CUMBERLAND R. TO GREEN TURTLE BAY

DAY 110 WED. SEPT. 28, 2011
AM FOG CLEARING PM SUNNY
DEP. CUMBERLAND I. TOWHEAD 08:25  ARR. GREEN TURTLE BAY MARINA 2:30
D. 31.7  sm / 2208.1

Our planned departure was 7:15, however, we looked out over the Ohio R. and saw fog.   We called some tows on the Cumberland R. and they were “socked in.”   So much for early to rise!  We weighed anchor at 08:25, entered the Ohio R. at the junction of the Cumberland R. and immediately met up with some tows.  We are still going upstream, and the current against us at the junction of the two rivers is up to 4 mph, and swirling in whirlpools making the boat do the old Miss. Mambo.  After we get through the first 5 miles, the river settles down and we are bucking a current of about 1 to 2 mph.  The Cumberland R. is much narrower at this end than the Ohio.  It is home to many industrial sites and has a lot of tow traffic.   In any case, we make it to the only lock we have to go thru for the day, the Barkley Lock & Dam.  As we approached the lock we saw a tow ahead of us.  We could have overtaken him before the lock, however, the lockmaster would have taken him first, regardless.  We waited behind him for 30 minutes while he tried to squeeze into the lock, and another 40 mins. while he went through and they turned the lock around.  Finally through, we headed for Green Turtle Bay (GTB) Marina and Resort for what was to be a 3 day stay.   We were first assigned a covered slip, which sounded good, except for the fact that it was away from the other Loopers by a very long walk.  Also, it was very cool in the shade all day long.  OK in the summer, but not in the fall.

EARLY AM FOG @ CUMBERLAND RIVER. TOWHEAD
DON BRINGING THE DINGHY ABOARD

SUNSET

ANCHORED FOR THE NIGHT

SWIRLING CURRENTS AND TOWS

INDUSTRY ON THE CUMBERLAND R.

BARGE ENTERING BARKLEY LOCK

GLORY DAY ENTERING BARKLEY LOCK

OHIO R. TO CUMBERLAND R.

DAY 109 TUES. SEPT. 27, 2011
OVERCAST, CLOUDY COOL
DEP MM 966.2,  07:00 ARR CUMBERLAND I. TOWHEAD 2:30
D. 42.7sm / 2176.4

We woke up at 06:00 to find we were still secure to the Fed. Mooring cell, but had some surprise visitors during the night.  The boat was literally covered with “fish flies.”  Hundreds of them.  They were attracted by the light that our white hull reflected from the bright lights of the lock construction project.  As we prepared to get under way we had some good news.  We knew that the wickets on lock 52 were down, now lock 53 wicket dams are also down. ( Wicket dams are lowered during periods of high water to allow boats to pass over them, thus eliminating the need to go through the lock.)    Again, we are heading upstream, into the current of about 2 mph, so it is a slow go compared to the Miss. R., but we only have about 40 miles to go to our anchorage for the night, the Cumberland I. Towhead.  Cumberland I. is located at the junction of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers and provides a good anchorage out of the current and out of the way of tows.  As we pull in we see hundreds of Asian Carp jumping out of the water because of our engine noises. The current here is less than 1 mph, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of debris in the water, so the anxiety factor is pretty low.  This will be our last night on the Ohio R.

GLORY DAYS MOORED TO FED. MOORING CELL MM966.2 OHIO R.
JUST SOUTH OF THE OLMSTEAD LOCK

JUST A FEW OF THE FISH FLIES WE COLLECTED OVERNIGHT

NEW OLMSTEAD LOCK CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

NEW OLMSTEAD LOCK PROJECT

4 WIDE X 5 DEEP

HOLY MACKEREL!  ASIAN CARP.
CUMBERLAND RIVER TOWHEAD

HAPPINESS IS BEING TIED UP!

DAY 108, MON. SEPT 26, 2011
AM EARLY FOG, LATER CLEARING
DEP. LITTLE DIVERSION CH. 8:00  ARR OHIO R. MM 966.2 12:45
D. 63.6 sm / 2133.7

I woke up at 2:30 am to check the anchor.  The good news was we had not moved at all.  The bad news was the anchor chain looked like it became a home for beavers.  There was a lot of driftwood caught on a good size tree that had snagged the chain.  Leaving it there might put too much strain on the anchor causing it to break loose and setting us adrift in this small anchorage in the dark.  With 6 boats downstream of us,  not a very comforting thought!  After struggling with the boat hook for 30 mins, I finally pried the tree loose and cleared the rest of the debris.  AMEN!  Then the thought struck me that all this could cause another boat to break loose, but there was not much I could do.  Fortunately, everybody held and was present and accounted for at 6:00 am.  There was some fog in our anchorage, but we had reports from tow captains that the Miss. R south was socked in.  By 8am it cleared enough for us to get under way, and so we headed for another fun day on Old Man River.  This is our last day on the Miss. R. and none too soon for me.  Although we had a very favorable current the whole way down it is not my favorite kind of cruising.  The water boils with current, it is dirty, and there is a lot of commercial traffic.  At 12:40 we entered the Ohio River for a roughly 60 mile trip upstream to the Cumberland R.  As soon as we made the turn, the speed went from 10–12 mph to 7-8mph.  The current against us in the Ohio R. was about half of the current that was with us in the Miss. R.  The Ohio seemed a lot tamer as it was much wider at this point, and there was more room to stay clear of the many tows.  Unfortunately, there are very few places to tie up overnight so most vessels have to anchor as close to shore as possible, out of the channel and clear of tows.  Not my idea of fun.  Fortunately, the most current cruising guide showed some federal “mooring cells” just south of the Olmstead Lock construction project.  We called the lockmaster and he said it was OK to tie up there overnight.  This called for another AMEN!  This is when we coined the phrase “Happiness is being tied up!”
 

GREAT ESCAPE TIED TO FED. MOORING CELL OHIO R. MM 966.2

GLORY DAYS TIED TO MOORING CELL

TYPICAL TOW

4 x 5 TOW

NOTE SPEED (SOG) JUST BEFORE EXITING MISS. R.  13.6 MPH

GLORY DAYS ON THE FEDERAL MOORING CELL, OHIO RIVER
PHOTO COURTESY OF DON MILLER

NOTE SPEED (SOG) ENTERING OHIO R. 8.2 MPH


 

DAY107, SUN. SEPT 25, 2011
AM THUNDERSTORMS, NOON RAIN, EVE. SHOWERS  COOL
DEP. KAS. LOCK 07:10  ARR LITTLE DIVERSION CH. 12:45.
D. 68.7 / 2070.1

All morning long it is raining.  We see and hear lightning and thunder all around us, but not close enough to cause any problems.  We meet 2 tows and do a couple of Miss. Mambos, but considering the circumstances, we do well.  It is a long and tiresome trip because steering the boat and staying in the channel requires constant vigilance, so we are happy to get anchored in Little Diversion Channel.  It is well named, because it is little, about 40 yds wide, and 200 yds long.  It is very well protected from the wind, but the current runs about 2 mph.  We get the anchor set on the first try, set up my new mooring snubbers, and try to relax.  At first it is only us and Great Escape, however, that doesn’t last long as we are soon joined by 6 more boats.  One anchors in front of me, the others behind me.  The only problem is there is only one way out, and that is blocked by the other 6 boats.  Our friends on Great Escape go through our Bear Drop Harbor experience, only worse.  Don puts the dinghy down to scope out a place to bring the dogs ashore and has a fuel problem causing the dinghy motor to die while the current in the harbor is quickly taking him out to the Miss. R.  This is the last place you want to be adrift in a dinghy, so he tries to row ashore, and manages to catch a fallen log at the entrance to the river and hangs on waiting to be rescued.  Meanwhile, the anchor on Great Escape breaks lose, and she is adrift and heading for the river.  Fortunately Theresa is a skilled skipper and somehow manages to get the anchor up and the boat under control, while another boat (The Cooper) rescues Don and his dinghy from the snagged tree.  This whole thing is a nightmare and has the effect of increasing our anxiety level, so in spite of our anchor holding, it is stressful.  At 5:30 I decide to let out another 25’ of chain to give me a total of 75’ on the bottom, in 8.5’ of water.   Hope we all wake up in the same spot tomorrow morning.  

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

ANCHORED IN LITTLE DIVERSION CHANNEL LOOKING AFT

LOOKING FORWARD

 

HOPPIES TO KASKASKIA

DAY 106  SAT. SEPT 25, 2012   “HOPPIES” TO KASKASKIA LOCK.
AM CLEAR COOL PARTLY SUNNY
DEP. HOPPIES 07:10  ARR KASKASKIA LOCK 10:35
D. 41.0 / 2021.4

Kaskaskia Lock is on the Kaskaskia River, and we do not enter it.  It is just a stop along the way where cruisers can tie up to a wall overnight, in this case at no charge, but there are no services.  It is in this trip we do our first Miss. Mambo.  It is both exhilarating and frightening.   As we enter a curve in the river, we have to keep to the outside where the current is faster.  The turbulence is caused by wing dams extending under water from the inside of the curve to direct the water to the outside.  This helps to prevent shoaling in these areas.  The good news is we get thru it pretty quickly as the current give us a boost to almost 15 smph.  One of the rules at this lock is you cannot tie up to or climb the rail fence.  When you see them it is apparent as to why.  They are mostly broken off their bases.  It is also apparent they were built by the lowest bidder.  Since the fences are on the edge of the wall, you have to duck between the rails to get off or on the boat.  But we don’t complain, because “happiness is being tied up!”  After “Happy Hour” with Gemini and The Cooper, we have a hot dog and bean dinner with Theresa and Don from Great Escape.

FREE LOCK TIE UP AT KASKASKIA LOCK

THIS IS PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF 1 LARGE TOW

LIMESTONE QUARRY

A LOOPER GET TOGETHERAT KASKASKIA LOCK
L to R  THERSA, DON, BETH & STEVE WESTGATE (GEMINI),
RUSTY & BETTE HUGHS (THE COOPER)

WING DAM

 

FERN HOPKINS, LIVING LEGEND (AMONG LOOPERS)

DAY 105 FRI. ALTON TO “HOPPIES” (KIMSSWICK, MO)
M FOG COOL PM CLOUDY COOL
DEP. ALTON 06:50 ARR. HOPPIES 11:50
D. 44.4 / 2080.4

The fog lifted enough to get under way just before 7:AM. We called the Melvin Price lock and Go Forth was already there, but they held it for us so there was no waiting. We even got to use the commercial or Main side (this lock has a separate chamber for rec. vessels).   From the lock we enter the “Chain of Rocks Canal,” which sounds more ominous than it really is.   From the canal we enter the “Chain of Rocks Lock, then re-enter the Miss. River, and soon pass the famous St. Louis Arch.   From the water, St. Louis is a very industrial dirty city.   We are doing 9.4 smph thru the water, but 13.2 smph over the ground. That equates to a 3.6 smph current giving us a terrific boost in speed.   We docked at Hoppies following Fern’s instructions, and were rewarded with a “well done.” Hoppies is named for its owner, Fern Hopkins. She is a cruising legend, 80 years old and holding daily training sessions for customers on how to deal with the Mississippi River.  At 1:15 we walked a short distance to the Blue Owl Restaurant, another famous place in the tiny town of Kimsswick, MO.   With nothing around for miles it was hard to believe the place was packed, until we saw the attraction. They are known for their desserts, especially their pies which are always fresh and homemade.  
 At 4:30 Fern held her training session. She told us about areas of extreme turbulence where your boat will “dance.” When we experienced this I dubbed it the “Mississippi Mambo.”   You have to hold on to the wheel and power thru as the boat wants to turn sideways to the current, and twist in the eddies.   Its something you have to experience to really understand.   Unfortunately, we have 3 such experiences ahead of us.   Another point she made is to meet tows in the straight-aways, not on curves as the tugs prop wash will blow you into a bank.   I wish I knew about all this before we started this trip!

A REALLY BIG TOW

CKECK SPEED, 10.4 SM/HR

THERESA, DON,(GREAT ESCAPE), PAT AT HOPPIES

TALK ABOUT SUPER SIZE!  ST LOUIS, OF COURSE

HOPPIES MARINA, KIMSSWICK, MO

PIE AT THE BLUE OWL

FERN HOPKINS HOLDING HER AFTERNOON TRAINING SESSION
 



FINALLY, A REALLY NICE MARINA

DAY 102 WED., DAY 103 THURS.  HARDIN TO ALTON LAYOVER ALTON
AM SUNNY & COOL, pm SUNNY & COOL, THURS, COOL W SHOWERS
DEP. HARDIN 07:40  ARR. ALTON 11:30
D. 35.1 sm  /2063.0

We are making good time as we picked up a fast current on the Old Missippi River.  We arrived at the gas dock at 11:30 to fill up.  Diesel was a bargain at $3.96 per gallon for Boat US members.  Alton Marina was also a bargain at $1.00 ft. for Boat US members.  The marina was spectacular, with covered slips, hot tub, pool and gorgeous showers that made us Loopers drool.  We caught up with Sharon and Ken our good friends from Dockers Inn.  It was great seeing them again and catching up with each other’s adventures.   Met the Harbor host Patty Mitchell who very generously offered to take all of the women to a real super market.  Teresa, Linda and I (Pat) piled into her red mustang convertible  for a brief tour and some serious grocery shopping.  That evening Patty and her husband Robert took all of the Loopers to Tony’s a nice restaurant in Alton.  Patty and Robert are wonderful harbor hosts who made our stay warm and memorable.  We planned on staying 2 days in Alton as we really needed the rest.  It was great to be able to sleep in the next day.  For lunch we went to Fast Eddies for $.99 hamburgers (1/2lb.) with Teresa and Donald from Great Escape.  What a great find.  Lunch for 2 with fries and shrimp appetizer only $6.59 (both, NOT each!) and it was good.  What a good time we had.   

LIMESTONE CLIFFS ALONG THE UPPER MISS R.

WOW!  COVERED SLIPS.

MORE AND BIGGER TOWS

THE 99 CENT BURGERS AT FAST EDDIES
ALTON, IL

JOE & PAT, THERESA & DON, AT FAST EDDIES

GLORY DAYS UNDER COVER


 

DINNER AT MEL'S RIVERSIDE

DAY 102 BEARDSTOWN TO HARDIN
AM COOL CLOUDY, 4:00 PM SUNNY
DEP. BEARDSTOWN 06:15  ARR. HARDIN 3:00
D. 64.06 sm / 2027.3

We planned to leave early, but were fogged in until almost 8AM.  It was good to leave Beardstown as the water smelled “fishy.”   At 09:05 we went under the Norfolk & Western Bridge, which is only significant because it is the westernmost point of the Great Loop trip.  We pulled up to the floating dock at the Mel’s Riverside Restaurant in Hardin, Il. to spend the night for only $25., no electric or water.  At that price you are almost obligated to have dinner there.  We did, and it was good. Mel smokes all of his own meats and the menu consists mostly of BBQ chicken, ribs, brisket, etc.  The pies were all homemade and especially good.  At $62 for 2 including the slip it was a bargain.  We were joined by Linda & Bob (Erica Lin), Theresa & Don (Great Escape), Fred & Sue Huse (Aloah), and Ed & Cindy (KayDeeAnne). It was great getting together with all those loopers.

FROM BARGE TO HOPPER

GLORY DAYS AND SISTER SHIP ERICA LIN

MORE SCOOPS

DINNER AT MEL'S RIVERSIDE RESTAURANT
HARDIN, IL
 

THE LAND OF LINCOLN

DAY 98  SEPT. 16, 2011 

DEP. OTTOWA 07:30  ARR. HENRY HARBOR 1:40

AM  45*, CLOUDY COOL

D. 44.5 / 1877.7

We called Starved Rock Lock early to get their status and were told as of right now it looked good.  When we got to the lock they had just closed the gates on a down bound tow and we had to wait about 40 mins.  The instructions were to tie up to the bollards on the left descending bank (LDB).  Check out the pictures.  The bollard is a round concrete freestanding structure with huge cleats on it designed for barges to tie up to.  While Great Escape had no problem with this because they have a very high deck, Glory Days did.  I had to practically climb off the boat to get a line around the cleat, but somehow managed to do it without falling in the water.  If this happens again, I will try it from the upper deck.  We cleared the lock at 9:40 and within an hour found ourselves behind a large down bound tow approaching 2 large up bound tows in a fleeting area.  A fleeting area is a long stretch of riverbank where tugs pick up and /or drop off barges to make up their tows.  Kind of like a barge terminal or Chinese fire drill from our perspective.   We agreed to wait behind the down bound tow until they cleared the 2 up bound tows, and then proceeded to overtake him.  When we arrived at the town of Henry, IL, we were told to tie up at the old lock wall.  This was the most deteriorated, uneven “wall” I have ever seen.  They had the nerve to charge us $1/ft to stay overnight.  We did have electric, but again, no water.

 

WAITING FOR THE LOCK TO OPEN

ITS DIFFICULT TO TIE TO A ROUNDMOORING CELL

FINALLY IN THE LOCK
 

DAY 99 SAT.SEPT. 17, 2011

DEP. HENRY 07:20, ARR. PEORIA 11:00

AM 56* SUNNY COOL, LATER CLOUDY  PM 70*

D. 34.4 sm/1882.1

No locks today, and a short run so we get to sleep late, 06:00.   We met tow “Pat White” on 1 whistle.  It was kind of hairy for me as it was on a curve and we had go to the right side which was the outside of the curve.  It was also the direction the stern of the tug was swinging toward in order to get its front barge to steer right.  We came within 15 feet of its stern and had to really power up to keep from getting sucked in by its wake.  It seemed to me that a 2 whistle meeting would have been better, but who am I to argue with a tow Capt.  At 10:30 we met up bound tow “Gregory David,” 2 barges wide and 5 long, in a straight away and went by on 1 whistle with no anxiety.  As we are travelling south the river is widening and eventually opens up into Peoria Lake which is about a mile wide, with a narrow channel around its perimeter.  We also see our first bald eagle of the trip, high up in a bare tree.  When we got to Peoria we were met by old friends Jean and Brian Orr on Spirit of Whitby.  It is always good to see them and they helped us get into a nice slip (free) with electric (free) but no water.  We spent some time catching up and walking around the area.  To our good fortune, there was an “Octoberfest” going on tonight and tomorrow.  It was the highlight of our day.  The polka music was great and the food was very good, and cheap.  Roast pork dinner with red cabbage and spaetzel for only $10.  Did I mention, the beer was good? 

WAITING FOR THE NEXT FLOOD??

JEANNE & BRIAN ORR DOING THE POLKA AT OCTOBERFEST
PEORIA, IL

NOT QUITE A POLKA
 

 

DAY 100 SUN SEPT. 18, 2011 

LAYOVER AT PEORIA

RAIN, ALL DAY

It’s hard to believe, this is the 100^th day of our cruise.  We did not count the week at home.  We celebrate by sleeping until 8:00, having a big breakfast, and going to a German “Polka” Mass at the “Octoberfest” next to the marina.  In spite of the rain today, it was a great weekend.  We even managed to find a source of water to fill our depleting water tank.  Tomorrow we plan to head for Tall Timbers Marina for the night, IF they have enough water depth for us to get in.  The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) controls the pool depth (read water level) on the rivers and adjusts it depending on the amount of rain.  The water depth at the marina has been low all week, but they are hoping it will be back up tomorrow.  If not, we will anchor out behind Quiver I. which is why we need the tank water.  

 

DAY 101 MON. SEPT.19, 2011
AM CLOUDY, CHANCE OF SHOWERS, DAMP AN COLD .   4PM SUNNY 72*
DEP. PEORIA 0615  ARR. BEARDSTOWN 2:30
D. 71.68 sm / 1963.8

We planned to leave at 06:30 and cruise to Tall Timbers marina 30 sm south, but that didn’t work.   We called the lock at 06:00 and the lockmaster said to bring it on down,  then Don (Great Escape) heard a south bound tow on the radio and we had to make a quick departure in order to get to the lock before him. Had he got there first, or called before we got there, we would have to wait (possibly hours) as commercial tows have priority. No problem, we beat him.   We called Tall Timbers and they said the water level was too low for us to get in so we were going with plan “B”,  anchor behind Quiver Island near the barge loading area, until Don heard from friends that they did that last night and were told to leave at 10:00 at night. That left plan “C”, cruise 71 sm. to Beardstown and tie up to a barge for $1/ft.   So, after 8 hrs. of cruising in damp cold clothes, we tied up to a barge and the sun came out.   We met (head on) 5 tows, including one that was overtaking another  in the channel, and went thru one lock. After a celebratory cocktail, Pat wants to walk into town.   Beardstown, IL, looks like a ghost town with many stores closed and very few cars. Another one of those small towns that were prosperous at one time, and are now depressed.   The river that brought them prosperity, has flooded the town on many occasions and brought them ruin on others.   We visited the local museum and the curator gave us a personal tour even though it was closed.   What looked like a small 1 room museum turned out to be at least 6 large rooms and took us an hour and a half. Their big claim to fame is the court room where Lincoln defended a murder suspect in what became known as to “Almanac Trial.”
 

GOING DOWN...INTO A FOG!

DREDGING OPERATION

ANOTHER TOW

TIED TO A BARGE IN BEARDSTOWN IL