piece of Ozark Berry pie, made from blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.  Out of this world!! 

 

From there we walked back to the harbor and headed to the pool to cool off.  The temperature set a daily record for St. Louis today of 102⁰ (it was the first time this summer that the temperature reached 100⁰ here – just our luck!).  This weather is taxing us as well as the air conditioners on the boat!  I call our cabin the “bat cave” as we have it dark to help keep it cool.

Alton has an Amphitheater on the shore close to the marina.  On Fridays during the summer they have $5 concerts.  Last night the concert was by a Led Zeppelin tribute band called Houses of the Holy.  The marina provided us with free tickets so we walked over after the sun went down and it cooled off a little.  An interesting part of the “show” were 2 hula hoopers with lighted hoops who spun them on their arms, legs and torsos.  Some of the female fans were also “hooping” near the stage – not sure if this is a southern Illinois quirk or just part of this band’s act.  We didn’t stay too long as the band played mostly Led Zeppelin’s “head-banger” tunes.  I am calling this show “Head-Bangers and Hoopers”.

 

 

Day 6 - The Mighty Mississippi

Our first day cruising the Mississippi!  We fueled up, pumped out and left Grafton Harbor at 10:38. 

Very hot and humid again with no wind, so the water was calm as we cruised the short 17 miles to Alton.  The bluffs are higher and the river wider still.  Illinois Highway 100 runs right along the shoreline now.  Randy used to visit Grafton with his family via this highway from Granite City, IL. 

 
As we passed My River Home Harbor and Sioux Harbor we saw a tall statue at the entrance named “Our Lady of the River”. 

 

 Next came Eagle’s Nest Island.  The Grafton area is a wintering spot for bald eagles.

Just north of Alton is the Piasa Bird painting and a large cave in the bluff.  The painting of the Piasa Bird on the bluff is somewhat faded and all you can clearly see are the wings – as you can tell from the photo below. 

Click here for a link to the Piasa Bird Legend.

We arrived at Alton Marina at 11:50 AM, hot and ready to float around in their very nice pool through the heat of the afternoon.  Later, Randy’s sister, brother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law arrived to take us to dinner at Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air.  Randy had not been there in years, but it was much the same, only bigger.  They bought the adjacent street, put a roof over it, and made it their outdoor seating area.  Inside, it is pretty much a dive, but the food is very good and very cheap and the drink service is good.  You go up to the window to order and they call your number when it is ready.  They serve shrimp for 29 cents apiece and various “meat on a stick” such as chicken, pork and steak.  Nothing we ate was more than $3 and the portions were hearty and tasty!  They keep the prices down by taking cash only and not allowing carry-outs.  Quite the experience!

Our Wi-Fi here is intermittent on the boat, so ditto for the posts.

Day 5 - Boy is it Hot!

Boy is it hot!

Randy grew up in ths area so he should know – it gets hot in the summer.  Today was our second day of 95+ degree heat.  The heat really takes it out of you.  After cleaning the boat early, all we could do is go to the pool, do a wine tasting and then go back to the pool.

An update on Grandad and Me – they took the boat to Port St. Charles on one engine to a mechanic who they hope can figure out why they are losing oil.  The mechanic thinks it is a hose and is looking for a replacement.  As of now, we don’t know if they were able to find one.  We met some other boaters/loopers today – most of them also in the pool.  There is a couple from Indiana that are taking their pontoon boat down the river.  They told Randy that 6 Asian carp jumped into their boat!

A paddlewheel boat, the Spirit of Peoria, is here for a few days and we have watched it on the river. 

 

Two loopers came into Grafton Harbor today:  Help Me Rhonda from Alabama and Mooring Dove (we thought it said “Dave”) from Delaware.  Help Me Rhonda is almost home from their loop adventure.  They got caught up in the Erie Canal for a month in June due to spring flooding!  This was not at all what they had planned.  They don’t plan further than the next day now and laughed when we told them we have a detailed calendar and itinerary.  Hmmm…..  They met Mooring Dave somewhere along the way and now the 2 boats are inseparable.  Mooring Dave had its own experience with Asian carp.  A fish jumped through their salon porthole (screen and all) and landed on the bed!  The fish then flopped to the floor and died.

We did our wine tasting at the Grafton Winery.  They import the grape juice from California and Oregon and then ferment it in stainless steel vats here in Grafton.  We have never had Illinois wine before, but found a few we liked.  We bought some and had it “private labeled” under Kristin Says Wines.

 

We did not feel like walking much for dinner, so had a homemade pizza from the harbor restaurant and called it a day.  Tomorrow we head to Alton, a short run of 17 miles. 

Day 4 - We Leave the Illinois River and Enter the Mississippi River

Today was a short travel day as we only had to travel about 20 miles –to the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  Our day started with breakfast at the Riverdock restaurant that extended for over 2 hours so we could use the wifi.  You may have noted that we added pictures to our first 2 posts!  To get to the restaurant, we had to climb a ramp that ended abruptly about 3 feet  above ground - watch your step took on a whole new meaning! 

 
We took a short walk through Hardin, then left the dock at 11:20 AM.  The river is getting deeper and wider; going from 9-11 feet deep to 20 feet deep.  There are lots of small homes on stilts between Hardin and Grafton, our next port.  We passed Pere Marquette State Park about halfway to Grafton.  There is a nice looking lodge, walking trails and a shallow harbor.  There is another car ferry at Brussels and one in Grafton too.  We saw a small enclosed house type boat on pontoons that turned out to be a state police boat.  A tug was pushing barges through the river confluence just north of Grafton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived Grafton Harbor at 12:30 PM.  This harbor has a number of amenities including a small pool, ship’s store, restaurant, showers and Wi-Fi.  Grafton is another small river town with a few restaurants, small hotels and shops.  There are several wineries here and we hope to try a few local wines tomorrow.  We braved the 97 degree heat and walked a few blocks to a small deli and ice cream store.  Later, we cooled off in the pool and chatted with a couple of other “loopers”.  Grandad and Me (the other boat that stayed at Riverdock last night) is here – they are having engine trouble and hope to get it repaired tomorrow.  A Canadian couple on their boat, Time and Tide, are making their way to the Gulf and the Bahamas – they have done the loop before so are called Golden Loopers. 

We are not far from Randy’s home town of Granite City, IL.  His brother Tim drove up to have dinner with us at the marina and it was good to see him.  Tomorrow promises to be another very hot day and we plan to relax in the pool and our air conditioned cabin.  It will be the first place we have stayed for more than 1 night and we are starting to feel like we are truly on vacation now!

Day 3 - Rolling down the River

Welcome to Day 3!  We left Hamm's at 7:15, fueled up, and then hit the river again by 8.  The Asian carp are jumping now, especially when the boat accelerates.  The river is as wide as a lake here but we have to be careful to stay between the channel markers as it gets very shallow quickly.  We see some homes on stilts.  We pass through downtown Peoria, home to Caterpillar and it is the largest town we have seen on the river since leaving Chicago.  There is lots of industry/shipping here and barges line both sides of the river.  We are able to "float" through the Peoria lock, so we did not need our large fenders.  This is the last lock on the Illinois River.

 

 

We are not encountering the small craft that we saw the last 2 days so we are able to travel faster - in fact, we decide to skip tying to the Logsdon Tug Service barge in Beardstown and travel on to Hardin, IL.  We travelled 150 miles today (10 hours!) but it was worth it as we had a nice meal at the Riverdock Restaurant, where we also docked for the night.

Today the river alternated between grain elevators and power plants, and very rustic stretches where we saw little but hawks, heron and seagulls.  We passed the Scotia, a 45 foot sailboat that the owners had crossed the Atlantic in!  They are sailing down to the Gulf, then on to South America (Bob Hamm told us about them this morning).

We pass a levee and farmland, then about 20 miles from Hardin, the landscape becomes more rolling.  We see a trawler, Granddad and Me, and they also stopped at Riverdock for the night.  We start to see more homes again along the river and a car ferry at Kampsville as there is no bridge across the river here.  There are several islands in the river as we get close to Hardin; one of the largest is Hurricane Island.  We arrive at Riverdock at 6:10 PM, tired and hungry, but happy with the time we made today.

Day 2 - Seneca to Rome

It's day 2 of our journey and we left Spring Brook Marina at 7:48 AM.  Another beautiful day with no wind and calm waters.  We passed some farms and soon came upon the Marseilles Potash Corp, a sprawling industrial site.  There were lots of fisherman out in small boats or on shore.  The Marseilles Dam is under construction after suffering damage when 4 barges collided last spring due to heavy rains and flooding last April.  We have pictures, but looks like we won't have internet access until Tuesday, so we will go back and insert the photos into previous posts.  There was a large white-headed bird that landed on a nearby tree - think it was a hawk.

We passed through 2 locks today, the Marseilles Lock and Starved Rock Lock and Dam, with no incident and short wait times.  Some very nice homes line the western shore of the river at Ottawa.  The river is widening and continues to be frequented by small pleasure and fishing boats.  Captain Randy slowed the boat countless times today so as not to rock the smaller boats with our large wake.  Starved Rock State Park has its own marina, park, playground, camping and fishing areas.

Lasalle-Peru appears to be 2 old, industrial river towns with very old buildings lining its shores.  This part of the river is a mix of small marinas such as the South Shore Boat Club and commercial interests like the Mertel Gravel Company and Illinois Power Dock.

We decided to stop for lunch at Hennepin.  Our Quimby's Boating Guide said that there was a "courtesy dock" we could tie up to and walk into town.  The "courtesy dock" is an old barge that is embedded/sunk along shore. There were supposed to be finger docks attached to the barge but we did not see them until later when we were on shore.  We saw the barge and drew close to tie up.  I had to jump off the boat and tie us to a railing that ran the length of the barge.  After tying up (thank goodness for our oversized round fenders!) we had to climb over the railing to leave the boat.  The stairway from the dock to town was overgrown with weeds, so we walked up the roadway.  Over to the side, the finger docks were piled on shore - they were not put in the water this year.  At the top of the hill we saw Ray's Place and decided to go in for lunch.  This was a great move as the place was immaculate and the food outstanding.  The restaurant has been there for 51 years.  Ray died 20 years ago, but his wife Pauline has been running it on her own ever since.  We highly recommend stopping in for good food and friendly service if you come this way!  But remember, we warned you about the "courtesy dock!"

 

After leaving Hennepin, around Mile Marker 205, I saw several jumping Asian Carp - we anticipate seeing more further south.  We had another 27 miles to go to reach our destination for the night - Hamm's Holiday Harbor.  Captain Randy called Hamm's about 10 miles out and was told a barge had run aground and sunk in the middle of the channel leading into the marina.  Great!!  We managed to maneuver around it and get into a slip.  Captain Randy aptly terms Hamm's as a "graveyard for casino boats", as there are several here.  The restaurant was closed (thank goodness for lunch at Ray's Place!) and the marina, in general, needs LOTS of TLC.  I think we are the only people staying on our boat here tonight!  We will be getting some fuel and leaving early in the morning for our next adventure - tomorrow night we tie up to a barge.

Our Journey Begins - August 24, 2013

After years of dreaming and months of preparation, we embarked on our Great Loop journey today, traveling down the Little Calumet and Illinois Rivers from Marine Services in Dolton, IL to Spring Brook Marina in Seneca IL.  Technically, it began Monday, August 19 when we left our home port of Diversey Harbor in Chicago for Marine Services for boat maintenance.  Like today, Monday was beautiful and the water like glass.  We arrived at the boatyard and they "tuned up" the Kristin Says, making her voyage ready.  Our good friend Robin graciously offered to take us and all our gear to the boatyard Friday afternoon so we could stay on the boat and leave early Saturday.  Captain Randy was getting quite anxious when Robin was caught in Kennedy traffic and arrived late - would we make it all the way to Dolton before Marine Services closed for the evening?  Yes!  We made it with time to spare.  Soon Captain Jamie and his wife Deb came and took us to Cocula's in Calumet City for a festive send-off dinner that we enjoyed very much.

 

 

We left Marine Services at 7:14 AM and arrived at the Lockport Lock at 10:05.  Luckily there was no waiting and we were through by 10:25.  We had similar luck at Brandon Road Lock, arriving at 10:52 and left at 11:17.  Our luck was not as good at Dresden Island Lock, where we waited 17 minutes to get into the lock and then were "stuck" halfway down while the Lock Master was busy with a surveyor.  Finally, we descended the rest of the way and were out by 1:35 PM.  Done with locks for today.  As First Mate, I had to move the fenders and lines back and forth from port to starboard, depending on which side we were instructed to tie up on, and I feel like a pro after doing it 3 times.

 

 

The river changed throughout the day, beginning as more of a commercial waterway with barges and tugs and ending with more recreational traffic.  William G Stratton State Park at Morris, IL has 4 boat launches and there were lots of small ski boats, kayaks, pontoons and jet skis.  There were several "mini playpens" with boats pulled up to the river bank and people swimming and having fun in the water.  One such place is Berry Island, and boats there were "bowed in" to the shore; a few had ladders off the bow for access.  There were still barges in the river, some pulled off to the side and they are huge!

We pulled into Spring Brook Marina at 3:25 PM and tied up for the night.  Spring Brook has a restaurant overlooking the river and we enjoyed some afternoon refreshments and dinner later this evening.  True to form, Captain Randy could not locate the keys he had just used to lock up the boat before we were 50 feet away from it on our way to check in.  So, being the trusty First Mate that `I am, I went back to the boat and found the missing keys - the first of many times over the course of this trip I am sure!

We are back on the boat relaxing after dinner.  On to Hamm's Holiday Harbor in Rome, IL tomorrow.  We have just 2 locks to go through tomorrow and I hope we get through as quickly as we did today.  Looking forward to more adventures!!

PS We have photos to add to this post as soon as we have access to the internet.