Alton, the Arch, Hoppies, and Cairo

 Friday, September 27









  This was our view from the back of our boat while docked at the Alton Marina.  








Saturday, September 28
Dream Chaser and Sanctuary, a 43 ft Tiara, departed the Alton Marina about 8 a.m. and with cloudy skies and a brisk wind, passed through the massive Mel Price Lock and Dam without incident.

Exiting the lock, we continued on the 44 mile trip to Hoppies Marine Service to overnight.  At Mile Marker 195, the Missouri River joined the Mississippi creating heavy turbulence and strong eddies which caused the boat to shift around considerably.
We navigated the Chain of Rocks Canal and the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam which is the last of the two locks we encountered on the Mississippi River.  On leaving the lock, the turbulence in the river increased dramatically.  This is the view from where Mary stands in the boat.

As we motored towards St. Louis through the Chain of Rocks Canal, numerous towboats with barges in tow were stopped or banked along the canal.  We discovered that a 48 hour dredging operation was underway in the St.Louis Harbor which closed the area to barges and tows, thus stopping northbound and southbound commercial traffic. This was a wonderful break for us because instead of dodging massive amounts of river traffic, we motored on through and had time to enjoy and photograph the arch!

St. Louis was a fascinating sight off to our right- the arch rising into the sky, with paddle boats docked below along the river.  There is no docking in St. Louis for pleasure craft (unfortunately), but we had already visited the area five years ago, so, no problem.

Our two day delay in Alton was due to a barge grounding (which broke the holding straps apart) in this St.Louis area.  Being delayed turned out to be a good thing because we met the boaters in Sanctuary, Go, and Five O’ Clock and will be traveling with them over the next few days as we motor down this challenging long stretch of river.

Yes, just in front of this tow is a person paddling a kayak in the turbulent Mississippi River with 3 mph currents and 15 mph oncoming winds!  Adventurous or crazy?

Mary reflects:
As I kicked back in my new admiral’s chair in the top helm, I thought back to our dinner with our Sanctuary friends, Jim and Meg, last night at Fast Eddie’s.  This establishment should be on the historic list of landmarks or featured on Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives from all the hype we’ve heard. When we arrived at Fast Eddie’s in our Comfort Cab (that’s a story in itself), the building is nondescript outside, but inside your attention is focused on the funky splashes of bright neon lights.  Things were hopping with patrons of every age, lifestyle, and economic level- business people, travelers, locals, bikers, colored hair, no hair, and lots of tattoos!  We waited in line to order food and people consumed drinks until they made their way to the front of the line. Gives you an idea of how they make a profit!  The menu sign behind the service counter above the working grill listed brats, burgers, and fries for about a buck.  Steak and chicken on a stick are $2.99.  What a deal! Steve and Jim were thrilled!  Dinner for less than $20 (including the cab ride)!  You order your food, get an order number, and hunt up a table.  No seats available inside? No problem! Fast Eddie bought the adjacent street, built a wall around it, added a tin canopy, set up tables and chairs, and thus created a smoking section to beat the no smoking ban!  The action is back here with dancing, drinking, and whatever.  Not much ambiance but it’s a gold mine! I wish I had pictures!

About 23 miles downstream from St. Louis is...Hoppies!
A strong wind from downriver was blowing steadily when we docked at Hoppies.  Fern and her daughter were waiting at the dock and carefully tied us to the outside of the dock adding spring lines in case it stormed as predicted.  The  space inside the dock was filled with small cruisers and runabouts.  All the descriptions of Hoppies were accurate, from the description of the docking area to the strong lady herself.

Hoppies Marine Service is a unique experience and famous stop on a wide spot in the river where you can get gas, grub, and great advice. Owned by Charles and Fern Hopkins for the last 40 years, Hoppies is the last marine fuel stop for 228 miles. After Hoppie fell from a ladder ten years ago and sustained injuries, Fern and her daughter have been in charge of the marine service.  The little town of Kimmswick is within walking distance, and the grocery store is about 2 miles away.  The marine service consists of three 100 ft. barges lashed together and secured to a high stone cliff with cables.  The barges have outlived their working life as some are 65 years old.  When the barges leak, Fern plugs the holes with asphalt shingles until the holes can be welded. There is a sign by the fuel pumps on the barge that says NO SMOKING, but this has little impact as Fern and her daughter light up their next cigarettes.  Electrical lines are strung along the walking areas of the barge, various weathered tables and chairs are scattered along the barges, and old rugs are scattered here and there covering electrical cords, etc. Things are done differently here!  Steve loves it already!

 The 20x20 ft. roofed, open air seating area is the “lounge” and Hoppie’s office.  We are VERY happy to have a spot to dock since dockage is limited, and you must have reservations or you are probably out of luck.  Fern is the local expert on the Mississippi River, and we were anxious to attend the briefing session regarding what to expect over the long stretch of the Mississippi River southbound such as river conditions and status of anchorages.

 Since we had three hours before the session with Fern, and the boats were secured, we joined three other loopers and headed to Kimmswick, the second oldest town in MO.  With temps in the high 80‘s and just as high humidity, we walked about a mile to where log cabin shops lined the streets and catered to tourists. Mary was curious about the bright pink cloth shopping bags that most of the ladies were carrying. Apparently these ladies purchased a “special day in town” and this deal included lunch, special drinks, and special incentives at each shop. What fun!
We returned in time for our briefing around 4:30 pm.  Fern was delightful and gave a very instructional talk on the miles of the Mississippi River that lie ahead.  Whether they admitted it or not, everyone in our group of loopers appeared a little anxious about the next 228 miles with no services and no dockage.  We all took very detailed notes as Fern related what lay ahead southbound on the Mississippi River.  Meg, from Sanctuary, invited Fern to join them on their boat for the next 228 miles luring her with good cooking, delicacies, etc.  Fern just chuckled at the offer.

At the top of the river bank above our dockage, Fern, Hoppie, and some local boaters were gathered around a campfire as 70‘s music played from a boom box.  As we approached, music from ZZ Top was filling the air, a man near the fire joined in with a guitar, and the picnic table was loaded with food.  Supper was a potluck of soup, brats with sauerkraut, and other great smelling dishes.  We joined the circle around the camp fire and had pleasant conversations about family, weather, fishing, floods, and where we were headed,  as marshmallows were roasted and chocolate cake was enjoyed. 
As a result of our conversations, we discovered that cicadas were the cause of all the noise in the woods around us. This Spring’s flooding, caused a 32 ft rise in the Mississippi which in spite of the high banks caused flooding all around Fern’s house.  The flood of 1993, caused a 42 ft rise in the river, and the flood line was up to the roofs of the large metal storage buildings near her house.  In anticipation of this flood, they removed virtually everything from the houses and buildings that they could including carpet.  This is life along the river!
In anticipation of our day ahead, we chose an early bedtime and were rocked to sleep by waves from passing barges.

Sunday, September 29
We dropped boat lines at 7 am, headed at a 90’ angle from Hoppies dock, and redirected Dream Chaser southbound.  Our AGLCA looper friends in Sanctuary, Go, and Five O’clock will be following later in our wake.  Weather is very cloudy and cool today.  We had expected a bit of a storm last night, but only heard light rain at 1 am and 3 am.  The cool air is a relief from yesterday’s 80’s and high humidity.  About three hours into our days journey we had light rain for about 2 hours.  We used the lower helm for a short time, but due to increased barge traffic, decided we needed the better viewing from the upper helm.  It was a perfect day for a good book and a warm blanket-if you weren’t steering the boat, navigating, and doing all those necessary boat things.

The Mississippi River continued to move at 3 mph and was quite wide at this point.
We are still seeing large beautiful homes along the bluffs overlooking the river probably because St. Louis is only about 50 miles away.  There are lots of rock weirs jutting into the river all along the way.  They are about 1,000 ft apart and stick out about 200 ft perpendicular to the river bank.  Big sandy banks ease into the river 10 ft to 1/2 mile deep on inside curves of the river.  Strong eddies, swirling pools of water, are formed from deep holes in the river.

As we motor southbound, the river is tree-lined with bridges, electric plants, a cement supplier, old boat ramps, a structure like a castle, a few people fishing, some questionable old structures, and big sandbars jutting out along the banks. At this point in the river, Mary won’t let Steve stop along the way to pick up or help strangers, as we are passing the Chester Penitentiary (max security).  The funniest site was a local ferry that consisted of a very little tug and a small barge with sides.  The car was parked in the middle of the barge and the tug, not tied to the barge, merely nudged the free barge on it’s sides to the other side of the river to a cement road that led up the river bank.

At mm 130 and mm 84, we checked very carefully for any northbound tows as we were told not to enter either curve in the river with a tow and barge using it or we would be the loser!  All clear!

The dredging in St Louis Harbor has been great for us!  We have motored right down the river with several tows and barges, but the numbers would be multiplied had that part of the river been open.  We have seen numerous barges banked or “sleeping”  along the river since we left St. Louis.  We will be past some of those heavy traffic areas before the dredging ends and the harbor reopens.

Do you remember the adventurous or crazy person in the red kayak that I mentioned seeing paddling southbound in the river by St. Louis?  Well, we passed a pitched tent and a red kayak on the river bank about 11:30 this morning.  Could it be?

There are moments of “What the ----?” like when Mary looked out the window from the galley and saw the green channel marker to the right near the bank, a red channel marker to the left about mid channel, and another green buoy near the left bank!  To stay in the boating channel, you motor between the red and green channel markers. So, which ones do we choose?  This is where autopilot comes in handy to double check where the channel actually is.  With steady Steve behind the wheel, we were fine!

Anchored out for our first time, we followed Fern’s advice and ended up at about mile marker 78, behind an L dam in water up to 50 ft deep!  The first time we tried to set the anchor, it didn’t catch and we drifted, but the second time Mary dropped the anchor, it worked like a charm!  We have two anchor alarms to warn us if the anchor would slip or move.  One is called Drag Queen, a free app, which works off the GPS satellites.  We place our I-phone next to our bed, but phone service isn’t necessary.  By the way, we had dinner in Alton with the author of Drag Queen and the founder of Active Captain.  Active Captain is a site that keeps boat enthusiasts aware of any shoaling, best overnight anchorages, best price fuel options, and has a membership of over 200,000 boaters.  The second alarm is on our Garmin boat navigation system.  No warning, no problem!

Steve enticed our Sanctuary captain, Jim, to accompany him on an excursion in our dinghy.  Even though the dinghy was under inflated, they hopped in and crossed the Mississippi to a beautiful sand beach and walked.  After about an hour, they returned smiling like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn after a successful adventure.

We watched the sun set as we grilled supper and had a piece of “mile high”  apple pie from the famous restaurant in Kimmswick.  Life doesn’t get any better than this!

Monday, September 30

At 7 am, Mary pulled the anchor, and Dream Chaser motored into the Mississippi River channel into a light fog with visibility of about one mile.  Last night, our anchorage had been off the channel far enough to be protected from waves created by the numerous barges that passed through the night. Fog continued to hang in the river valley, cows grazed on the hillside to our starboard side, limestone rock walls lined the shore, and we passed a stone quarry (one of many along the Mississippi) where barges were waiting patiently for their load.  As anticipated, the St. Louis Harbor must have opened as barge traffic has increased dramatically with three tows and barges in the last 30 minutes!

We met this barge going upstream with a huge load!

Back in the early 1900-1930's, the Corps of Engineers built wood dikes to attempt to control water flow.  These have now been covered by wing dams (rock walls).





 By 2 pm, Dream Chaser was anchored off Angelo's Towhead, mm1, near Cairo, IL and the mouth of the Ohio River. We anchored off from the sandy point and will have some waves being just off the channel, but far enough off so barges wont be a concern through the night. 
After a dinner of fish tacos, Steve and I jumped in the dinghy and motored over to where Sanctuary was anchored and joined them in a game of Rummikub.  Dream Chaser is the boat to the left.

  

Hennepin to Alton

Sunday, September 22
Our day began about 7 a.m. with our boat engulfed in thick fog rolling on the river.  On our morning walk, we included the 8:30 a.m. Methodist Church service where we were warmly welcomed by the elderly parishioners. The sermon was inspiring, and Methodist Church ladies eagerly invited us downstairs for coffee and pie (which was also very inspiring). We couldn’t refuse a slice of pecan and strawberry rhubarb pie!
Back at the boat, Mary prepped the soup for lunch while Steve varnished the dinghy oars and planned the route for the day.  Together, we learned the fine points of dropping the bow anchor and setting the safety lines as we may be anchoring out within the next few days.  At 11 a.m. with beautiful clear blue skies, we dropped the lines, leaving Hennepin behind, and headed downstream.  We loved the town, but Mary was getting tired of the deboating process at Hennepin: climbing out of the boat, teetering on the edge of the barge, then climbing up and over the double guard rail while trying to avoid the dirt, pointed edges, and bird poop.  She was ready to leave that behind!
We motored by the river town of Henry, IL, a hot spot for motorcyclists from Peoria and Chicago out for a scenic drive on the weekend.  A pack of “hogs” roared over the highway bridge as we motored under.  The bikers had probably just finished their brunch at the Landings Restaurant and were headed out.  I could almost smell the restaurant’s famous sweet potato fries as we passed by the harbor.
For our lunch, we dined on hot chicken soup from the crockpot as we motored down the tree lined Illinois River.  Yummy and very healthy!  Hopefully, it off-set some of the calories from the pie we had earlier at church.
About 15 miles from Chillicothe, the Illinois River widened out, and we were joined by brave groups of wave runner dudes blasting up river, water skiers, and pleasure boaters enjoying the gorgeous Sunday afternoon.  These people were brave or crazy because we have now seen flying carp here and there, but none have come near our boat.

 This is what one would call a work in progress.  It appeared that people were actually  living on this vessel!  They probably don't have dockage fees, but the downside is...there are many!



The next sleepy little river town, Lacon, had the typical grain elevators that are present in almost of these river towns where cornfields stretch for miles throughout the valley. In this case, they were Cargill elevators instead of Archer Daniels Midland or Louis Dreyfus Corp.

We chose Peoria’s public dock on the edge of downtown for dockage tonight.  After tying the boat lines and securing the boat, we hopped out and walked 1 block to the riverside park and joined the crowd.   They were celebrating Oktoberfest with a German band, performing dance groups, German inspired tents of interest, endless German food, lots of lederhosen, and free flowing beer! Two large brats with sauerkraut and free sauerkraut balls was our answer to dinner! Ever had a sauerkraut ball?  Yum!

                                                             
Monday, September 23, 2013
The day began with bright sun and cloudless blue skies!  Our four mile walk took us down Peoria’s Mainstreet, passed Caterpillar headquarters, and on to the 30/30 Coffee Shop.  This a local gem where baristas know their coffee! We hoofed it through the historic district of big old houses-distinguished in their day.  Oh, the amazing stories they could tell! Our walk continued through the housing projects, yikes!, and then along a beautiful tree lined walking path along the river which brought us back to our boat.

At 10 a.m., Dream Chaser left Peoria and headed to Beardstown, IL about 80 miles away.  Downstream about three miles, we locked through at the Illinois River Peoria Lock and Dam, a federal government dam which is an unusual wicket dam.  During high water, the wickets (a steel wall) are lowered and the boats pass over the submerged dam.  Today, with the lower water level, the wickets were raised and boats used the lock system off to the side of the wicket dam. It was a quick ten minute process with a nine foot drop. 

We are noticing large numbers of birds like the White Pelican soaring over head.  Duck  hunting is popular in central Illinois, and we saw duck blinds along the river for miles.  Today, the Asian Carp are more prevalent, and they go airborne as they are stimulated by the engine vibration of boats. Leaping up to 15 feet out of the water along side and behind the boats, the carp average eight  to ten pounds, but can be up to four feet and 70 pounds. In this area, most of the small fishing boats have protective four foot high chain link fence to encase the passengers in order to protect them from the airborne fish.
On the river again today, Dream Chaser met or passed several towboats and barges.  One towboat, the Cody Boyd was pushing 15 barges upstream in a huge configuration of three across and five deep.  Normally, when we have cleared the barge whether going upstream or downstream, Mary radios the captain and thanks him for his help in passing.  Today, one of the captains radioed back and asked where we were headed.  When he heard Florida and the Bahamas, he replied “Ya’all come back here and git me”.

Our overnight at Logsdon Tow in Beardstown was an experience!  With few choices for dockage at this point in the river, we ended up tying up to the side of one of their barges.  Overnighting boats is not Logsdon’s main function as they are a working towing company, but there is such a need for a place to overnight at this point in the river that Logsdon has become popular with loopers.

 After tying the boat lines and climbing onto the barge, we had to weave our way over ropes, and cables, welding equipment and other treasures of a tugboat owner.  One of the workers, greeted us and told us it was our lucky day because today Annie’s was making their famous BBQ ribs.  After successfully passing through the obstacle course, we hiked up a 30 foot, open metal staircase to the top of the flood levee and down another 10 feet to the other side.

The quaint little river town of Beardstown was very quiet and reminded Mary of a little, old man that was just worn out and didn't have the energy to fix or change anything.  Old sidewalks, uneven roads, tired old buildings, closed movie theater, and ghosts of days gone by. After grabbing groceries, we stopped at Annie's, the local bar, to check out the BBQ ribs.  Sure enough, Annie's had ribs or steak dinners, but just for today, otherwise it is just a bar.  The placed was packed, the bartender and waitresses friendly, and the ribs were some of the best we have ever had! Lucky us!

Mary wrote:
I awoke at bout 2:30 a.m., as the Logsdon towboat was moving out to maneuver some barges down the river.  Being too awake to sleep, I made my way to the chair in the salon of the boat using just the flicker of light sent from the flood light on a pole at the end of our barge. Strange noises climbed through the boat windows and the shadows surrounded the boat as it bobbed and shifted slightly in the river.  The clunking, rattling  cars of a train are heard about every 7 minutes as they creak and groan from their wheels riding the rails.  On the shore side of the boat, strange shadows combine with unusual insect or animal noises continue through the night.  On the river side, barges with their towboats lined with lights send their beams out over the water through the pitch black night.  Groaning of the tow engines becomes louder as they strain pushing their tremendous load.  The quiet is brief as another tug with its barges in tow passed by causing the boat to shift lightly against the docking barge.  In the distance, vehicles can be heard whizzing down the highway.  Meanwhile, Steve is sound asleep and snoring in our cabin.

Tuesday, September 24
We are up before the sun, threw off the lines at sunrise, and began our long day motoring over 11 hours towards Grafton, IL.  The LaGrange Lock and Dam  is a wicket dam and this will be the last locking until we join the Mississippi River.  Locking at the dams is a somewhat involved process.
When approaching the lock & dam, we radio ahead, to let the lock master know that we are coming.  He will advise as to how and when we should proceed.  When locking, you must stay back on your approach until the gates fully open and the lock master signals you by green light and horn to enter.  While Steve motors into the lock, Mary’s job is to make sure the fenders are all in place. 
In some locks, you wrap your line around a bollard (a large pole that floats up and down with the water level) and hold your line as the bollard goes up and down.  In other locks, the dock worker throws you bow and stern lines and you hold those lines until you are at river level.  Never tie the line to the boat as you are dropping (going down river) or rising (going up river)!  The best part is “shooting the breeze” with the local workers as you’re holding your line.  When the lock master blows the whistle and opens the lock gates, with no boat wake, you are on your way.  The first locking on our trip began in the Sault Ste. Marie Canal-our technique has improved!

At mile marker 61.4, we were at the westernmost point on our Great Loop adventure.
At about 5:30 p.m., we reached the quaint, little river town of Grafton, IL which sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. This area has been flooded so many times that in 1993 the decision was made to move the town uphill from the river. From observation of all the eagles soaring overhead, we understand why the town is know as the “home of the wintering eagles”.  After tying up at the Grafton Harbor Marina, we met other friendly AGLCA boaters from “5 o'clock” and “Go” both from Texas.  When a thunderstorm passed through interrupting our visit, we returned to the boat and enjoyed chicken/rice soup and fresh baked pumpkin muffins.

Wednesday, September 25
Today was sunny and warm.  Steve worked on boat projects while I baked apple cobbler and did laundry. Later in the morning, we walked to a few shops on the main street in Grafton.  Steve found a Fred Meyer boating book at the Books, Barber, and Coffee Shop (strange combination?), and we both enjoyed ice cream cones.
As we walked back to the boat, we heard music coming from the river area and saw the Peoria, a paddle wheeler that entertains guests with views of the river from Grafton to Peoria.

We left Grafton Harbor about 12:30 p.m. and loved the 33 mile trip from Grafton to Alton.  This is considered one of the most scenic areas of the Mississippi River with sand bluffs on our port side side and flood plains on the other. There is a large monument, Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine, on the west side of the river constructed out of thanks for sparing Portage Des Sioux from a flood in 1951.

 When we first enter the Mississippi River from the Illinois River the Mississippi is flowing north due to a twist in the river.  The Mississippi is broad and wide (perhaps a mile wide) making it seem more like a lake than a river, except for the strong current.  The channel is very windy, curving back and forth. It is easy to imagine Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn on a hot summer day and catfish fries!  Here, tows own the river-you simply get out of their way!  We are noticing an increading number of houses high on the bluffs and the area is more populated.

Besides huge levies, wing dams and weirs have been constructed.  Wingdams are stone walls perpendicular to the river to deflect river current to the center of the river
and prevent erosion. Weir dams are rock sills located in the navigational channel of a bend at angles of 20-30 degrees to the flow of water to help control water in the bend.
We are sticking to the middle of the channel!

We passed by the river town of Piasa, known for its large caves easily seen from the river.  Our destination is the Alton Public Marina in Alton IL located next door to Argosy Casino.  This is a beautiful, large marina with fabulous facilities and great atmosphere. Karen, the manager of the marina, was extremely helpful. Mike took the prize for dock boy of the year!  AGLCA marina hosts, RIchard and Patti Mitchell, held a debriefing at 5:30 p.m. which covered information regarding the downstream trip through the next 300 miles of limited services.  After a short tour of Alton, our group had a great time at Mac’s Restaurant in Alton, IL. chatting about experiences, anchors, etc.

Alton, said to be one of the most haunted towns in America, provides numerous tours of hot spots of unexplained ghostly happenings and psychic phenomenon. It is said that many confederate soldiers and southern sympathizers were held in the Alton Prison from 1833-1860, many died due to diseases, and then were buried in large trenches in the Confederate Cemetery. When the prison was torn down, the blocks from the walls of the prison were used for retaining walls, etc. in the town of Alton.  Many believe that the spirits of the dead soldiers are still around.  Alton is also the site of the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in October 1858.

Thursday, September 26
After calling for a dock reservation at our next stop, Hoppies, we found that they were full until Friday night, so we had another full day in the area.  We motored our boat into the river and praticed anchoring as we will have several anchorages over the next 300 miles. In chatting with the Mitchells, the harbor hosts, we gained valuable information on anchoring, etc.
About noon, we hopped into our rented black fiat and drove to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, IL. This was the site of their winter camp and the push off point for their expeditions of 1804. Now with the river so heavily industrialized, it is hard to imagine the wilderness those explorers witnessed.
We drove onward to Springfield, IL, the heart of Lincoln Country.  Abraham Lincoln moved to Springfield in 1837 and left as president elect in1861.  We visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Library, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln Tomb State Historic Park, and the old state capitol.  In the old capitol, Lincoln practiced law, and gave his house divided speech, and lay in state after his assassination.  We gained personal and political insights of his growth from fledgling lawyer to president. 

We visited with the Lincoln family.


 The Lincoln family home in
                Springfield, IL

  

                                               Lincoln's tomb.

Friday, September 27
Mary awoke to sounds of Steve spraying down the boat.  We completed some projects, returned the rental car, and motored to Mel Price Lock and Dam.  As we were motoring out of the lock, the lock manager radioed that a barge had crashed at the next lock and no pleasure boats will pass through until 5 pm tonight or 7 am in the morning.  So we returned to the Alton Marina for another night. This gave us more time to work on the inverter, make soup, and out to dinner with new AGLCA friends, Jim and Meg, owners of the boat “Sanctuary”.  For dinner, where else would we go but Fast Eddies, an extremely popular greasy spoon with great, inexpensive food!

The Adventure Continues

Dream Chaser is on the move!
After being off Dream Chaser for a month to take care of commitments to family, friends, and fishing at the cabin, we are back on the boat and excited to continue our journey!

So where is Dream Chaser now? 
Our first blog ended after completing the trip from Madeline Island, WI to Seneca, Illinois. For our month long dockage, we stayed at Spring Brook Marina, and they took very good care of Dream Chaser. 
We had planned to return to the boat by flying to Chicago and then driving to the boat, but we ended up driving from home with our car stuffed to the brim-even the back window was full.  How would all these items fit on an already full boat? We did manage to find places for most of it.  Thankfully, Nick was returning from a fishing trip with family in MA and Susan, his girlfriend, flew from MN to Chicago, and they drove the car home for us.

Since Dream Chaser was probably never used for an overnight stay, we needed to make changes in order to live aboard for extended periods of time.  Before we left on this adventure and while we were still docked at the Madeline Island Marina or Washburn Marina, we had several jobs completed there including the electronics.  In order to complete these projects, most of the floor boards on the boat were taken up in order to access the needed spaces.  These floorboards were in almost every living area on the boat.  Mary’s greatest fear was that she would forget the floorboards were up and go strolling into the galley or salon and end up in the bottom of the boat-thus delaying the trip departure due to broken bones.  Thankfully, nothing happened, but those floorboards still get removed occasionally.  Rule 1:  Always remain alert!  We are still finding many things that need attention on the boat or perhaps just need some tweaking. Snaps here! Hooks there! More fenders for docking and locking-just in case!  Probably the most important item on the to-do list was the new admiral’s helm chair.  If the admiral is not happy then no one is happy! Standing in the upper helm during the entire trip wasn’t working for Mary! Steve found the perfect chair!  The admiral is happy!  He installed a water filtration system (which is fabulous) and applied the new boat name lettering.  What do you think?

Mary is figuring out how to make gourmet meals with an electric fry pan, microwave/convection oven, crock pot, and a rice cooker. After sampling the crumb cake that she baked recently, things are looking good for Steve.  There is an outdoor grill, but she hasn’t seen it installed, yet.  It is somewhere “down below with the other stuff”.

We have had several requests to see the inside of Dream Chaser.  So....

 

 

This is our galley with refrigerator/freezer, three burner stove, microwave/convection oven, divided sink, and limited cupboard space.




This is our lower helm which is used for piloting on cold, stormy days.  Usually, the boat is commanded from the upper helm, but when we were traveling down Lake Michigan at night during a thunderstorm  this was very inviting.

 

 We have one head (bathroom) on the boat.
A nice hot shower at the end of the day is wonderful!

 Our guest cabin is small and cozy.  There is little space for extra luggage, so visitors bring limited personal clothing and items in a duffle type travel bag.

  Our main cabin is located in the bow of the boat.  We have a queen size bed which is extremely comfortable.  The space is well thought out.  The closets are minimal if you're living on a boat for a year, but I hear that from every "looper" wife I meet!

 







We are grateful that we were able to motor Dream Chaser to our present location during the first week of August as we have heard that Lake Michigan has had some big waves in September. Being on the river system, we are spared from the big wave action, but we’ve weathered two big thunderstorms in Illinois. Thankfully, everything remained dry inside.  This week with temps in the 90’s and high humidity, we know that the air conditioning works.  It is ON! 
After a few days completing projects on the boat, cleaning off the dirt from the local farm fields, and provisioning for the upcoming weeks, we are anxious to head south.

Friday, September  20, 2013
Our day began with our “morning walk” which has become almost sacred.  Many of you know that Mary and Steve like to go for walks, but Steve is REALLY into walking.  After climbing Kilimanjaro in July, he gave away his hiking boots, but not his walking shoes! At 10:37 a.m., we threw off the docking lines and headed down the Illinois River.  After about 5 minutes of a panicky feeling of “what do I do now?!”, it all came back like riding a bike, and both of us felt comfortable again maneuvering the boat.  We motored down the tree lined Illinois River past the Marseilles Dam and entered the Marseilles Lock 2.2 miles downstream.  After dropping 24 ft. in the lock, we ate chicken salads as we continued past Ottawa,IL (at the mouth of the Fox River) and on to Starved Rock and Dam.  While we waited an hour for the barges ahead of us to clear the locks, we enjoyed hot licorice tea with our delicious crumb cake. The river is beautiful in the Starved Rock State Park area with limestone bluffs and wooded canyons lining the river.  We entered the Starved Rock Lock with another looper boat, Pisces, and dropped 17 ft. in minutes.  We continued on passing by Peru, IL and waited for the barge, Capt. Sam Yount, to clear under a highway bridge.  The barges move about 3-4 knots and slow down when clearing bridges.  Mary radioed the captain who responded quickly and professionally advising us to pass on the starboard side.  Yes, the towboat captains REALLY like to hear the female voice!  One could swear he was smiling!
The little town of Hennepin was where we chose to overnight.  There is no marina, so we tied up just below the town at the free dock. This dock consisted of a barge buried in the bank of the river several feet below the town.  No electricity.  No water.  No problem.  We are very self sufficient and generate our own power when needed.  It was very easy to tie up to a cleat, but harder to climb out of the boat, over the barricade, and into the parking lot.  Of course, Steve had his phone handy for this picture.

After hiking up at least 30 steps to get to Hennepin’s street level, we found the town to be very pleasant with a hardware shop, bank, marine store, and a restaurant/bar. The little grocery store, Food Pride, closed at 6 p.m. We were at the door at 6:17 p.m. and saw them turn out the lights.  Plan A for supper was fish tacos, but we needed tortillas.  Plan B for supper turned out to be fried fish, rice, and peaches as we watched the sunset across the river.  Delicious!  Awesome!  It is all about flexibility!

Saturday, September 21, 2013
Our day began with our...morning walk.  As we strolled through the town of Hennepin, we noticed people setting up booths getting ready for an event...The 101st anniversary of Harvest Days!  Realizing that this could be one of those experiences that we didn't want to miss, we decided to remain in Hennepin for one more day and night.  Out came our projects list, again.

At 11 a.m. we headed back for the parade.  The parade lasted 10 minutes with men in firetrucks throwing candy, elected officials waving from cars, ladies riding on decorated horses, an 1889 hearse being pulled by horses (have you seen that in a parade?), kids of all ages screaming and running for candy, elderly folk sitting in groups along the curb reminiscing, and the crowd enjoying every one of those minutes!

As with all good small town celebrations, the ladies of the local Methodist Church made some enticing BBQ for lunch-so we joined them.  As we were headed back to our boat, a lady (from the same church) was selling tickets for the big chicken dinner in the evening-yes, we did!
It was another beautiful sunset!  What a day! It was nothing like we had planned.  By taking time, we had a glimpse of a community in celebration, had an opportunity to chat with the locals, and we just love partaking in what the little Methodist ladies have cooking and baking!