The Mighty Mississippi

Day 9 - Thursday, September 15
593 Miles

There was much discussion Wednesday night and again this morning on whether to stay in Grafton or move on.  Three things drove our decision:  the situation of closures at Lock 52 on the Ohio River, the weather, and the arrival of a part we had ordered (impellers).  Our discussions are usually two-sided.  I just sit and listen to these two brothers hash things out.  Which is entertainment in itself as they have quite opposite personalities!
A call to the Lock and Dam division of the Louisville Water District told us that the lock was open to pleasure craft.  An 80% chance of thunderstorms is forecasted for Friday and Saturday.  The Grafton marina staff said they would overnight the impellers to us at our next stop, so we decided to stay on our schedule of getting to Hoppies on Thursday afternoon.  (More on Hoppies later).

True North left Grafton at 9:15 local time and entered the Mississippi river.  This was a hip-hip-hooray moment for us as traveling the Mississippi is a major part of the Loop.  Not to mention, it is THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER! People cross over it every day, but how many navigate down it?
The river is wider, more bumpy, and has more debris than the Illinois.  Seventeen miles down river is Alton, another favorite spot for Loopers.

Just past Alton was our first lock of the day - the Melvin Price, which we locked through in yet another different manner.  This lock had a small chamber just for pleasure craft.  We were the only boat there so were told to drive right in and we didn't need to loop a rope around a bollard or have one given to us from the wall.  We just floated in the middle of the lock!  It was only a 2 ft. drop.
Entering the lock there was a solid line of debris that was impossible to maneuver around so had to go right through it, hoping our slow approach speed would just push the logs to the side.  Along with the debris to greet us, the top of the lock wall was lined with tourists watching the locking process.  I loved being able to wave and have people wave back.  I wave at every tow we go by but often can't see through their windows to tell if they are waving back.  Our dinghy covers the name and home port on the back of the boat;  we need to have a sign up on the flybridge so all can see we are from Ludington, Michigan!
Leaving the lock, the Asian carp were jumping all over behind us.  Some quite close! No pictures as by the time you hit the shutter button they are back in the water.

Right before St. Louis, we went through the Chain of Rocks Lock, where we again we got right into and floated in it. This time it was an 8 ft. drop.  And a first- a woman answered our radio call when approaching the lock.

The Gateway Arch dominates the St. Louis skyline. At 630 ft., it is the world's tallest arch.  It is also called the Gateway to the West, as it is a monument to the western exploration.
South of St. Louis was all industrial.  I commented in an earlier post of the commerce that the large, inland rivers support.  It is a stark contrast to the mainly pleasure boating on Lake Michigan.  Transportation, in all its forms (trucking, railroad, river barges) truly is the lifeblood of life.

The current on the Mississippi is faster than the Illinois, so our 10 mph got bumped up to 12.5.  We were flying!  An increase in speed with no fuel being used.  You have to be thankful for the little things.

Our destination was Hoppies, 61 miles from Grafton.  Maps say it is in Kimmswick, Missouri but the mailing address for our impellers is Imperial, MO.  We arrived at 3:15 local time.  Hoppies is known to all Loopers.  It is the last stop for fuel for the next 249 miles.  It is the last stop for power and water hook-ups for the next 249 miles.  It is anything but fancy - several old barges tied together just off the shore line that can accommodate 10 boats.  When we arrived, there were 2 other Looper boats tied up.  We had to go through the most debris yet getting to the barge/dock.  We went past Hoppies and turned around to head into it going upstream against the current, which gives us (Greg) more control of the boat.  We once again just had to let the logs bounce off us.

Besides getting fuel, power and water, Loopers stop at Hoppies to see Fern, Hoppy's wife.  She is a legend on the river, the Matriarch of the Mississippi.  About an hour after we got tied up, she called the crews of the 3 boats together for her briefing on all things related to the river.  She started with how to leave the barge, then went down the river explaining safe anchorages, the locks we will go through, how to get on the Ohio and Cumberland rivers, the Tenn-Tom waterway all the way to Mobile.  She covered everything we needed to know.

Our plan is to stay here at Hoppies today and Friday night (letting a forecasted Friday storm get by) and then spend two night anchoring out before reaching Green Turtle Bay Marina on Kentucky Lake on Monday.  I am anticipating little or no cell phone or internet coverage after we leave here so this may be my last post for a few days.  (when I said to Mike I will get a break from the blog, he said, "So will everyone else!")

We don't see many covered slips in Michigan

Grafton - Where the Great Rivers Meet

The Illinois and the Mississippi

Grafton Lighthouse

Where the rivers meet -   The Illinois is on the right, Mississippi on the left

The lock doors closing behind us

Proper lock attire.  Personal floatation devices are required in a lock.  This PFD 

inflates upon contact with the water.  Let's hope that never happens!

An example of a bollard (floating pin in a lock)

Where tows get maintenance work

Approaching St. Louis

True North tied up at Hoppies

Other Looper boats at Hoppies

Our briefing

With Fern

Havana to Grafton

Day 7 - Tuesday, September 13
532 miles

This was going to be a long travel day for us, so Mike was up at 5:00 am, (local time) wanting to be on the river by 6 or 6:30.  He pretty much had everything ready to go (water and electrical unhooked) by the time he knocked on Greg's door to have him man the helm to leave.  Greg's motto is there are only two things worth getting up that early in the morning for:  hunting and fishing.  Meandering down the Illinois river doesn't fall under either of those two activities.

Our destination was Grafton, Illinois, where the Illinois River joins the Mississippi.  We figured it would take us about 12 hours to go the 120 miles.  Thought was given to breaking the trip up and anchoring out one night (which the other 3 Looper boats we were with in Havana did), but we passed the halfway point about 12:30 so kept going.  We had one lock today, the LaGrange, which ended up being just like the Peoria Lock - no change in water lever so kept right on going.

We had heard so much about the Asian carp.  There are videos on You Tube of water skiers with nets catching them.  And other Loopers wrote in the forum about seeing them jump out of the water constantly, with some having the fish jump right into the back of their boats.  At our docktail on Monday, someone mentioned they were a little disappointed in not seeing more carp, mainly for the entertainment value.  We don't want them jumping in the boat,  because I don't drive the boat so would probably be the one to get them off!  

Red and green buoys mark the river for us, with 90% of it being tree lined banks.  We looked forward to tows or little towns for a change in scenery.  Every so often we would see large docking structures where barges could tie up and wonder what cargo would being loaded or unloaded there.  Other times there would be a large plant, usually identified in our chart book, (never with signage on the buildings) where barges docked so no guessing needed.  

We passed Coon Hollow Island, and we aren't even in Kentucky yet! We also passed McGee's creek, but they obviously spell it wrong.  :)

At our cruising speed of 10 mph, it is easy to walk around, prepare meals and even take showers while traveling.

We arrived at Grafton Marina at 5:30 local time.  A stop at the fuel dock brought a very pleasant surprise.  I mentioned before that our slow speed was saving fuel, but Mike and Greg were actually shocked at the great mileage we were getting.  Earlier trips this summer, when it cruised at 30 mph, True North was a fuel hog.  Traveling the Illinois river was like going from a Suburban to a Prius!
The marina is just before the Mississippi so we haven't quite got on it yet, but you might hear us give a cheer when we do as it would be a milestone moment for us.

We are at Grafton for Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  It is Wednesday as I type this and the day has been one of washing the boat for the guys and laundry, dusting, vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms for me.  Yes, all those household chores still need to be done, even on a boat.

We just got a message from the Army Corps of Engineers that a major lock on the Ohio river is broken and may be several days before it is fixed.  This would back up barge traffic so we may be delayed here a few more days.  I'd be happy to spend the time exploring the little, hilly town of Grafton.

Life on the river

An example of floating debris.  The bigger the better for us as things like this are

easy to spot.  It is the smaller logs that you often can't see until you are right to them

We are sure these are pelicans, but can't really tell in this picture, even zoomed in

Coming into Grafton, IL

From the fuel dock.  Around the bend is the Mississippi

Sunset looking down the river

Peoria to Havana

Day 6- Monday, Sept. 12

411 miles

True North left Eastport Marina in Peoria on Monday morning at 9:30 local time under sunny skies.  If we didn’t know what day of the week it was (only those that are retired or on vacation can understand how this can happen), the total lack of activity on our dock that morning confirmed that the weekend was over. 

We cruised past downtown Peoria, which seemed quite nice. It is the world headquarters for the Caterpillar Corporation.

There was only one lock today - the Peoria Lock - which turned out to be a non-event for us.  It is a wicket dam, and the wickets were down, so there was no variation of water level.  We didn’t have to enter the lock, just stayed right on the river.  

I mentioned that we got our AIS up and running.  Again, it is not an essential navigation tool, but boy is it nice to have.  Several times on our route to Havana today, there would be a barge ahead, but around a bend and not visible to us.  The barge shows up on our AIS, which would also happen if you have radar.  But with this device, we can touch the boat image on our screen and it gives us the name of the tow, the distance away and how fast it is going.  And the great thing is, because we have a registered MMSI number, the tow can do the same with our boat.  He can see our name, that we are a pleasure craft and what size we are.  We had tow captains hail “True North” on the radio, calling us by name.  One saw us on his screen and radioed to us, asking us to wait as he came around a bend.  Greg and I would get big smiles on our faces, knowing that our splitting and splicing of wires really worked!

There is a protocol  to passing a tow, whether it is in front of you or coming from the opposite direction.  We radio and ask the captain if he wants “One or two whistles”.  This system dates back to pre-radio communication days.  Back then, when tow barges had to pass each other, the captain would blow the whistle to indicate which side to pass on.  One whistle means to pass on the port side and two whistles means starboard.  With the advent of VHF radios, vessels can now talk to each other and could easily say “port or starboard,” but the whistle signal is a tradition that has endured.  I’m glad.  Some things shouldn’t change.

We came up to a RR bridge that could be raised.  The stated closed height of the bridge was 34 ft.  We knew we could clear that, but as we got closer, it didn’t look 34 ft.  To be safe, we radioed and asked it to be raised, which it was immediately.  From the fixed sections on the side of the river, it was very clear that we would not have gotten under it. (A good lesson that we can’t keep our eyes on the charts and electronics.)  We always give a “thank you” over the radio when we clear a raised bridge and this was the first time the bridge master said more than “Have a safe trip.”  He asked what our destination was, and when we said Marathon in the Keys for the winter, he said he wished he could go with us.  (maybe it was a slow bridge-raising day for him!)  

Further confirmation of the raised water level of the Illinois river was the boat launch ramps we passed that were under water.  Or the small campgrounds that had trailers with river water nipping at their jacks.

For several minutes, we had a distinct gravy smell as we passed Pekin, IL.  Yes, gravy, and it was a very pleasant aroma.  That soon turned into a real nasty odor, but fortunately didn’t last long.   You have to be thankful for the little things . . . The culprit was probably the multiple grain companies along the river at this location.

We arrived at Tall Timbers Marina in Havana at 3:30.  (I cannot type the word “Havana” without having Barry Manilow in my head singing -“At the Copa . . Copacabana.  The hottest spot north of Havana. . . “

Tall Timbers is a small, quaint marina, that we may have passed by as too small if we hadn’t called ahead and confirmed the depth and that they could accommodate our size.  It was a tight fit getting in, with about a 2 ft clearance off the bow when we spun around to back into our slip.  A big thing to be thankful for is having both Mike and I on the deck on the boat, one in back and one on the bow in these tight situations.  Another great docking job by Greg.

Tall Timbers was worth the effort to get in.  Not by any means because of the facilities -the restrooms were port-a-johns with a roof over them.  But very friendly owners and we were tied up by 3 other Loopers.  We had our first “Docktail” party!  We had read all about docktails- cocktail get togethers on a dock with fellow Loopers.  In fact, one of the boats - Captain’s Choice from Buffalo, NY - was the one we followed coming out of Starved Rock Lock.  The other two boats were on their home stretch - both started the Loop in Florida.  On the dock behind our boat was a covered sitting area with two picnic tables where we gathered and shared appetizers.  The best part was the information for us newbies.  Their philosophy was “There are no stupid questions” and they let us fire away.  They also told wonderful stories of the eastern seaboard part of the Loop, which confirmed our thinking that that area was going to be the most interesting - especially the northern part.  

Captain’s Choice stayed at the IVY Club in Peoria.  It was a marina we had considered, but went to Eastport instead.  While we were very happy with Eastport, we missed out on free beer at the IVY Club.  And it wasn’t like the “Free Beer Tomorrow” sign, it really was free beer.  You may be chuckling, wondering why that would be a big deal to me, but I mention it to show the hospitality to Loopers we have encountered.  (like discounts on dockage, etc.)  The free ice and laundry at Eastport was perfect for me! 

One last picture from Eastport Marina.  They had several of these.  Gives new

meaning to "floating cottages" because they do move up and down like boats 

tied in a slip

Downtown Peoria

Click on this to enlarge it.  The Mark Twain Hotel.

Until Karen joins us, we are Huck, Tom and Becky (Thatcher)

Birds, birds and more birds

Most of the bridges are not drawbridges.  The entire center section goes up and down

I did not zoom in to take this picture. This is how close we are when passing some tows.

A recognizable name on this tow

Our first docktail at Tall Timbers Marina

Tall Timbers Marina in Havana, IL

Ottawa to Peoria

Day 4

367 miles

We had talked about possibly staying at Heritage Harbor in Ottawa for 2 nights, but we got up Saturday morning and decided to take off for Peoria.  Going 10 mph, the almost 80 mile trip took us 8 hours.  We had been traveling the last few days under cloudy, gray skies, but the sun finally broke through in the afternoon.  We only had one lock between Ottawa and Peoria - Starved Rock.  (Starved Rock State Park is regarded as the best state park in Illinois.)  As we approached the lock, we saw 3 other boats waiting, and a tow being raised in the lock.  The river is marked with red and green buoys and we have to stay between them.  This isn't difficult when you are the only boat.  But knowing this barge was coming at us after it exited the lock, we had to crowd the red buoy to stay out of the way of the barge and other 3 boats.  

After waiting about an hour, and after the arrival of 2 other boats, we entered the lock.  This one was yet another new experience for us.   In the other locks, we would loop a rope around a bollard, which is a large cylinder in the side of the lock wall that lowers with the water.  At Starved Rock, a lock worker threw Mike (who was on the bow) a long rope and then threw a long rope to me (on the back).  These ropes were tied to a rail.  We just had to hang on to the ropes, letting them slide threw our hands as we lowered 18 ft. 

Most boats doing the Loop have 2 people on board (usually a husband and wife) and manage everything fine.  I have to say I am so thankful there are 3 of us, and will be more so when Karen joins us.  I like that Mike can be on the deck with me in the locks and docking while Greg does the driving.  The design of our boat makes it nearly impossible for the driver to also help in the locks as some of the trawlers or smaller boats can do.

Being on the back of the boat, I was close enough to talk to the lady on the bow of the boat behind us.  They were also on the Loop, but in the home stretch as they started in Mississippi.  That is one of the interesting things about the Loop - everyone starts from a different place.  It is not like a race, where everyone starts and ends at the same spot.

Coming out of the lock, we had a boat in front of us.  It was going just a tad slower (9 mph instead of 10).  We decided to let this boat pave the way for us (dodging debris) and settled in behind it.  47 miles later, the boat called us on the radio to say they were turning off into a protected area to anchor out for the night.  We thanked them for letting us ride their wake.  Our afternoon was filled with listening to the Michigan and then Notre Dame football games and bird watching.  (lots of birds)

We arrived at Eastport Marina in Peoria at 5.  If the Illinois river was at normal level, we would not have been able to stay at this marina due to shallow depth.  But the river is about 2 ft higher so we were good.  The wind had picked up quite a bit and Greg did a great job bringing us in.  The harbormaster and 3 seasonal boaters lined the dock to catch our lines.  That was our first clue that we were going to like Eastport Marina.  A beautiful facility with free laundry and free ice.  We like free!

Even with having a washer and dryer on the boat, I took advantage of the free washer and dryer.

We struck up a conversation with the guys who helped us dock.  They gave us a marina recommendation for our next stop and one of them offered us the use of their car to make a grocery run to Kroger.  We stayed here Saturday and Sunday.  The wind died down and Sunday was a beautiful day.  The guys spent it organizing storage compartments and some maintenance things.  I did laundry, got groceries, cleaned and went back up top to replace some navigation light bulbs.  

The Kay Bird IV (the boat we rafted off in a lock) arrived at Eastport on Sunday afternoon and we had dinner with them.  I mentioned he was a veteran of boating the Loop and we got lots of helpful information.

A shorter trip on Monday to Havana.  (Illinois, not Cuba!)

A tow pushing 4 barges

Starved Rock Lock and Dam

Mike holding the rope at the lock

Getting The Hang of This

Day 3
290 miles to Ottawa, IL

I hope the title of this post isn't a little premature, but we are gaining confidence with every lock we go through and every barge we pass and every floating log we avoid.

We left Joliet at 8:30 am  IL time. Although we are keeping our watches and bodies on MI time, we travel on central time and Joliet is the perfect example why.  The drawbridge in Joliet will not open between 7:30 and 8:30 am, obviously because of morning rush hour traffic.  Traveling on the local time zone saved us from idling in the river while waiting.  All 6 boats that were on the wall with us there left at 7 to have the bridge go up before 7:30.

Our first lock on Friday was the Brandon Lock.  The 3 sailboats that left at 7 were there, waiting to enter the lock.  Sea Mist came along side us to say, when the lock opened, we should go in first because after the lock, we will go faster, and all 3 of them are traveling together (from Canada).
That was a nice courtesy as usually, for pleasure craft at a lock, it is first there, first in.

The Brandon Lock lowered us another 35 ft.  When, at the bottom, and the walls of the lock loom that tall you feel like you are in the belly of a freighter.  Then the doors open and the river spreads out before you.  It is a unique experience.  And so far, we have not grown tired of see the huge barges being pushed by the tows, each with a name honoring a person.  As I used to look at license plates while traveling in the RV, I now look at the tow boats to see their home port.  So far, Houston, New Orleans, other Louisiana cities and some Illinois cities. (We just passed a barge tied up at a dock being loaded with grain).

  The silver lining to only being able to go 10 mph is that we are only going 10 miles per hour. True meandering.  And why not?  There are places on the river that we could speed it up (not another boat or sign of civilization in sight), but on the inland river portion of the Loop, there is no need for speed.  Our goal is not to see how fast we can complete the Loop, it is the enjoy the process.

To give you a visual picture of how we meander down the river (we are still on the Illinois river), Greg is at the helm driving.  There is a seating area right in front of that.  Mike sits there with his chart book and iPad on a table.  Greg has state-of-the-art navigation electronics on the dash in front of him, but Mike confirms everything with the paper charts and an app on his iPad that gives us valuable info on bridge heights, etc.  I sit next to Mike, alternating between writing this blog and going below to prepare food.  All 3 of us are on debris lookout duty.

Just like the tortoise and the hare, we did indeed go faster than the sailboats, but they caught up to us at the next lock, where we had been sitting waiting.  We went down 22 ft. in the Dresden lock.  We learned a good lesson observing the sailboats.  They use their hook poles to push against the wall of the locks to keep the boat away.  We do have bumpers for that, but found the pole helps keep us straight.

For further confirmation of the hurry up and wait life on the river (some people thought that was just the military, or doctor appointments), we caught up to the 3 powerboats that left the Joliet wall an hour and a half before us that morning at our last lock of the day - the Marseilles Lock.  They had been waiting over an hour and we waited, in the pouring rain, for another half hour before entering the lock.  Fortunately, the rain stopped before Mike and I had to go on the deck to do the ropes for lockage.  We had a new experience at the Marseilles.  The lock master asked if we would be OK with rafting off a 73 ft. Hatteras that had just arrived at the lock,  instead of tying to the wall.  We said, "Sure".  The Kay Bird IV went into the right side of the lock first (the other boats our size went to the left wall) and that captain couldn't have been nicer.  He stood on his side, instructing Greg exactly where to line up with him and told us to raise one of our bumpers for better protection.  He grabbed my line and his first mate (wife?) grabbed Mike's line.  We were obviously close enough to carry on a conversation during the 24 ft. lowering.  He had to lower his entire flybridge, radar and satellite to get under the fixed RR bridge back on the Calumet.  He also gave us a marina suggestion for when we get to Peoria.

Having learned our lesson of not having a specific destination in mind on that second day, we made a reservation at Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa, IL.  It was only 2 miles past the Marseilles lock, and the Kay Bird was going there, too, so we followed her in.  We got there at 5:45 local time.
We had yet to see any Asian carp in the river, but while entering the harbor for this marina, we saw several jumping out of the water.  We never saw any more after getting tied up in our slip, which was OK with us as we had heard and read of them jumping into dinghies and even back of boats!  The boat got another washing.

Josh got to spend some time under Greg's tutelage here.  Josh lives about an hour away from Ottawa so he came to visit.  Greg walked him through repairing a side running light while I played with his black lab Ara.  Heritage Harbor is a very nice marina with an on-site restaurant so we had our first meal off the boat.  The antennas that I lowered on Thursday got put back up here.  I wasn't involved in this process as no one had to get up on top.  Greg is tall enough to stand on a little freezer compartment and stick enough of his upper body out the hatch to grab the pole Mike was swinging up to him and clamp it in its pedestal.  It was the Kay Bird captain (with his 20 + years of experience on the river) who told us we were safe from here on out to have the antennas back up.

An example of how pleasure boats need to yield to the barges.  Note the boats on the right side waiting for barge to get under the bridge

3 sailboats in lock behind us

Enlarge this picture to get better idea of the size of the barges

A duck blind on the river.  We were looking for Willy, Phil and Jayce

(Duck Dynasty crew!)

Calumet River

Day 2
244 miles

Did I mention this trip was going to be an adventure?  Oh boy - our second day confirmed it.
For us, the Loop really didn't begin until we traveled the the 35 miles on Thursday from Michigan City to the Calumet River, just south of Chicago.  Having a boat on Lake Michigan, the run on the first day to another port is a normal thing.  But entering the inland river system made us realize we are really doing this.

Being on a boat is like staying at a Holiday Inn Express.  I feel smarter already.  I may apply for my journeyman electrician's license when this is done.  Before leaving Michigan City, we were trying to get one of the newly installed electronic devices up and running.  It isn't essential to making the trip, but will make navigating easier.  Greg was instructing me on cutting, stripping, and splicing electrical wires.

We left Michigan City at 11:30 and entered the Calumet River at 1:30 after passing the flames from the steel mills in Burns Harbor, IN.    Just before the mouth of the river, we put True North into neutral to manually put down two antennas that, when up, wouldn't allow us to pass under many of the fixed bridges on the route.  Being the smallest person on the boat, I drew the short straw to go up  through the hatch on top of the boat to do this.  I said, "Don't you think we should have practiced this before we left?"  Mike and Greg replied, "We did, just not with you!"  So I stood on Mike's shoulders and up I went.  There was little breeze, and it wasn't wavy - you have to be thankful for the little things - and the antennas got lowered.

At the first drawbridge, we saw a barge coming from the other direction.  We were excited that the bridge was up for it and hoped to get through it after the barge passed us.  Barges go 6 mph (slow) and the bridge must have been up for quite a while to let it through because when we hailed the bridge master on Channel 16, he said we would have to wait as he was going to lower the bridge to let the backed up vehicle traffic go.  We waited for over 20 minutes before the bridge opened up.

Then came our first lock - the Thomas O'Brien.  Again, you have to contact the lock master (Channel 14, we learned, after getting no response on Channel 16).  He said they were working on the wall of the lock and it would be about 30 minutes before we could enter.  This time we went over to a sea wall and tied up instead of idling in the middle.  My electrical apprenticeship continued during this
time, which included crawling into a cubby hole behind the dash to connect wires.  (that smallest person on the boat thing again).  But in the end, we have a working AIS.

Our apprehension over locking was eased with this first one as we were the only vessel in the lock (no barges) and it only dropped 3 ft.  To give you an idea of what's ahead, Ludington is at an elevation of 780 ft.  Mobile, Alabama, where we will enter the Gulf, is 0, so between our start and the Gulf, we will have to drop (through locks) that many feet!

After the lock, we got behind a large barge that was going our direction, but in reverse.  The captain of the H. Lee White radioed us to say there was a little space at that point if we wanted to go by him.  We asked which side would he like us to pass him on (inland river etiquette) and he said "Port".  Now, this is the question of the day - if a boat is going in reverse, which side is his port side?  Fortunately, Greg knew because Mike and I would have went on the other side!

We had our "hold our breath" moment not far down the river.  From day one of the planning of this trip, we knew there was a fixed railroad bridge at a height of 19.7 ft.  All the other fixed bridges are higher or the drawbridges will open for you.  If you can't clear this RR bridge, you literally cannot do the loop.  Before getting to this one, we went under a 22 ft bridge that would have opened if we requested it, but the thought was, "If we can't get under this one, we certainly can't get under the fixed one."  At the RR bridge, we listened for a scraping sound that never came.  You also have to be thankful for the big things.  (Some people doing the loop go through downtown Chicago, which would be fun and scenic, but they have a fixed bridge at 17 ft, which is impossible for us.)

Much of the Calumet River is a no wake zone and at one point we realized we had only gone 9 miles in 3 hours.  But we get great fuel mileage at that speed!  The scenery was at first very industrial - there is a whole world of commerce on the banks of rivers that we rarely see.  Then for several miles it was just trees.  We went from the Calumet into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which was much more narrow and more barges.  In the canal we passed over an electrical barrier that prevents Asian carp from heading upstream.  From there we went into the Illinois River.

Now for the good news/bad news part.  The good news is that we handled the rivers, including the locks and bridges and had a really great first day.  The bad news is getting a late start out of Michigan City, and then the hold-ups at the first bridge and lock made us break our rule of not traveling after dark.  Too much debris (we saw a dead deer at one point!) and hard to tie up, especially in an unknown place.  There are no marinas or anchorages after a certain point and we were pass those.  We entered the Lockport Lock in darkness.  Again we were the only vessel in the lock, which dropped us 40 ft.
The lock master told us the drawbridge ahead was having mechanical issues and would not open.  We knew we could not get under it closed.  We radioed the bridge master to check the status and see if he knew of any place we could tie up safely for the night.  He said there was an old barge wall before the bridge.  We decided to tie up and spend the night there.  It was tricky, navigating by a hand-held spotlight.  I wish I could have gotten pictures but we were all too busy.  The wall was covered in vegetation and trees.  We just got all secure when the bridge master radioed that the bridge was open and he would keep it open if we could get there soon. Untying and getting off the wall was just as hard as getting in and in our haste we hit a rock.  We are still able to run, but not above 10 or 12 mph or we get a vibration.  It is a prop, and hopefully just needs repaired and not replaced.  With the bridge open, we tied up at the free wall in Joliet at 11 pm.  A police officer saw us coming and ran up to catch our line.  There were 6 other boats at the wall and we got the last spot.  It has free electric service.  All the boats were Loopers - 3 sailboats traveling together and 3 powerboats.  We didn't get a chance to talk due to the late hour.

So mostly a really great day with a little bit of a bummer ending.

Chicago skyline

Entrance into Calumet River

Lowering the antennas

Into the Calumet.  An example of barge traffic on left

We are low man on the totem pole

For our Harbor View friends.  A reminder of what a marina could look like!

On the Calumet, after the industrial section

Mike holding on in the Lockport Lock

A New Adventure

Day 1
138 nautical miles

Yes, we are "meandering" again!  But this time, we are doing our traveling on a boat, like the koozie says.  Maybe I should start from the beginning:
After several months of serious discussion with Mike's brother Greg and wife Karen, we decided to do what is called "The Great Loop" together, which means taking a boat on a 6,000 mile trip from Lake Michigan down inland rivers (including the Mississippi) to the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida, up the eastern seaboard, into New York and the Hudson river, then taking one of several routes to Lake Huron (either through Lake Erie, to Detroit to Lake St. Claire or through the Georgian Bay) and back to Lake Michigan.
(Please Google the Loop for a much better, more detailed description. I'll also explain more as I post about each leg of the trip).

The first thing to do was find and buy a boat capable of making the trip and accommodating the 4 of us (plus anticipated guests!).  The beginning of 2016 was spent on internet searches, talks with brokers, and attending boat shows.  In May, we found what we were looking for in Penetanguishene, Ontario- a used 53 ft. Egg Harbor boat.  Mike and Greg drove it back to Ludington, having calm, smooth water for the two day trip on Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  Since then, there has been almost daily work, getting it ready for the journey.  Both physical work on the boat and spending hours studying charts and reading books and blogs on the Loop to be prepared as possible.  I'll admit to a little nervousness about the process of going through locks (we will navigate through over 40 of them) and will be glad to get the first one under our belt.

You may remember me complaining a little in my past posts about how often, and how thoroughly Mike washed the motorhome.  The boat takes washing to a whole different level.    I will say we have more help washing the boat as the "admission" to come aboard usually involves being handed a scrub brush!

In July, Mike and I sold our motorhome and moved onto the boat full-time. Another exercise in downsizing!  We will spend the fall getting it down to Florida and then live on it in the Florida Keys during the winter, with Greg and Karen dividing their time between Ludington and being on the boat.
So many great memories over the last 6 years in the motorhome, with the last two having it truly be our home.  Any sadness at seeing it leave was eased by the excitement of this new 2 year adventure.
Our niece Meghan put it best when,  after spending a week on the boat with us traveling around northern Michigan, she said, " Life is simply different on a boat."  We agree.

So this brings me to today - Wednesday, September 7.  The Great Loop Adventure began as we left the Ludington Harbor at 10:30 am under very cloudy skies, but little wind (a good thing), heading for Michigan City, Indiana.  It was Mike and Greg and I, with one meanderer missing.  Karen is going to join us in a few days.  We had lots of rain, and at one point ducked into the South Haven channel to  wait out an approaching storm.  We didn't tie up, just idled in the water and while I made lunch, the storm dissipated so we continued on and arrived in Michigan City at 6:00.  You can probably guess the first thing we did after docking:  washed the boat.  Michael was working in the area so came down to the marina to see us and was handed a brush as he walked on.

We named the boat "True North", which has multiple meanings for us.  Although we will be spending much of our time on it in the south, we know that north (Ludington) will always be home.  We also hope our moral compass always points true north.  But most importantly, we know who our true north is, our hope and our unquenchable light - Jesus.

I have to welcome some new people to the blog - our wonderful neighbors on the A dock and great staff at Harbor View Marina.   All have been excited for us and when I told them I was going to write a blog about our Loop travels, asked to be included.  Nice people - always willing to catch a line!

The official flag of the Loopers Association.

It gives a visual look at the Great Loop route

Getting ready to put the flag on the bow,

identifying us as "Loopers"

Leaving the marina.  Becky on bow, Mike in back

and Greg driving up top

The two captains

True North will not see the Ludington Lighthouse

until she "crosses her wake" and finishes the Loop

in two years! (it's only the boat that will be gone

for 2 years.  The crew will be back next spring)

Resting in Michigan City after washing the boat