Day 104 Alton to Hoppies Friday August 31, 2018

Day 104 Alton to Hoppies Friday August 31, 2018

The temperature cooled for a nice sleeping night. The day was cloudy and then partly cloudy with predicted thunderstorms but we saw none - not even a distance thunder rumble.  Temps in high 80s.

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Today was Mississippi Lock day.

There are only  two locks that we must pass on the Mississippi but they are notorious for delays to commercial and pleasure craft alike. Well we did great getting through both of them. The Mel Price lock (see yesterday's post) was just below us at the marina and we only waited about 20 minutes for a northbound tow to clear and then the next one, Lock 27 Chain of Rocks,we drove right into the lock. Each one we floated in rather than tie up and the drop was only about 10 feet. Great start of the day,

The next order of business was to get a photo of the Arch as we passed by - check.

This was not all that easy given the great number of barges moving and being moved around and stored on the river. But about ten miles below the city the river became much more attractive and being so wide passing of tows was much easier.

We arrived at the famous Hoppies river barges - set up as a stop on the river for us pleasure craft. Here we are tied up as a tow that is SIX barges wide goes by us.

The Town of Kimmswick I had read was a nice little town. And my information was correct. There were several restaurants in town but the best one was only open for breakfast and lunch. So as it was around 1:00 pm we decided that another "linner" would be a good idea at the Blue Owl.

It turned out to be a good choice.

And they are famous for their bakery - "A piece of the chocolate chip pecan pie please."

 The town is only about five by five streets but has it has apparently become a nice "destination" from St Louis. There are a number of nice looking shops.

 This has become a pedestrian bridge and was saved when the new one , seen to the right, went in service. It has a unique surface of boards on edge that I found interesting. The white "lines" are spacer blocks between the long boards.

The ancestral home of Fred and Mabel Ruth Anheuser, affectionately known to many as Fredmar Farms, is located in Kimmswick   It is just before Hoppies. We walked the grounds but it is only open to go inside on Thursdays.

A beautiful view of the river

We came back to the boat and I did some planning to figure out where we are going over the next several days.

As the night has surrounded us and the air has begun to cool, it is time to say........

Good Night and May God Bless

Day 103 Alton Thursday August 30, 2018

Day 103 Alton Thursday August 30, 2018

The temperature cooled for a nice sleeping night. The day was cloudy but no rain.  Temps in high 70s.

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Today was an easy day of a few fun things and some shopping and laundry.

Our spot at the marina.

We visited the Mississippi River and Lock Museum that was located at the Mel Price Lock. This is the first of two that we will be passing through tomorrow.

 This is the lock

 And I was wondering who Mel Price. He was long time congressman from Illinois.

 This is a model of a "snag" removal boat.
The boat was driven into a snag of trees and the twin bow hull allowed crews to pull the trees up so they could be cut and removed.

After lunch we drove up the highway that folllows the Mississippi up to Grafton. We found that the bluffs were far more impressive from the water. But there were a couple of places you could see the bluffs up close.

 In Grafton I saw this house that is funny for a whole lot of reasons. I did love the color an in particular the attractive plastic orange palm trees. Also notice how the building is on stilts.

 And interesting mural on a building back in Alton

 There are some impressive churches on the uphill side of the town.

It was a good day. On the move tomorrow. So time to say.....

Good Night and God Bless

Day 102 Alton Wednesday August 29, 2018

Day 102 Alton Wednesday August 29, 2018

The temperature stayed warm through the early night then rain started about 0300. The day was rainy then cloudy about early afternoon.  Temps in high 70s.

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Today we rented an Enterprise Rental car for a trip to St Louis to see the Arch and the City.

The rain continued through most of the morning so we stopped at Walmart and a Hardware store for some supplies.

St Louis is an interesting City. The downtown has a goodly number of offices but there seems to be little residential so it does not seem as vibrant as say Boston or NYC.

The Arch was wonderful. The entrance is actually underground. There they have a nice display showing the history of the west and how St Louis on the Missouri and Mississippi was the staging point for exploration and later movement of settlers to the west. When the railroads gained a toe hold around the time of the civil war it started the decline of the importance of St Louis as the focus of the rail lines was to Chicago.

The Gateway Arch was erected to forever be symbol of the hub that St Louis was for settlers.

There was also an excellent documentary film on the building of the arch the gave us both a heightened (pun intended) sense of the accomplishment it was to simply construct it. The construct was definitely before OSHA>

There is a Tram System with small - and I mean tiny - enclosed cabs that you get in to ride to the top for viewing.

Here we are heading to the trams.

 This is a tram car.

 Looking inside one and ,,,,,

 The Admiral comfortably in (well in one anyway) on for the ride to the top.

View our the window.

Here we are at the top

 And here is the view out the window - but not from me as my camera failed me in my picture taking when I wanted it the most - oh well - next time. But these photos give you an idea of the view.

 And here is the old courthouse that

Some views from an increasing distance away the Arch. Will now be all the more fun to see it from the water on the way by.

And Richard and Faye enjoyed a wonderful conversation.

And Richard is saying

Good Night and May God Bless

Day 101 Buckhorn Island to Alton Tuesday August 28, 2018

Day 101 Buckhorn Island to Alton Tuesday August 28, 2018

The full moon was out and beautiful last night. The temperature stayed warm. The day was sunny and temperatures again rose to the low 90s with a moderate amount of humidity. The "feels like" temperature index was down from 106 yesterday to 103 today! Breezy day again was relief.

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With no locks to worry about we could plan the run to Alton Marina. It was about 60 miles. And an exciting part of the trip is we would join the Mighty Mississippi River!!.

First off, the ride was very scenic on the remainder of the Illinois River, but with the scenery comes a price - no cell phone coverage since the middle of yesterday to just below the junction with the Mississippi. Some would say that is a good thing.

The sun came up bright again. It promised to be another hot one. I think it is hot even for the locals based on comments from some of the folks we would meet in Alton. But we have sun screens for the cabin windows that make a huge difference in keeping the cabin cool and the breeze was again in our face so the comfort level was fine.

The scenery was very nice most of the way down. Little to no development along the banks. Mostly due to the land being floodplain - especially on the left side.

 And we had barge traffic, but the river was wide and passing was no problem.

 And can anyone guess which tow barge this is?

 Why it's the Big D of course.

This is Grafton - just before the junction with the Mississippi

 The Grafton Marina - glad be decided to press on to Alton - about 10 more miles

You are looking at the junction of the Mississippi ahead

 And here it is

 I turned 180 degrees and this shot is looking back up the Mississippi

 The most dramatic thing is the beautiful sandstone bluffs for quite some distance - the barges are in the way ruining that National Geographic shot - but this will do - and there are barges everywhere. Makes you wonder about getting through the locks in my little PC (pleasure craft as the lock-masters call us)

The Spirit of Peoria - a tour boat that we  had to come from Peoria to here to see. It is a real paddle-wheeler.

The approaching view of Alton is dominated by the grain elevators and the casino boats - docked there seemingly permanently.

And then the "new"  Clark bridge. Built in 1993 - almost ready for a new one.

The flag is at half staff for Senator John McCain - a hero in my book if not the President's.

 
After getting tied up at Alton we walked to dinner. Here are a few shots from the shore side.

It is hard to see, but the Mel Price lock is just below the bridge.

So the work on the blog has taken a fair amount of time so I shall say.....

Good Night and May God Bless