Mississippi River

September 2016

Grafton Marina, in Illinois, located at the confluence of the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi rivers, is a favorite stop.  We visited local sites, some that we did not see on our first loop.  See the barges below from the top of Grafton Winery.

Suzan and Sharon looking forward to brunch at Pere Marquette Lodge, Grafton, IL.

 After several days of touring, we left Blue Moon in a covered slip and flew to Texas for our 'babysitting' job. Granddaughters, ages 12 and 8, are fun and made our job easy.

View of the River - from the dock at Grafton Marina.

King sitting by the Missouri River in a carved wooden chair.  

Back to the boat, we knew we must start down the Mississippi.  We pass the riverboat, thinking of Mark Twain and the history of this river.  We see St Louis and the arch.  Unfortunately there are no marinas in St. Louis, so no place to stop.

With the swift current on our stern, we arrived at Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick, Missouri by early afternoon.  This is not an ordinary Marina in any sense of the word.  Hoppies, named for its owners Hoppie and Fern Hopkins, is three old barges cabled to stone on the banks of the rolling Mississippi.
Our lines were grabbed as we turned our bow back against the powerful Mississippi current, leaving us facing upstream and port side tied to the bollards.  We met Fern, directing incoming boats, talking on the phone to other boaters needing a slip for the night (reservations are a must as this is a small space and the only stop), while puffing on a cigarette.

Mr. Hoppie is recovering from surgery, but arrived via golf cart bringing us a package that we had sent to the Marina.  It may be legend, but it is a good story that as a small boy Hoppie rode the Mississippi with his father and helped light the kerosene navigational buoys.

Fern know this river and she shares her knowledge each day at 4:00 p,m,, giving a river guide class in a canopied area on her office barge.  The classroom consists of a tattered couch, a mishmash of chairs, a plywood coffee table and ashtrays. During the session, boaters listen and Fern talks - and smokes.  Fern explains the ins and outs of the mighty Mississippi - where to anchor, how to approach the many twists and turns of the river, how the tow captains like to move massive loads (up to five wide and ten long) around the river bends.  She knows the mile numbers by heart for every obstacle and anchorage down river.  Blue Moon is equipped with an AIS receiver, so we know when a barge is coming around a corner toward us. We are able to call them before they are in sight, to agree on which side to pass. Fern and Hoppie are river legends.

Next morning we walked into Kimmswick, MO., population 150, for a wonderful meal at The Blue Owl Cafe.  Oprah, Paula Dean and the Today Show have tasted the famous Levee High Apple Pie with caramel pecan topping and other tasty treats.

The restaurant is the American Dream story in a nutshell.  In 1983, Mary Hostetter, baked and filled Christmas cookie orders.  She received so many orders, her business grew from 5 employees to the current 75.  After a wonderful brunch, we bought a piece of pie to go and a souvenir glass and shoved off.

Our reservation was only for one night - more boaters were coming behind us.  After a good day's run with five knots of current pushing us along, we turned into our stop for the night, Kaskaskia Lock wall.  While there we picked up a few stowaways.

Working on the river.

Beautiful anchorages along the waterway.

What a sunset at Cane Creek Anchorage.

At Cane Creek Anchorage, a restaurant long gone.

We met Hobo at Hoppie's and traveled several days down the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland with Hobo.

Green Turtle Bay Marina is a favorite stop for Loopers.

Patti's Restaurant, home of the 2" porkchop, is a great place to go for dinner.  We enjoyed our time with Tim and Suzanne, from Hobo.

Extravagance to Rust

August 15th, 2016
As we started down the Cal-Sag Waterway, the beautiful buildings of Chicago gave way to the changing industrial landscape along the Illinois River.  The river system was America's earliest highway and it continues to be a major source of transportation of goods.  No sightseeing boats travel these waterways, strictly working tows and barges and a few pleasure craft, such as Blue Moon. Barge loads three wide and five long are common on these waters.  It amazed us to see the tow captains navigate the narrow winding curves of the waterway.

We started down the Illinois River and prepared for the locks ahead - O'Brien, Lockport, Brandon and Dresden.  We knew time was a factor because Brandon Lock was scheduled for maintenance and would be closed on August 16 and August 17 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m those days.  We were favored by the Rivers and made it through the locks in very quick time.

After a long day on the waterway we tied up to the quiet park-like Joliet, IL wall, the same as the Joliet in the Blues Brothers movie. We, along with boats Oceanus, CJ, and Lazy Suzan, shoved off the Joliet wall at 5:30 a.m.  The lock-master told us to be there by 6:00 a.m. and he would lock us through before the 7:00 a.m. closing.  We made it through and arrived at Heritage Harbor, Ottawa, IL by 4:00 p.m.  We were tired after a long day.

Joliet wall - CJ, Oceanus, Blue Moon and Lazy Suzan.

The next day we motored south and west.  We passed and overtook several tugs along the way.  We always contact a tow before we overtake and ask which side the tow captain wants us to pass.

Peoria, IL home of Caterpillar, Inc Worldwide Headquarters and IVY (Illinois Valley Yacht Club) photo below, was a favorite spot from our first loop so we decided to stay there again.

Beautiful clouds.  Blue Moon left boat on back wall.  Lazy Suzan front right.

Mike, joined the Lazy Suzan crew in Chicago and helped crew to Peoria, IL.  We enjoyed getting to know Mike and learn about his company, Champion Crane.

The locals are friendly and an on-site restaurant is convenient and has good food.  Lazy Suzan invited us to join them on a tour of Caterpillar, which was an enjoyable tour.

King standing in lower right - that's one big Cat!

 Lee enjoying Caterpillar.

Peoria has, by far, the best local farmers market, full of bountiful produce, beautiful flowers and local musicians.

Our next stop, and just about the only choice, is Beardstown. IL.  For the low price of $25, we tied to Logsdon Tow Service's enormous bollards of a 40' by 200' rusty working box barge that hauls cargo up and down the Illinois River.

Last day on the Illinois River finds industry giving way to scenic river banks and rolling green hillsides.  Again this year we tied to the newly rebuilt Riverdock Restaurant, which was destroyed by a fire in 2016. We enjoyed a great dinner and breakfast,  Next morning Lazy Suzan, C J and Blue Moon made it to our temporary destination, Grafton Harbor, MO (St. Louis).

Tied up at the Riverdock.

Enjoying dinner crew of Lazy Suzan, CJ and Blue Moon.  Is that strawberry rhubard pie, Lee?

Back in the USA and Down Lake Michigan

We quickly checked into customs at Drummond Island, MI and proceeded to DeTour Village Marina. The next day we crossed to Machinac City, MI and enjoyed our walk around one of our favorite towns. We had dinner at Audie's, a lodge-themed restaurant that we greatly enjoyed on our previous trip in 2014.

With Lake Michigan wind and waves favorable, we started down the 300 mile journey ending in Chicago, IL.  The towns along the east coast of Lake Michigan are each unique and enjoyable to visit. 

First stop is Charlevoix, MI, home of the mushroom houses designed by famed architect Earl Young. Also, many homes put out a welcome to tourists with their colorful landscaping.

Next stop, Leland, MI, an historic Fishtown.  The heart of the commercial fishing village is still active shanties, smokehouses, docks, fish tugs and charter boats - designated an historic site. The harbor, where we stayed, is a beautiful new marina, meticulously cleaned and maintained.  

On to Pentwater, MI and meeting a Great Loop kayaker, Matthew Pierce.  Matt has his gear stored in the red caboose.  Unfortunately, not many miles down the Lake waves come and his caboose gets water-logged. Matt is currently making plans to resume his loop next summer with new gear.  

Flag ceremony.  Matt did not have an AGLCA flag, so we presented him with ours.  Anyone doing the loop in a kayak needs a AGLCA flag for sure.  Other Loopers will gladly lend a hand.

On our previous loop we thoroughly enjoyed downtown Chicago and especially the Architectural Boat Tour.  The waterway tour of more than 50  buildings is led by volunteer tour guides, called docents. The second time around was just as enjoyable.

The skyline from Navy Pier.

According to the 2014 tour docent, Marilyn Monroe and husband Joe DiMaggio would meet at the Chicago Palmer House because it was half-way between New York City (Yankees) and Hollywood (movies).  We had to go and see this historic hotel on this trip through Chicago.  We learned some additional history of the hotel:  by the turn of the 20th century, the Palmer House had become Chicago's liveliest social center, hosting a long list of prominent figures - including U.S. presidents to Charles Dickens to Oscar Wilde.  The Golden Empire Dining Room hosted legendary entertainers, including, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Liberace.  

Even the elevator doors received special decorations.

Next, from extravagance to rust.

Into Georgian Bay

We left the Trent-Severn behind and started into Georgian Bay, a water of 30,000 islands on the Northeastern arm of Lake Ontario, CA and often referred to as the sixth Great Lake.  We traveled to Midland, ON for fuel, then on to Frying Pan Bay and a stop at the famous Henry's Fish Restaurant. We anchored in a very shallow and rocky anchorage for the night.  One we would not select again because of the granite bottom.  Fortunately, we had no problem avoiding the bottom, but it made us nervous.

We took a side trip to Parry Sound, ON, a very enjoyable small town with beautiful anchorages, quaint marinas and fun restaurants and shops.

A beautiful anchorage at Hopewell Bay.  Lee, Suzan and Max go for a swim.

King took the dinghy to the island to look for a fish or two.  He came up empty-handed.

Port Au Baril Lighthouse

Killarney Village is a narrow passage of marinas, lodges, and homes that stands at the entrance to the North Channel of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.  Going across the river to dinner at the Sportsman Lodge.

Killarney sunset.

Sailing from Killarney to Little Current, ON

Boats must time the arrival to the hour because the bridge only opens for 5 minutes every hour.  We arrived a few minutes early and then passed through the opening.

  On across North Channel, beautiful anchorages and wide open water.

We met other Loopers at Blind River Municipal Marina, Ontario.  The owners of a local restaurant drove all of us to their restaurant.

Lazy Suzan and Blue Moon headed for Drummond Island, USA and customs. For the third summer, we enjoyed Canada very much.