Great Loop Date: 09.27.2010 (Monday): Stepping into MUD…

Day #46: 1097.2 total miles (44.3 miles 4.25 hours 9.0 mph)
Locks: 8 total (today: 0)
Port #20 – Alton, IL

This morning dawned beautiful and bright. Not a cloud in the sky. Finally we were going to see the Mississippi River. Our trip would be shorter today. Best yet, we would be catching up with our Looper friends, Sea Estate and NII Wishin’.

One thing we knew we would never escape would be the barges. We understood we would face more barges on the Mississippi. We were also aware they would be much bigger.

Most of the barges we encountered on the Illinois River were 2X4 to 3X6. The first number represents how many barges wide the load is. The second number is how many barges long the load.

Nearly as soon as we cast off of Mel’s Riverfront Dock, we encountered our next barge, the Susan Griffin, a Grifco. We decided she was an asphalt carrier since she had generators on each of her three barges.

Two hours after cast off, we met the muddy waters of the big Mississippi River. It was streaming at us past two small islands that stood between it and the Illinois River. OB had already gotten her feet dirty and was beginning to feel a change in the current. We went from 8.5 mph to 10 mph immediately.

We first passed Grafton, IL on our port side. There is a nice marina in Grafton. Our itinerary was to take a right turn on Big Muddy, go to Pt. Charles to take on diesel and then head back downstream to Alton, IL. There we would resume looping with our friends.

A small car ferry running between Grafton, IL and St. Charles, MO passed ahead of us. OB made the turn from downstream current to upstream Mississippi current and instantly slowed from 10 mph to 4 mph. The change in current made us glad we would be going downstream after we took on fuel.

The route into the Pt. Charles Marina was daunting. We had our first look at weir dams that were on our starboard side. Our understanding is weir dams are usually stone rip rap, can be seen out of the water or may be completely submerged. They affect the current in the river helping to maintain a navigational level. If they are submerged and not heeded, you can take out a prop or worse on a weir dam.

Until this point, we had been looking for wing dams. Wing dams are usually concrete dams that extend at an angle from the side of the river partway or nearly to the center of the river. They increase the flow of the river for navigation while drawing sediment away from the channel. They sound great but are a hidden danger as well.

As we neared Pt. Charles Marina, we had been directed to stay out of the main channel and proceed up the Mississippi to a small channel between two islands. Our charts showed a wing dam extending the full width of the channel. The Pt. Charles Marina management told us we could pass over it easily. When we saw the swirling water over the dam area, we were nervous. Adding to the concern were fallen trees on both sides of the channel making us zigzag between them to get through. It was 100 yards of frustration that we managed to get through both coming from and returning to the main channel on the Mississippi.

The fuel price at Pt. Charles made the whole venture worthwhile. With our Boat US discount, diesel was $2.759 per gallon. Even better, our consumption averaged 2.3 mpg. Todd was ecstatic! It hasn’t affected my allowance yet, however!

Once OB made her way back through the narrow channel returning us to the Mississippi, our first obstacle was Dell Butcher! Golly, we had seen good ol’ Dell up the Illinois a few days back. And my, how he had grown! He was now 3X5 big barges (totaling 15 big barges)! The captain was very nice to us and mentioned to be careful of the canoe ahead of us.

By golly, there was Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn! In a CANOE! Actually, at first I thought it was Becky Thatcher and Tom. I learned later it is two fellows taking the Mississippi’s whole length in a canoe, camping along the way. I really don’t think it’s an adventure I would enjoy with all of the barge traffic on these rivers.

Once we were back downstream and on our way to Alton, the limestone outcroppings were amazing. Todd and I were both so taken with the scenery, we missed a turn in the channel. We were able to correct the mistake without a mishap, but it was concerning for a few minutes.

A little over an hour after setting OB in the Big Muddy, we were entering Alton Marina in Alton, IL. Our eyes fell on NII Wishin and Sea Estate as soon as we came through the entrance. Their captains and crew were on tour at the Budweiser plant in St. Louis but we had finally caught up.

That evening, all of us enjoyed a good dinner at Fast Eddies. The atmosphere was fun, the prices were unbelievable and the food was good. Better yet, the company was fantastic…it’s good to be with friends.

Susan Griffin, the last of the smaller barges we would see for a while.

Even knowing that, Susie is a long one!



Here comes the mud...right between the land jetty on the right and the island on the left.  You can see the current change.



OB enters the current in Big Muddy.



This can buoy demonstrates the current.



Grafton, IL...the real beginning of the Mississippi for us.

 

The little car ferry from Grafton we followed around the bend into the upstream current of Big Muddy...just to put on discounted fuel.



Grafton Marina is on the far left.  It looked a cute little town.

Weir dams on the starboard going upstream on the Mississippi.  We passed quite a few on the way to Pt. Charles Marina.

ANOTHER paddlewheeler sitting idle at the entrance to Pt. Charles Marina.

You can see the swirling water over the wing dam between the two islands we had to go between to and from Pt. Charles Marina.  We held our breath waiting to hear the nasty noise of prop metal hitting cement.  The noise never came...thank goodness.

Of course the dam wasn't the only problem.  Downed trees were in the water on both sides of the little channel.

Here comes Dell Butcher as we entered the main Mississippi River channel after fueling.

Good ol' Dell alerted us to this little image downstream.

Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer in a canoe...with their tent, sleeping bags and gear.  These two were really daring!  They laughed when I told them who I thought they really were.  The 'person' in front had a long braid coming from her/his cap and looked feminine from my perspective.  Connie told me later she had read about the two and she was a he.

The beginning of the limestone outcroppings along our port side as we resumed our trek downbound to Alton, IL.

We could see the scenery would last for miles.

It just got better...

...and better...

...and better.

Oh yeah, that's the Captain enjoying the scenery...

...and the First Mate.  Did you think I was going to say something else?  Of course, after I left the bow we discovered we had missed a starboard diversion.  It led to 10 minutes of breath holding.

Yay...NII Wishin' and Sea Estate !!

The Clark Bridge behind us crossed the Mississippi from Alton, IL to St. Louis, MO.

 

A panorama shot of the bridge at night.  It doesn't show as well here so I'll use it above to replace my Chicago shot.



Great Loop Date: 09.26.2010 (Sunday): Just a Night at Mel’s (Hardin, IL)…

Day #45: 1052.9 total miles (67.3 miles 11.75 hours 9.0 mph)
Locks:  8 total (today: 1)
Port #19 – Hardin, IL

The crew was up and biting at the bit to take OB out of the dock at the very crack of dawn. We had a long day ahead of us. There was only one port between our Looper friends from Caseville, MI and us.

The morning was overcast, cold and misty. The lines were off and OB was underway by 6:30AM. Our destination was more than 60 miles. Todd has kept OB at 9.0 mph. Doing so does make our days longer. However, we are saving an amazing amount of fuel. OB hasn’t had any diesel put on since we left Hammond Marina at Calumet on Lake Michigan.

OB had another day of passing upbound barges and overtaking downbound barges. We had one lock to make today. Squivot and locals at Tall Timbers told us it is usually open with no waiting.

Todd had two downbound barges on the AIS. We passed one early on and finally caught the second, Dell Butcher.

We got to the LaGrange Lock at 10:30AM. You guessed it…there was an upbound barge in the lock. OB is pretty used to dancing around in slow idle circles at locks. We finally entered the lock at 11:50AM and exited at 12:00 noon. A lot of waiting to be lowered in 10 minutes time. This was our last lock on the Illinois River!

Ten minutes out of the lock, we came upon another dredging operation. Todd couldn’t get a response out of the dredge captain. We held off for a few minutes and finally decided to navigate our way around him. The passing was somewhat difficult because of tight quarters and skinny water (shallow).

Once past that obstacle, the rest of the trip was non-descript…just long. The scenery continued to be interesting with many abandoned river supported operations.

We did begin seeing more color developing in the trees. The terrain was becoming hilly with limestone bluffs. We also passed an abandoned river steamer that had to have been a beauty in her day.

OB arrived at Mel’s Riverfront Restaurant Dock just before sunset. It only offered us a tie-up. No power or water. We don’t really need those amenities. We have them all on board.

Today was a long day that put us one port away from our Looper friends. Tomorrow we will try to catch them in Alton, IL.

*Editor's Note:  Blogspot has changed the way we download pictures.  I will start posting all pictures related to the current blog immediately after the essay complete with comments.  Thanks again for reading and all of your comments along the way.  This IS an amazing adventure.

Abandoned Elevator...another derelict along the way.

Morning mist...notice the even tree line.  That's the flood line along the Illinois River.

First barge of the morning...coming out of the mist.

We first saw what we thought was some kind of lodge.  Notice even the butane tank is on stilts.  Another sign of the expected flood plane along the Illinois River.

This abandoned fuel station (barge) sat on the other side of the 'lodge'.

Seeing this made us think it had been a river fueling station and carryout at one time, not a lodge.  Clearly there used to be a sign next to the building.

Many little creeks and rivers are tributaries along the way.  As I navigate, I check these off on the river maps we have from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Another loader that bit the dust.  These abandoned river facilities really made us wonder why they hadn't be razed, what caused their demise.

Red nun off station.  Nun buoys were supposed to appear IN the water on our port side.  This one was grounded on our starboard side.

Daymarker with obvious flood line.  I check these off on the Army Corps maps we're using too.  I track all these landmarks so we know where we are should our electronic charts fail for some reason.  It's called dead reckoning.

There were lots of nice cabins along the way...all on stilts in this area.

Finally a granary that was still functioning!

Overtaking a barge on the way to the LaGrange Lock.  We were really hoping to beat him so we could lock down first.  We did beat him!  By the way, when we are overtaking a barge OR see an oncoming barge, Todd has to contact the Captain and find out what side we should pass him on.  This one told us '0ne whislte'  which means our port to his starboard side.

So we beat the other downbound barge BUT look what we found!  No lock...I mean, no luck!

We could tell from the wing dams on the left, the drop would not be very much.  Looks like through water over there, doesn't it?  There are diagonal cement dams under the water to slow the flow.

This is what we wait for...the barge clearing the lock!  It has been interesting to watch the process though.  Most barges are too long for the lock.  The barge workers and lock workers divide the barges in half and load them in two rows in the lock.  It's quite a process.

More signs of fall...the trees are trying to change.

Another active granary...things are looking up.



It was interesting to see a small tree growing out of part of the granary mechanism above the barge!



The terrain began to change as well.  More limestone outcroppings and hills we coming into view.

This was the abandoned steamer we saw just before we got to Hardin.  We wondered if there might be a few ghosts onboard.

Our dock at Hardin.  We were by ourselves.  It was a very peaceful night.  We did keep our anchor light on as well as a portable LED lantern in the bridge window and one in the back salon window.  We thought it would be good to let the passing barges see us!



A panorama shot of the dock, the Illinios River and the land infront of Mel's Riverfront Restaurant, the owner of the dock.