10/12/18 ... Today was supposed to be our departure day, but Mother Nature has the final word. There's been much rain in the Midwest, and it all eventually flows into the Mississippi. That causes the River to rise, and for some of the Locks, that means they have to close. Between Quad Cities and St Louis, there's 7 locks that are closed, and I guess that means that we'll have to stay put for a while.
10/15 Here we go! Conditions have improved and we'll try to get on a few hundred miles, but we didn't leave before seeing some of the white stuff ...
Today gives us a fairly nice day with sunny skies and fair temps - a nice way to start!
10/16 We made it to Red Wing for the first day. It was an easy 5 hours trip with now lock delay. The extra water level makes the current a little stronger, and that increases our speed and fuel economy. Yahoo!
Here, we're traveling past Alma, WI, and a beautiful red tree.
The usual second day stop for us is at La Crosse. There's little tow traffic, and the fast water get's us there pretty quickly, so we decide to chug a few more miles down to Lock #8. They have a situation that allows us to tie off overnight on the Lock. It's a great spot!
And it's a great spot for a rail fan, too!
10/17 The extra miles of the previous day makes a shorter day to arrive at Dubuque, IA. We usually like to stay at the Ice Harbor, but the high water has closed this, too. We placed a call to an old boater friend who suggested a different spot, so there we tied and was able to go into town for a little catching up with him.
10/18 We're off to Le claire for fuel, and Quad Cities for dockage. We've been stopping at Le Claire and shopping with Fred for a bunch of years. He's always so accommodating and nice and it's fun to see him and his wife.
10/23 We've been sitting at the Casino Docks for a while. We'd rather be moving, but if we're not, this is a good spot to be. Great for running, we have electricity (although it's low voltage), and there's the all-you-can-eat- buffet at the Casino! Here's we're we're sitting ...
10/23 Today is not too cold, so it's a great day for a scooter ride! The town has a lot of old architecture, and many of the homes are huge and beautiful. Of course it's Fall, and the colors are something ...
10/24 The calvary has arrived! Marcia flew into Quad Cities at 5:00PM, and proceeded to tussle with the local Lyft organization. The driver showed that he was "on the way", but was a no-show. After a consult with a very nice policeman and an Enterprise Car Rental staff person, she made it to the boat ... yahoo!
10/25 After Marcia arrived, we moved the boat down below Lock 15. Now that the Locks were opening, there was going to be a lot of traffic moving, and we didn't want a delay. The Casino Dock was just above #15, so we didn't have very far to go to get to the Lock, but our next run would be to Keokuk, IA, and that's a long day. We had been communicating with Mimi on the Lock status and when things might open. They have been sitting just below #15 at a city dock, also waiting to go. So, we repositioned last night, and that allowed for us to get underway at 5:30AM to head to Keokuk.
The temps could have been warmer, but at least we're moving. Here's where we are at Lock 16 ...
The timing seems to work out on the next Lock, and we didn't have to wait for very long. Here, maintenance is pumping out some of the high water ...
The Corps positions spare gates, or doors, along the River in the event that one is needed. Whew, they're big!
Locking down with Mimi ...
The rest of the day went pretty well, and we made it into Keokuk Yacht Club. This is a favorite stop with a great dock, nice people, and a lot of fun. Plus, we've got our buddy Robbie!
10/26 Another day of rain. But, we're off early and right into #19 with Mimi ...
With all the high water comes debris, and at the Locks is where some of it pile up ...
When it gets really bad, the Corps has to come in and clear it out ...
The day's mileage is not long, and we were in early enough to enjoy some appetizers and relax. We've gotten to know the local fleet boat, and they're kind enough to allow us to tie off on a barge for the night. It's a great, secure spot, right where we want to be.
10/27 The day started kind of cloudy, but then turned clear. That brought in the fog, and here's where we just started to get into it ...
It was thick, and then it wasn't. It kind of came and went for a couple hours, but then turned into a beautiful day. We had an easy distance to get to Grafton, IL, where we were able to wash the boat, and get in a run. Nice ...
10/28 We'll have another easy day to Hoppies, today. Their marina is just south of St Louis, and we'll meet some great friends for a little dinner and conversation. First, we'll need to get through the Mel Price Lock. Sure enough, as soon as we got there, the lock broke ... #$%^@ We had to wait a couple hours in some fast current and very high wind. It was a little unnerving, but they finally "fixed" the auxiliary chamber, and we could continue in. But, not without a little more stress. First, there was a huge amount of debris right in front of the chamber that we had to go through. It always makes the captain nervous to see these huge logs, and knowing that the props are not very far away from them. Then, as we're going in, another huge blast of wind hits and blows off one of the fenders. Of course I couldn't just leave it! (remember, thrifty me!) So here we are, logs all around, wind gusts to 30 knots, and trying to fish our fender out of the water. Talk about getting a heart going!
In the end, all is well. Here's a shot of heading towards the Lock ...
After we were able to stop shaking and hyperventilating, we had only 40 miles to go. It was still pretty windy, but at least we could make forward motion as we passed the Arch ...
Down to Hoppies, and in to tie off. The current is so strong and I don't recall seeing it this fast in the Fall. We had to be vigilant as we came in, but the First Mate did a great job, and we could relax.
Out to dinner and a goofy selfie with our great friends Dean and Linda ...
10/29 Another short mileage day for us, today. On the stretch from St Louis to Cairo, IL, there's only a couple spots to get off the River and tie up. One spot is the Kaskaskia Lock, and it's only 40 miles downriver. That gives me a chance for a run, and to take on some fuel. Here's Hoppies ...
The lock at Kaskaskia River is just off the main channel of the Mississippi. There's no current and it's very secure. The Corps allows vessels to tie off for the evening, and it's a great spot. It's also good because tomorrow will be 169 miles.
10/30 To put on 169 miles, we need to be off of the dock pretty early. It's still dark at 5:30, but we head out into the river and get assistance from an almost 3 mph current. Yeah, mon, that saves us some fuel! When we approached Grand Tower, we had a conversation with a tow that the captain was from Woodbury. Who would have guessed? We had a nice conversation and he took a photo as he went past and sent it to us. Very nice!
The Ohio River has a system of locks and dams that are a little different from other rivers. The dams are used until the river level reaches a certain level, and then the dams are folded into the river and then we go right over the structures. It was quite different to go over it the first time, and it still gives me the willies every time since. The stretch between Cairo, IL, and Paducah, KY, is 52 miles, and it had two very old locks that were operating. About 25 years ago, a new lock construction was started, and it's getting pretty close to completion. When it's completed, the two existing locks will be phased out, and only the new one will be used. Currently, if the water reaches a certain level, we need to pass through the new lock. For quite some time, the river was up and the new lock was not used. Of course, as soon as we got there, the lock had to be used, causing us a delay. It wasn't too bad, just an hour, but we wanted to keep moving.
Here's the new lock ...
After we passed through, it was about a couple hours to Paducah. We didn't arrive until late, but boy was it nice to stop!
10/31 We're off to the Tennessee River. Paducah is on the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers, and we have only a few hundred yards to get to the Tennessee. Because of these two rivers coming together, in addition to the Mississippi River a few miles south of here, this area is a major hub for the commercial towing industry. There's several large companies that have facilities here, and there's many, many boats.
22 miles up the Tennessee is the only lock of our day. It's called Kentucky Lock. It has a rise of about 50 feet, and it can be very busy and cause us a delay. Fortunately, today gets us right in without a wait. Here, we're going in ...
And then out, and upstream to the south ...
The Tennessee River has a number of locks and dams that were built for river management, but also for electricity. The "pools" that are above the locks are long and wide. The next 100 miles are some of the nicest boating in the country, I think.
Our day will be relatively easy and short. The state of Tennessee has done a fantastic job in building state marinas. They're well built and well maintained, and it's always a pleasure to stop at Paris Landing State Park ...
11/1 We're off for another short day. I'll have to be on the telephone later this afternoon, so we'll stop kind of early. We'll also get some fuel and a few groceries, and get a chance to get off the boat for a while.
11/2 We'll leave the really wide section of the TN River for the sorta-wide section of the TN River. We'll stop at the little town of Clifton where I can get off for a run ... yahoo! There's a fair amount of commercial dredging that happens in this stretch. The bottom that's brought us is used for various industrial purposes.
11/3 Today will be the final miles of upstream boating. We'll be going through the Pickwick Lock, and that will raise us about 50 feet. We'll then be in Pickwick Lake. It's beautiful for not only the natural scenery, but also the housing. There's many, many beautiful homes along this stretch.
Here, we're approaching the lock and going in ...
After leaving this section, we'll travel through the Divid Cut. This canal was engineered to connect the TN River and the Tombigbee Waterway. It's about 25 miles long, and it's been written that there was more earth moved on this stretch that during construction of the Panama Canal. It's pretty straight and not much to look at, but after we get through it, we'll have just 12 more locks to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Lockmasters are generally pretty kind and helpful to allow us to tie off to the lock for the evening. It's a great spot that secure and safe, and then we're right here for going through right away in the morning.
11/4 We have 5 locks today. If we get caught behind a towboat, we won't be able to lock through ahead of them and it'll be a very long day. It's good news for us, though. We get lucky all day, and make great time. Some of these locks are very close together. Actually, we can sit in one lock, and look at the next one about 5 miles away.
11/5 We stayed at Columbus Marina last night. It rained and rained and rained. We're off early because we have about 120 miles to go to our next stop. Unfortunately, there's more rain as we're locking through ...
We've been traveling with a vessel from Michigan. They're fast and we're slow, but we seem to end up at the same places. Here's we're just leaving the lock with them ...
The last lock on the Tombigbee Waterway is the Coffeeville Lock. There was going to be a small boat downstream lockage ahead of us, and then there'd be a towboat going down. This would have meant an almost two hour wait for us, but the Lockmaster was kind and held it for us, and we locked through with a few other vessels ...
We had only about 28 more miles to go for our evening stop, but we were both tired and really ready to call it quits.
11/6 Up early and headed for Mobile, Alabama! We'll first need to go through the last restriction of this part of the trip. It's the 14 Mile Bridge, and it means that we're getting close to the salt water ...
Here, we're coming into the Port with the oceangoing ships and tugs and military construction ...
11/9 Today is the day to get hauled out. It's pretty warm and humid, but we're excited to get on to this part of the process. Well, I'm excited, but Marcia is worried about going up and down that ladder to get on and off the boat when we're up in the parking lot ...
We'll need a cOast Guard inspection while we're here, but we'll first start with a little paint work. Anchors are down and the fairing compound is on ...
She's a cooker and a cleaner and a keeper!
Not so much for this goofy guy ...
11/14 The weather continues to be stinky, and we continue to be pretty restless. It's been raining for three days, and the temperatures are now cold. It's 43 degrees now, and it may get to the thirties tonight. This is not only no-painting weather, we don't even want to be outside. We're trying to get little things to do on the inside, but it's almost make-work kind off things. Here's a couple shots of the view from the parking lot ...
Unfortunately, we don't have an easy way to get on and off the boat.
We continue to be pretty restless, but it's nothing a little wine and cheese can't fix ...
11/16 The weather has finally broken!! It's turned nice and we can get back to work. It's still a little cool, but at least we can be outside. Here's where we are ...
11/17 A little fender cleaning ...
11/19 Today's our Coast Guard day. Of course, the Captain is all wigged out with stress from the upcoming inspection. As it turned out, our guys were very professional and found nothing wrong. Plus, they were both great guys!
Now that we're done with the Coasties, we're on to painting. We were able to work above the waterline, so that's pretty well along. The bottom paint is the next thing. But, with the great job done by the Crew, we tackled it!
And some of it even ended up on the boat!
11/21 The job is finished, so let's get back in the water ...
11/24 We had a great Thanksgiving Dinner aboard Lady Chateau at the marina, and we hosted the crew from a couple other vessels. They were doing the "Loop" and we all thought that it would be nice to get to know each other. One guy was single-handing his sailboat from Nashville to Florida. Whew, and we thought the we had a lot of work.
11/24 Finally, it looks like there'll be a weather window in a few days, so we pull the plug and head out across Mobile Bay for someplace east ...
