Morning came and Kodi needed to do her morning routine; she had held it for 13 hours. So Kodi and I motored over to the eastern bank. Note: Kodi is VERY house/boat broken. She does not have accidents.
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| More Mud. Kodi needs to do her thing |
Fortunately, Kodi does #1 and #2 on command so the process was relatively straight forward. The only complication was the mud and lifting her back into the dingy. We returned to the boat and Diana cleaned her up. I could not resist taking a photo of Guided Discovery in the morning sun.
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| Diana cleaning the mud off Kodi |
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| The mud was on the swim platform and the dingy |
Upon returning to the boat, I decided to get rid of the mud, which I accomplished using river water and a brush. 10 minutes later we were spic and span - well not exactly but we were not going to track mud into the living spaces.
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| Not bad for 10 minutes and river water |
So, up anchor at 9:28am and off to the races. Our goal, Grafton or Alton depending on our progress. The weather AGAIN (7 days in a row) was CAVU, ceiling and visability unlimited, 70 degrees with light and variable winds. WOW!
The cruise down the Illinos was uneventful. We passed an unusual barge along the shore and asked the tow that we had just overtaken what it was. He replied that is was an abandoned riverboat casino. we then saw a group of houseboats tied alon the bank and encountered the Brussells Ferry crossing the river. We also saw tents and indian teepees in that vicinity but did not learn the nature of the event.
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| Abandoned casino |
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| Brussell's Ferry |
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| Teepees and tents along the river |
At 1:14pm we docked at Mel's Place, officially know as the Illinois Riverdock Restaurant. We checked out the menu and decided that that their specialty, smoked catfish, and their other offerrings was not to our cup of tea. That said, the place was unique, the portions were generous and it was full of patrons. 10 minutes later, after Kodi did her thing, we were on our way.
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| Mel's Place (in the background) |
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| Mel's dock was full of boats - They had to make room for us |
At 3:49pm we passed the Grafton Marina, mile marker 0.0 on the Illinois and entered the mighty Mississippi and immediately picked up 2.5 MPH thanks to the rains up north. The scenery also changed and so did the navigation protocol, which I will explain in a moment.
The Mississippi is wider, full of logs and, being Saturday, full of boats. In fact, it was like a weekend on the Chicago waterfront with boaters going hither and yon. In the photo below, we see limestone cliffs that were probably related to the great glaciers millinos of years ago. A very definite change in scenery from the Illinois.
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| Limestone cliffs on the Mississippi |
Navigating on the Mississippi was different that operating on the Illinois. On our Sea Ray Navigator II we can see our boat superimposed on the actual US Government (NOAA) charts. On the Illinois River charts we could see the sailing line and the red and green navigation bouys. On the Mississippi we only see the sailing line. The bouys are not shown on the chart at least not in this segment of the river. However, the channel is marked with green and red bouys. Not a problem. Just different. The other major change are wing dams. These concrete dams along the rivers edge retard bank erosion. They also create a dangerous obstacle that can tear off your running gear if you hit one or worse, sink the boat. Vigilence is required.
72 minutes later at 5:01pm we passed the Argosy Casino and the Clark Street Bridge.
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| Argosy Casino - a big operation |
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| Clark Street Bridge - A beautiful suspension bridge |
A quick left turn brought us into the Alton Marina, one of the nicest marina we have ever visited.
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| The Alton Marina |
The Alton Marina is unique in several ways. First, the slips are covered; we've never seen that. Second, the entire marina including its swimming pool is capable of floating up approximatly 30 feet when the Mississippi floods. The shower facilities are extraordinary and the marina supplies the towels; just like a hotel. There is 24 hour security, friendly staff and its just a 1/4 mile from the Argosy Casino and the dowtown historic district. The cost was only $66.30 per night, which was reduced to $51 with our BoatUS discount. Unbelievable.
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| The caption, "It doesn't get and better than this," is dead-on |
Here's the data:
- Miles Traveled: 72.2
- Cumulative Miles: 348.8
- Locks Traversed Today: None
- Total Locks: 7
- Fuel Used Today: 30.6 Gallons
- Average MPG: 2.3 – Very Nice efficiency
- Average Speed: 9.1 MPH
- Engine Hours Today: 7:50
- Slip Fee Today: $51 per day
- Fuel Purchased Today: 100.7 gallons (@ $3.12 per gallon
- Total Fuel Purchased: 241.1 gallons
- Average Fuel Price: $3.31 per gallon
- Total Slip Fees: $204
- Average Slip Fee: $51 per night.
- Average Dockage: 29 per night (includes no charge events)
The ferry of which you speak is at Kampsville, I think, and there is a permanent setup of the teepees, etc. I have forgotten what it signifies, but if you have a look at Quimby's, I think there is something in there about it.
ReplyDeleteWe have moved home--boohoo!--and are putting the boat away tomorrow. More than ever we will be looking forward to hearing your tales.