Being Sunday we thought we would bike to Church, St. Patrick's
for the 7:00 am Mass. We waited and waited, nobody showed up! Bummer. Oh well, our intentions were good. So we headed for Trixies Cafe for breakfast. Quaint local establishment, couple tables full of farmers and local folks. Good home cooked food. Found out this area is farm country growing mostly corn, melons and green beans.
0900 we cast off for the next tie up which is on a working barge along the river.
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Along the river you can see what we think are vacation homes. All are built on stilts because of the rising rivers at certain times of the year and after torrential rains. They look to be at least 20 ft.
Looky there! Logsdon Tug service! and Logsdon is Connie's maiden name! This is the location about 49 miles further for us to tie up on their barges. Come to find out they were in the offices on Sunday 'remodeling'.
It is a true family business. Kim, President, sister Lynn, VP and a brother - probably VP of something else. We didn't get to meet him. Everybody in the family is involved with the business in some fashion. They even own all the water front and each has a very modest home in the "compound". Connie had a great time and we talked family history and they are convinced we are related. Could be. I am going to check it out. Seems their ancestors emigrated from England in the 1700's
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After we got the boats tied (That's Darrf V behind us, friends Ray and Arline traveling with us for a while) a couple women, Lynn Logsdon and Lynn Walker her friend offering to give us a ride to town. Well, when I introduced myself, Lynn L. immediately took me to the office to meet her brother. Then the fun began. They would not take any funds for dockage and I got a T-shirt. We even got a tour of one of their big tugs by the Captain on duty that day.
8/11 we traveled 58 miles to an anchorage at Hurricane Island at mm26.
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| We are inside the lock as I look over at what they call a wicket dam. The water is considered low at this time and the wickets are raised to curb the flow. When it is High water those wickets are lowered and boats and tows can just cruise right over them. |
Just off the channel for a lovely evening, beautiful sunset, grilled dinner and watched the barges go by.
8/12 Tuesday we made it to Grafton Harbor Mile 0 of the Illinois River. Yep! As we look out beyond the harbor there she is, the Great Mississippi River. And it is instantly huge! and I guess it gets bigger. Oh my!
Yep it is Monday August 19th. We have been holed up here at Grafton Harbor for a week. It is a very accommodating place and we have just been relaxing, sightseeing, exploring, wine tasting and today bathing the boat, cleaning, doing laundry and getting ready to get underway again tomorrow morning.
While here we have been accompanying Ray and Arline on Daarf V. We shared a rental car and have seen the sights.
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Ray and Arline with us at Aeries Winery high atop the hill overlooking Grafton and the Illinois and Mississippi confluence behind us. Spectacular views.
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We took the only ferry in the US that crosses two rivers. On our way to St. Charles MO to their annual Festival of the Hill. Thank heavens we went on a Friday as it was crowded. The largest craft fair we have ever seen. A mile both sides of the River walk, and at least a mile and a half of the brick main street.
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| This is the next lock we will traverse when we leave Grafton. Mel Price Lock and Dam. It has two chambers, the commercial one pictured here and just to the left you can see the approach wall for the pleasure/small tow boats.We visited the Great rivers Museum and it included a tour of the dam. |
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| Here I am looking straight down at the gates that are lowering to let the above pictured tow out of the lock. This particular tow is 15 barges. There will be one more lock on the Mississippi we will encounter, After that lock they tell us everything gets bigger, the river and the tows. Seems the Tow companies gather the barges to make up tows of 50 barges! Can you imagine? We will post a picture when we see one. |
After the dam we visited the Lewis and Clark Museum. You really must look up the accomplishments of these two men and the hardships they endured in the 1800's. They found and explored the route connecting the Alantic to the Pacific. Below is a replica of the 'camp' they built to prepare for their journey. It is a fascinating story! To bad I didn't pay attention in grade school when we studied them. History is soooo much more fun now!
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| Off to St. Louis! Had to rent the car since there are no places to dock near St. Louis. First the proverbial Trolley Tour. 90 minutes of more of St. Louis than we could find on our own. There is the Arch - Gateway to the West and also depicting the Discoveries of Lewis and Clark finding a route to the Pacific Ocean connecting from the Atlantic. |
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We then, on our own, visited the Science Center, History Museum. This Forest Park was the site of the 1904 World's Fair and is some 1300 acres. It now serves St. Luisans with museums, tennis, 2 golf courses, paddle boat ponds, picnic areas, a world class zoo, a planetarium and Botanical garden. You can see by the Birthday Cake they are celebrating 250 years
Well that brings us to today, the 18th of August. It's Monday and Simpatico, Darrf V, and now Time Out, another Looper who arrived here are all jockeying around the fuel pumps, pumping out heads, and sprucing up our boats for an early start tomorrow morning down the Mississippi River.
As my Brother Mark, left a voice mail singing - "Down a Lazy River in the noonday sun, Down a lazy River where . . . "
You got it! He forgot the words! |
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