Loop Life with Greg and Reenie

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

OHIO RIVER

We spent two nights on the OHIO RIVER.

After departing Little Diversion Channel, we traveled about 50 miles with three other Looper boats and then turned left on the OHIO RIVER. The convergence of the Mississippi and OHIO RIVER was quite exhilarating! All of the Loopers passed safety onto the OHIO RIVER (with a few stories to tell during cocktails). The OHIO seemed much cleaner and smooth, but lots and lots of traffic and parked barges along the river banks. We were previously warned at Hoppies about all of the tow traffic on the OHIO RIVER, but it's even more than we anticipated.

Even though we were warned about all of the traffic... it was a bit overwhelming! The river systems were the original highways of the new world. The tows can be pushing anywhere from one to fourty-two barges linked together. An average tow of fifteen barges can carry as much 1,500 tons of cargo. This amount of cargo is equal to a three mile long freight train, or a line of semi trucks thirty five miles long! The barges transport almost any type of cargo from port to port. Some typical cargo could include: coal, grain, oil, chemicals, trash, sand, gravel, timber or other materials.

On our Great American Loop adventure we have the opportunity to see and experience the unexpected...traveling the River system has been very educational and incredible! We are both amazed by the amount of goods transported on the River Highways of the United States.

Once on the OHIO River we traveled about 20 miles to the Olmstead Lock and Lock 53. These two are connected and the Loopers cleared both together in about a two hour time frame (that was very fast for PC's).

After we cleared the final Lock of the day, we fired up our engines and hurried to our planned anchorage at Mile Marker 948.5. Our Looper friends on Tyre-less were already at the anchorage. After a long day, we appreciated their local knowledge guiding Thistle over the sandbar to a safe anchorage for the night. Once anchored we saw the sky turn pink, orange, red for a spectacular sunset.

Tomorrow we head to the Cumberland River.

Departing Little Diversion Channel we saw Bridges, Barges and Beaches (with nice white sand).

When we entered the OHIO RIVER there was a turbulence warning on our navigation system.

WOW... it was extremely turbulent!

One of our buddy boaters said, "He felt like a toy boat in a bathtub when the drain was released!"

Our buddy boater did an unexpected 360 in the middle of the river?

Thankfully we were warned :)

It was a unique experience when we left the muddy Mississippi by turning left onto the OHIO RIVER. There was a distinct line in the water where the two converge. The Mississippi was muddy brown with turbulence, and The OHIO was blue/green and smooth. We changed our navigation reminder stick to Red Atons to the right on the OHIO RIVER.

We were warned about the heavy tow traffic on the OHIO River. This is a picture of our AIS. Thistle is the blue triangle with the green dot, the orange rectangles are other PC's or tows near us!

We entered the Omstead Lock (with three other Looper Boats). The Lock is under construction. With only a slight delay we were escorted through .

We were very lucky with our Lock timing, as there was a waiting list of about 24 tow boats with multiple bardges.

Then up Lock 53, this Lock is connected to The Olmstead Lock. We waited on the wall for about an hour then "floated" (not attached to the lock wall) up the huge lock.

Finally at our anchorage for the night, Mile Marker 948.5. The anchorage was on the starboard side of the OHIO RIVER, protected from river traffic by a sand bar.

An absolutely spectacular sunset :) at Mile Marker 948.5.

Photo credit a Tyre-less ( Thank You !)

Lock number 52 in the morning!

We are here!

The City is walled due to frequent high water on The OHIO RIVER ... the wall is decorated with murals explaining the towns history with information plaques under each mural.

The annual Barbecue On The River was in full swing. There were 100's of BBQ, beer and craft booths with multiple stages and live music! An estimated 40,000 people attended the three day event. We ordered fried green tomatoes... Yum! And decorated Thistle with a bouquet of two dozen red roses.

Reenie visited The National Quilt Museum with fellow Looper Lesley (aboard Tyre-less).

No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the Museum! (These photos are borrowed from their web site.) My favorite quilts told a story: The 2017 Solar Eclipse (top right), The Beatles, Yellow Submarine (bottom left) and Hot Pad (bottom right).

We had a farm to table dinner at the Freight House...delicious! We asked about the KY Blue Snapper (never heard of that fish?)..found out that it is Carp.......a new KY marketing strategy! No we just couldn't order....Carp :(

Good night from the brand new Paducah City Dock. Note how high the pillings are! It's necessary for the drastic change of water levels on the OHIO RIVER.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

MISSISSIPPI RIVER

We spent three long days on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, traveling 218 miles. That sounds like a lot of miles, but we enjoyed a favorable 3-4 knot current.

After departing Grafton, we traveled about 18 miles to Alton Marina. Alton Marina is at mile marker "0" on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Alton is a Historic town with a "happening downtown"! We enjoyed two nights at the Marina with many other Loppers, sharing lots of information. The Marina arranges transportation to the grocery store for re-provisioning, and the Casino provides transportation from the Marina to Historic downtown Alton.

We pushed off the dock with 8 other Looper boats at about 7:30am, and soon entered the Mel Price Lock! Our platoon of Loopers traveled together for about 50 miles down the MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

It was a very exciting day passing through two locks (Mel Price, 23 feet down and Lock 27, 12 feet down), going through the Chain of Rocks Channel, seeing the picturesque Gateway Arch in person and finally docking at Hoppies Marina.

The MISSISSIPPI RIVER is muddy and full of tow boats pushing barges. The tow boats are pushing anywhere from one to forty-two barges! They are crazy HUGE? We navigate with an application on our ipads called AIS that allows us see the tow boats over the horizon or around bends in the river...The tow boats typically travel slower than us so we hale them on our VHS radio on channel 13. When passing a tow boat we address them on the Radio: "Saint Peter (Tow Name) this is a PC (Pleasure Craft) passing you...is that ok and how would you like us to pass?" They answer on the ONE or TWO.

When passing the opposite direction:

"See you on the one (whistle) " = pass port to port

"See you on the two (whistle)" = starboard to starboard

When passing the same direction:

"See you on the one (whistle)" = overtake on the starboard

"See you on the two (whistle)" = overtake on the port

The passing is getting rather routine.... but always a bit stressful!

The second night on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER we docked at Hoppies Marina, this is a Looper tradition. The owners give a helpful daily 4:30 pm briefing about future travel days and river conditions.

The next day was a long 110 mile adventure on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. At sunset we anchored at Little Diversion Channel with six other Looper boats. That night we enjoyed spaghetti dinner as guests on our new Looper friends GH47 Trawler named Mother Ocean (Thanks).

The next morning we headed down the MISSISSIPPI RIVER for 50 miles and turned left onto the Ohio River.

Looper Tip: Hoppies Marina is a must stop !!!!!!! The Marina is located in Kimmswick, Missouri. It is basically three old barges tied along the MISSISSIPPI RIVER and has been operated by the same family for 85 years.

After a week, we are acclimating quite well to Loop life on the river system :)

We are on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER!

Traveling 218 Miles down the MISSISSIPPI RIVER from Alton to the the Ohio River.

Thistle docked at the Alton Marina.

Alton is a Historic Town with the Argosy Casino and reported haunted houses!

Fast Eddies is a must stop in Alton.

Just Desserts is another must stop for strawberry/rhubarb pie.

Alton was the site of the famous 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

History in Alton.

A sunset Looper get together at the Alton Marina.

The Clark Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge across the MISSISSIPPI RIVER in Alton.

An early start from Alton Marina to the Mel Price Lock with 8 Looper Boats.

The Mel Price Lock.

The Lock was full of huge logs and other debris.

We side-tied to Mother Ocean, with plenty of fenders.

The Chain of Rocks Cannel.

Excited to see the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis.

Thistle under The Gateway Arch.

The muddy MISSISSIPPI RIVER, with a favorable current and lots of tow boats pushing barges.

Docking at Hoppies:)

Apple pie at the famous Blue Owl.

The Anheuser Estate next door to Hoppies.

The nightly briefing by Fern (red shirt)at Hoppies.

Enjoying sunset at Hoppies.

A 110 mile day down the MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

Thistle anchored at Little Diversion Channel.

Monday, September 25, 2017

ILLINOIS RIVER

We have been on the ILLINOIS RIVER the last seven days. The Great American Loop is an entirely new adventure on the river system...different navigation charts, lots and lots of tugs pushing barges, the water level is extremely low, there seems to be daily lock issues with closures or backups, and we have enjoyed (Not?) a mini heat wave!!! (Actually, we are thrilled (and chilled) with our new air conditioner :)

Everything is great...it just takes some time to acclimate to life on the river, The Fall chapter of our Great American Loop adventure! As we celebrate the Fall equinox:)

The first leg of the ILLINOIS RIVER trip was from Joliet to Ottawa. That was a 56 mile day with two locks. The first was Dresden Lock (24 feet down) with a two and a half hour wait. The second was Marseilles Lock (24 feet down) with about a three hour wait. After dark, on a long tiring day we arrived at Heritage Harbor in Ottawa. We docked for three nights at Heritage. We originally planned one or two nights, but the La Grange Lock is closed due to shallow water downstream. The Army Corps of Engineers issued a "Closure" and we were advised to remain at our current location. (We have been hearing about La Grange Lock issues for months ?)

The river and locks are primarily for commercial business. The paying tugs pushing barges have priority over all pleasure craft (us and other Loopers). So, we typically have long frustrating waits prior to being locked through.

The second leg of the ILLINOIS RIVER trip was from Ottawa to Peoria. This was a 75 mile day with one lock. The Starved Rock Lock was about a three and a half hour wait. We departed at sunrise and docked at The Illinois Valley Yacht Club at sunset for one night. The Yacht Club was very nice. After check-in we enjoyed dinner and the company of other Loopers.

We departed at sunrise for the third leg of the trip on the ILLINOIS RIVER, and traveled 80 miles from Peoria to Beardstown. We had one lock today. The Peoria Lock, with a three hour wait. It could have been longer, but the Lock Master allowed six Loopers to sneak in-between some barges :) We tried to dock at the Havana City Dock on the way, but it was way too shallow. (Captain Greg took it slow and we bottomed out at four feet... no damage on the silt mud bottom of the river.) With seven other Loopers we docked at dusk for one night at Logsdon Tug Service. Probably the most unique stop thus far on the ILLINOIS RIVER. They have barges along the river that boats side tie on... no power or water, but safe and secure! We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Beardstown, it was great (Gracias).

Leaving the next morning at sunrise, all seven Loopers headed to the infamous La Grange Lock. We easily locked through together! Past the lock we observed the Army Corp of Engineers dredging the shallow area of the river. We are now at the most Western point of the Great American Loop! That night we docked in Hardin. It was a 70 mile day...docking at the Riverdock Restaurant. We arrived first, but by nightfall there were five other Loopers on the dock. We all enjoyed Docktails and dinner together. For dinner we ordered Catfish and home smoked Brisket (yum).

Our last day on the ILLINOIS RIVER was a short 20 mile trip from Hardin to Grafton. Grafton has a large Marina, located near the confluence of the ILLINOIS and Mississippi Rivers. Grafton is a party town ... we stayed one night and are ready to move on to the Mississippi River tomorrow morning!