[Part 3] The Mighty Mississippi River

October 8-October 21, 2017

Grafton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed “Keywest of the Midwest.”  We spent several days at Grafton Harbor Marina, enjoying the hot tub and checking out the fun town with many bars, wineries, and cute little antique shops.  The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for checking out wineries!  Our favorite was Aerie’s Winery, since it took us for-ever to walk up a giant hill in 90 degree heat, but we were rewarding with some great drinks and amazing views at the top!  We also found an awesome little store, Knotty By Nature, that had some gorgeous pieces of wood.  Chad found a small piece that he made into a new table for us.  The table that came with the boat is large, and we found we could use the extra space with the three of us living on it.  We also checked out the old haunted Ruebel Hotel.  We were given an impromptu tour, and even got to see the most haunted room, the Captain’s Quarters.  We enjoyed several meals with the company of other Loopers.  We are enjoying camaraderie of this Looper group!  We have found we aren’t the youngest on the Loop, we are in the company of some really cool people in their early twenties all the way to their sixties and seventies, and beyond!

Water rushes past the channel marker, showing the strong current of the river.

We left Grafton and the Illinois River behind, and started down the Mississippi River and headed down to Alton, IL.  We found the current on the Mississippi to be very helpful, though the turbulence at times could be pretty intense.  There was also quite a bit of debris, washed out by the heavy rains y’all were having up North.  By debris I mean trees, tires, you know small things like that.  Captain Chad did an awesome job playing dodge a log on the river, and we only hit a few things submerged below the muddy Mississippi River waters.  Hopefully no harm, no foul, and everything still seems to be working properly!

We were happy to arrive in Alton, IL and even happier to find the Alton Marina also had two hot tubs! Exploring the town, we found Alton was a large city, full of history, ghosts, and murder!  Chad and another Looper, Pat, went on a haunted history tour.  Look for Chad’s special Halloween Edition blog post on his ghost hunt.  Chad and I had planned to do the tour together, but Rilee woke us up with a sore leg.  During the morning she seemed more miserable, so we arranged for a rental call and found a local vet out who take us out-of-towners on a Saturday afternoon.  We were so amazed at the kindness of strangers at the marina.  While I waited out front with Rilee, one local couple offered us to use their truck to get her to the vet.  After X-Rays and an exam, it turns out Rilee’s old knee injury had flared up, and we found out she also has extensive arthritis in that knee.  The vet suggested she would need surgery at some point, but we are able to manage the pain with anti-inflammatory and pain meds.  So while Chad and Pat enjoyed the tour, I doggy-sat Rilee to make sure she was handling the meds ok.

We stayed at Alton a week, trying to wait out repairs on a lock further on the trip on the Ohio River.  While there, we found an organic local brewery, Old Bakery Beer Company.  We loved it so much we filled our growler and even bought some cans to go!  We also had to hit Fast Eddies Bon-Air, a local eatery that is a “must stop” and was featured on The Food Network.  The bar was opened in 1921 by Anheuser Busch as a drinking establishment.  It was sold ten years later, when laws prohibited breweries from owning drinking establishments.  The local band played great music, and we enjoyed the cheap food and fun atmosphere.  We did several historic driving tours of the town, and learned about many of the beautiful homes and their interesting past.  We also learned about Robert Wadlow, Alton’s “Gentle Giant” who grew to be 8 feet, 11.1 inches by the time he was 22 years old!  If you can imagine, he’s even taller than Matt Rogers! 😉

While we had the rental car, we also decided to check out Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL.  These mounds, similar to those we saw in Havana, IL, are believed to be part of a settlement of the Late Woodland Indians.  Constructed around AD 700, the mounds signify ceremonial buildings and residences of the elite.  We were disappointed to find most of the mounds at this site were recreated, as over time, farmers had plowed the surrounding fields and destroyed many of the mounds without understanding what they were.  The largest mound remained untouched though, Monks Mound.  This mound is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas, containing an estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth, that was all moved by baskets on people’s backs.  It is more than 14 acres, and over 100 feet tall.  We climbed the stairs to the top, and had a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis, MO and the arch!  There are alternate theories on the construction of these mounds, and are apparently covered in an episode of Ancient Aliens.  We still have to check that episode and theory out 😉

Since we were so close, I convinced Chad to drive me to O’Fallon Brewery in Maryland Heights, MO.  O’Fallon has delicious pumpkin beer, and I was SO HAPPY to find they had FIVE pumpkin beers on draft that night!  I of course had to taste them all, and purchase a sampler 12 pack to take with us!  Chad is a good sport supporting my pumpkin addiction every fall.

With the lock repairs finally completed, and Rilee moving around much better, we decided to head on down the river.  We are well stocked with food and water, fuel is filled up, and we are pumped out.  We will be spending the next four nights at anchor, or somewhere with little to no services.  After passing through Mel Price Lock and Dam, we came to the convergence of the Missouri River and Mississippi River.  This created a lot of turbulence and sent the boat all over the river.  Thankfully Captain Chad was at the helm and handled it like a champ.  Soon enough we are at the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam.  We are having good luck today with getting through locks quickly.  Shortly after, we can see the Arch at St. Louis.  Small at first, it grows larger until we are right in front of it, the sun glistening off the top of the arch.  I remember going to the top as a child, while visiting my mom’s family in St. Louis.  There is nowhere to stop on the river in St. Louis (take a hint St. Louis), so we admire as we cruise by.

There was no question this time where our final destination is for the day.  We had to stop at Hoppie’s Marine Service in Kimmswick, MO.  This was a must stop for several reasons, but most importantly we needed fuel and we needed Fern’s daily river briefing.  Hoppie’s is a bit of a famous stop for Loopers.  Not much of a marina, but the services here are invaluable.  This is the last fuel stop for 107 miles, and the last marina for 227 miles.  Fern and her husband Charles “Hoppie” Hopkins are very knowledgeable about our next stretch of river, and have been guiding Loopers for years.  “Hoppie” may be the last living Mississippi River lamplighter.  The river briefing proved to be as promised.  After dinner in town with several other Loopers we have been traveling with since Alton, we settle in for the night.  It proved to be a rough night, as the wake off of passing barges powering up-river slammed us into the wall we were tied to.  Again, we were thankful for every bumper we had.  Needless to say, no one slept much that night!

Breakfast at the Blue Owl with our new friends Dirk and Pat taking the picture.

The next morning, in serious need of coffee, we went to town to check out the Blue Owl for breakfast.  This is another “must stop” and was also featured on the Food Network as well as the Travel Channel, and we weren’t disappointed!  We couldn’t leave without a giant piece of Levee High Apple Pie!  Stuffed from breakfast, we set off again, heading to the Kaskaskia Lock.  We are not locking through, but we are able to tie up here for the night.  Not much to see or do, but it is a safe place for the night, away from the current of the river and passing tow boats and barges.  We are thankful for a good night’s sleep!

We wake early and push on.  Tonight we will be anchored out near Cape Girardeau, MO.  We find a beautiful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel.  There is already one sailboat anchored here, and by night’s end, there are six of us nestled into this channel.  We are rafted off of our new friends’ boat, and we wrap up the afternoon learning cribbage, and teaching Pat and Dirk euchre.  We race against the fading daylight to take Rilee to shore for her final potty break for the evening.  We found a beautiful beach the other side of the Mississippi, and Rilee ran around like a puppy, even splashing in the river (which is not like her at all)!  We ended up crossing the Mississippi six times in our dinghy, which was no simple feat, considering the heavy current and debris.  Our 9.9hp propane dinghy motor handled it like a champ, sucking through propane and getting us safely back and forth.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will leave the muddy Mississippi and begin our journey up the Ohio River.