Saturday, September 23 - Alton, IL

Saturday, September 23 - Alton, IL

Alton, our next destination, was only 20 miles from Grafton, so we took it easy and said goodbye to Grafton about 11:30, our first day cruising the Mississippi.

This is the Great River Road, a national scenic highway, that runs along the river.  The bluffs were pretty, quite a change from the flat country we have been traveling through.

 

The Missouri and Mississippi rivers converge just before Alton, and the river gets even wider!

Danny spotted a beaver hut, the first sign of beaver activity in a long time.

Pretty houses and high bluffs as we approach Alton, and the striking bridge.

Three large holes in the side of the hill, pretty houses on the bluff, and one large plant greeted us at the edge of town.

This is Argosy Casino, built on a ship due to gambling laws, maybe?  It was not attractive from the water.

Alton Marina was directly underneath the bridge and our slip was on the corner closest to the highway.  The noise was not bad at all.  The high seawell kept the marina calm, but it Lao blocked my view of the river.  We chose an uncovered slip so we could have a shot at getting TV to watch the Georgia football game.  And it worked!  We got to watch a great game and celebrate a victory.  (31-3, UGA over Mississippi State.)

There was a rally of what we call cigarette boats at the Marina.  Lots of noise and excitement

To celebrate, we packed an ice chest and headed for the pool.  There were lots of friendly folks there and we spent a pleasant hour or so hanging out.  (The pool water was very cold, so I only made it in as far as the steps.)

First sunset in Alton.

Night Views.

Friday, September 22 - First View of Missouri

Friday, September 22 - First View of Missouri

Looking back at Griggsville, IL or Bluffs, IL, depending on the side of the river, as we head out.

We passed a “convention” of white pelicans, and a nice herd of cows.

Houses along this stretch were built on some serious stilts.  I don’t think they have to worry about being flooded.

George and Pat Hospodor’s book about the Great Loop includes a picture of this boat, but it’s floating in their picture. 

There were several car ferries in this area.  Maybe because there are very few bridges.

“Hot Fish, Cold Beer.”  Wish we could stop.

Pumpkins for sale already.  Isn’t it a little early?  I can’t see pumpkins without thinking about our youth pumpkin patch at Cokesbury UMC and the wonderful Bill Kessler who led us into that venture.

This is Hardin, Illinois.  I took the picture for my high school friends Lynn Hardin Thompson and Carol Hardin Smith. 

Our first view of Missouri - Portage des Sioux.

I think this is a picture of the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  (If I would stay current with my blog posts, it would be easier to remember.). It’s close to the junction, at least.

Grafton Harbor is the first “real” marina since Ottawa so most Loopers stop here.  I read somewhere that the town flooded so often, the city fathers decreed that it be moved up the hill.   No worry this year. 

Deb, Gil and Alex joined us for dinner at a local restaurant recommended by a local guy.  He described it as the building with the boat sticking out of the roof.  The local guy was right, there was a boat and the hamburgers were delicious.

This sign was in a bar we walked through going uphill to the restaurant.  I have a thing for funky signs.

                

Thursday, September 21 - Dredge Day

Thursday, September 21 - Dredge Day

Our anchorage last night was behind Quiver Island.  I didn’t want to leave out such a great name.

Today’s cruise took us about 55 miles down the Illinois River.  We saw these tires all along the way, ready for barges to tie up to them.   Most of them were tractor tires, but of course when I was ready to take the picture, I could only find small ones. 

The water level is so low that our view beyond the banks is pretty limited.  We finally saw farmland - lots of farmland.  I took a GoogleMap picture to make sure I was right.

Low water also means that the river has to be dredged frequently to maintain the 9-foot clearance.  We passed this dredge operation in Bath, Illinois.  Look at all those pipes waiting to be hooked up.

It’s been a while since we had seen anything but barges and tows, so it was fun to see the riverboat headed to Joliet. 

Danny noticed the name on this towboat - my Mom’s middle name.  It’s rarely spelled with an “e” at the end so of course I had to take a picture.  I excitedly sent it to Emory, he replied that her official records showed  Eugenia.  Is my memory that bad?

This is Beardstown, one of the few places listed in the waterway guide for tie up on this stretch of river.  It’s not a marina, just a Logsdon work barge that lets boats tie up if there’s space.  I thought I was taking a picture of a barge, turns out this is the tie up. 

We saw SO many barges today.  The river has been closed to them because of shallow water above LaGrange Lock, so there are a lot of barges and tows backed up waiting for the river to be dredged.

Industrial complexes look huge from the water.  There is nothing to block the view.  Danny is able to identify most of the operations.  Even I knew what the first one was!

A tow boat pushes, it doesn’t tow.  And this is what is uses to push.

After 8 hours on the water, which is a lot for us, we pulled out of the channel and found a place to anchor close to Griggsville, IL, mile marker 66.  Danny is checking to make sure the anchor held and we are not moving.

Just minutes after we dropped anchor, this dredge passed us.  It was huge!!!  It even carries its own garage/workshop with it!  On its way to clean out the channel.  The barges and tows waiting to go through probably cheered as it passed them. 

Wednesday, September 20 - Part 2

Wednesday, September 20 - Part 2

Today was a wildlife day.  We saw jumping fish, oriental carp, we presumed, white pelicans, and several  eagles.  Danny is so good at spotting them, and gets so excited when he sees them.