Captain's Log: 9/30/10 (Day 13)

I wish I had a picture of this but, I will try to describe it. We were invited to Charlie's loft overlooking the harbor last PM. in Keokuk. Great guy. ( a retired earth science teacher) Thanks Charlie! When we left the marina the main gate was open. When we came back the only way to get back in was thru one of those revolving security gate/doors. The thing is, the key card slot thingy was in the revolving door area. Only one card so we both get in the darn thing and start short stepping thru, put the card in, and BANG we're trapped. The card is not working. So ever try sleeping standing up? After several tries it finally worked. Close call.
     So I mentioned they had elaborate security? Later after just getting into bed.... now..... I know what the sound of bird feet sounds like 6 inches from my head on the bow. But that bird has got to be over 35 pounds. Somebody has boarded our boat. Not sure of their intentions I grab my weapon, a flashlight, and head up. Sure enough, 2 masked intruders on the front of the boat. Caught em red handed or should I say pawed? RACCOONS!!   Lesson----don't leave any food out at night...(we didn't, but they were just checkin' and left!)

We finally caught up with the performing artists (Riff-Raft)  from Minnesota in Hannibal Mo. You can find their blog on the great river magazine web site. They sing and perform about the "ghosts" of the Mississippi river.....

Our first lock thru with floating bollards. They move up and down with your boat for all you northerners that ,like us, have never seen them. Lock 19 is the first lock that has them.

38 foot drop at lock 19, keokuk. The picture doesn't do it justice. big drop.

...look who we found in Hannibal!!!    Guess which one is the "newcomer"!!!  ;-))
Good Nite!!!
   
   
           

Captain's Log: 9/29/10 (Day 12)

keokuk (iowa) yacht club

Everyone that does the Loop always says it's the people you meet along the way that make it special and we are definitely starting to make it special today. Here is a picture of our new friends from the Burlington boat club from yesterday... They passed us today and threw Dorene a T-shirt and then met us at the Keokuk boat club later. Thanks for the drinks! . Just a fun bunch of guys. How can I describe these guys?.. Oh I know! .... For the trip so far: 3 moons received, 1 moon given. (Kris S...you shouldn've been here! we would be even!)    I flashed them also but, I think they were really hoping for Dorene not me!!  LOL....

...a picture of the Burlington, Iowa bridge....this one's for you Lucian!!!  Tell us when you have seen enough bridges---cause we got more to go thru!!! ;-))  Speaking of bridges we stopped cars AND a train for the following picture!....that was pretty cool!!! (do ya think we would have fit under here??)  nope...

    

....finding a place to exercise on a boat can be a problem, but not for Dorene!...  Personally I just haven't been able to find the time! ...upper 70's today, calm winds, and sun....we'd stay here all winter but they say the river still freezes here! 

(A note from Dorene).....the above picture with the guys made us feel right at home!  They had personalities JUST like Doug, Dan, Steve, etc. etc.....)  in fact, the guy next to Jeff was SOOOO like Doug I just called him Doug!!!! (sorry Larry--his "real name")...

Captain's Log: 9/28/10 (Day 11)

30 Below at Muscatine in the morning....what can I say?   This is what it's all about!

Dorene. piloting a railroad bridge. No prob.

     Two locks today, drive up and drive right through. All but one so far . I can't help thinking it will all balance out and we will end up waiting our fair share later on.
      Someone at the Great River Harbor tell jim we were very disappointed today. We had hoped to stay at a marina called "Captain Kirks" but they didn't have deep enough water for us. We didn't feel 3 ft. of water was worth the risk just for a picture with captain Kirk since we can just get one when we get back to Great River Harbor.

Apparently these guys know they are not ducks and are safe.  Or is that the faint sound of banjo music coming from that shack? Nope, not far enough south yet!

Morning dock visitor.    
    
    

Captain's Log: 9/27/10 (Day 10)

Muscatine Iowa. Can't help but think of Burl and Nadine. Pearl Button factory museum. Button "stuff" all over town. Check this out Burl I think I found yet another name for old "scrappy". It's red and white and everything.
     Tonight Mark and Becky M. who bought us b-fast in Guttenberg are hosting us at their home in Muscatine for supper and laundry!!!  Maybe we will be lucky and they will follow us down the river and continue to feed us and do laundry!!  HAHAHA.....thank you sooo much you two!!

This was our morning sunrise view in LeClaire, Iowa...that is the I-80 bridge in the distance....beautiful but chilly morning with fog on the water....

Joyce K.---this one's for you!!  sorry, we didn't get to stop!! ;-))  (Had to make the locks ya know!)  We went thru 3 today with no waiting....probably not going to happen tomorrow but???     (dorene says she misses you too!!)      Our boat at dock in Muscatine!
    

Captain's Log: 9/26/10 (Day 9)

I forgot to Thank Becky and Mark M. for taking us out to B-fast while we waited out wind in Guttenberg. So, Thanks guys.
     Well Joel it looks like you may be right. It seems the lockmasters are not as friendly to pleasure boaters down here as they are up north. Our first lock today had 3 tows waiting and the lock was ignoring our calls. I think we would still be there if we hadn't made contact with the tow operator and he said it was ok to jump in ahead of him. I think a female voice also helps. No, not my imitation of a female voice. dorene's real one.

This is me walking thru the covered slips at LeClaire Ia. It is in an old canal that is not used anymore but, they use it like we use the "Cove" back home. In the summer they have a burger barge that sells burgers and shows movies , weather permitting.

This is a working windmill in Fulton Il. Don't know anything about it but, thought it was cool.

Not far enough south yet!

    
                                                               Good nite.

Captain's Log: 9/25/10 (Day 8)

30 Below in East Dubuque harbor

Finally a day with no wind and no rain . Let's get going!  AND apparently no weeds today. Able to go 1st full day without taking things apart. Stopped in the island town of Sabula Iowa. Had a refreshment at the local V.F.W. and ended up getting lots of river stories from a self titled 80 year young lady "river rat". How come they always want to tell the "extreme" stories? I could really use a sunny,calm story.
      I don't generally feel more important than the next person but, there is something about telling a railroad swing bridge to open and they do it just for your boat. This is one by Sabula Iowa. Ya, they opened just for us.

     Water is still rising but we are still ahead of the major flooding from up north. A little more debri in water . We'll have to see what Sunday looks like. May have to hole up until floods pass.
    Well , time to check the army corp. water predictions. More tomorrow.
     

Captain's Log: 9/24/10 (Day 7)

Wow! What can I say? Just got done looking at all the flooding pictures from back home. Wow! Guess we won't be able to out run that mass of water at 8.2 mph.   We may have to find a safe harbor when it "catches" up to us and sit it out until it recedes.  We will keep you posted!
    No pictures tonight. Got rock and rolled in 30+ mph winds while traveling today. Made it to East Dubuque Illinois...(yes, across from Dubuque, Iowa)... No crashes, lost one fender (one of my favorite BIG ones) . We tried our "man overboard" drill to save it and let's just say , you don't want to fall overboard on our boat. It will probably beat us to Mobile. (and yes, we wear our life jackets ALL the time while underway!
    To all our friends up Nort. Stay dry and safe!!.

Captain's Log: 9/22/10 (Day 5)

...Are we there yet???  This boat hasn't moved all day....something's up!  Maybe I will get up and see.....naw...

...the dog is right, we are not moving!   30 to 40 mile per hour winds predicted for tonite and Thursday, maybe Friday so we may just "sit" it out and relax!!!    The only thing moving today was the people pictured above. My wife calls them "gypsy's" but I'm going to remind her that we are both traveling on the river and THEY probably have a land home!  So.....what are we???   There were 6 of them/(kids) in 5 boats (one in a canoe) and 5 dogs!!! They started in Winona and really have no destination , just enjoying "floating" on the river ...."may" end up in New Orleans!   THEY are the brave ones----Good Luck kids!  We may pass you again......!!

Captain's log: 9-21-10 (Day 4)

(WEED Monster!!!)

Wow! What a day. What is this... week 3? Just seems like it. This morning we awoke to a 3000 lb. weed monster hanging on to our props and rudders. I am seriously underestimating the weight . I could have walked on it . In fact the marina operator said the week before the weeds piled in so hard under a houseboat it lifted it up above its normal waterline. It had to be towed off the weed bed.
     Our marina man, Jeremy, Saved the day with his 90 hp Honda. He tied it off in front of our boat and after several minutes of full throttle the weed monster decided it would be easier to terrorize some unsuspecting victim down stream. We did see it several miles downstream and as we passed it I could swear I saw a family of 7 thaT WERE NOW LIVING ON IT.
      Decision time... weeds gone but, more coming and a T-storm approaching. Stay and get weeded in again or risk the storm. We left.

(Guttenberg Municipal Harbor)

     Drove through rain,not bad, engine overheated in lock 10 because of all the weeds again so decided to stay in Guttenberg just below lock 10. Super glad we did! A brand new marina, off the main channel and best of all for the rest of this year anyway they are letting people stay for free! Free is good. I think we'll stay until Thanksgiving. (jk)

(shells from the beach at Guttenberg)...from the shell factory)

     At least that what my wife tells me!  because the holes indicate that a  button was cut from the clam shell b/f it was discarded.  And the reason I know that is probably true is because Dorene works with the owners of the Mississippi Pearl Queen  (Scrappy)......Nadine and Burl Leo....and THEY know pearls!   We would have never known what these were if it hadn't been for them and their shop in Alma, Wisconsin!!  Thanks and we miss you!!

Captain's log: 9-20-10 (Day 3)

I might as well get it over with and tell ya straight up. My wife saved the boat today! In my defense I was distracted,but that is no excuse.  I was piloting a zigzag course through a maze of floating weed islands which had already clogged our engine intake hoses 2 times before and were about to succeed a third time, when she says, "That red buoy is on the RIGHT.  She could of said Hey stupid that red buoy is supposed to be on the left. She is so tactful, but would have been right either way.

    

     Now we're talkin. I'm going to mount this on the front of our boat to chop weeds! Seriously I have to thank Joe for his help and pat myself on the back a little. We had to alternate shutting engines down and blowing weeds out. So I spent a good share of the morning in the bilge, while Dorene acted as captain. (much better than me)

(mcgregor marina)

(bird sanctuary)

     Tomorrow should be interesting. We are parked on a dock on the channel and as we speak literally hundreds of pounds of weeds are piling up on our running gear. They sell Hondas where we are at so the pictures for all the people (that care)at Great River Harbor back in Alma, Wi.

Captain's log: 9-19-10 (Day 2)

Thanks for the wake up call Susie. I think I corrected the dates but I am a boater not a blogger. Keep me on track. .
     Today , whatever the date is, it is day 2. The good, the bad, and the ...... First the good:  overcast day but no wind, water like glass , a little warmer than yesterday. Must be because we are 51 whole miles farther south. That means we averaged 7.2mph. All and all a good day on the water.
     We went through our first railroad swing bridge near LaCrosse. Just as we were about to follow a bigger boat through the bridge started to swing shut. Hey why are they doing that? I call the bridge guy and he says there is a train coming. Ok ,I can live with that, I'll wait. Bridge guy says it looks like you'll fit. I say I'm about 16+ feet how high is the bridge? He says "about 18 feet but I can't guarantee that. Why don't you just creep up and see"? ...Well I can think of several reasons. Going downstream is one of them, but he's not opening it so........ Dorene said we cleared by a foot . I thought maybe two. Let's not do that again.

     The bad: We think we sucked up some weeds as we went thru our 1st lock today...because shortly after that our exhaust manifold began to overheat.  The GOOD news---is that we were able to alternate engines and limp into Lansing, Iowa for the nite. The better news---is  that our good friend and mechanic Joe talked us thru a preliminary diagnosis.... So, tomorrow we will begin "butt up out of the bilge"....cleaning strainers; hoses and checking water pump impellers.....
....and yes, ONE more eagle pic cause there were TWO (mates) that followed us for a longggg time...not sure if they wanted us to feed them OR just making sure we made it safely!!! ;-)  Thank You!!!

more pics from Day 1

...since I (Admiral, Captain's wife, 1st mate)  like pictures here are some more of our 1st day!!  and YES I like Eagles.....!!! 

Those of you that know us already know these pictures, but since we have other "boaters" from our AGLCA website we thought you may like to see some of "our" sights on the upper Miss.   Traveling down the river I have to say I truly do appreciate this part of our country as it is amazing and most beautiful!!!  The trees are starting to turn so yes it's chilly in the mornings!!  The pics I have posted for you other "boaters" are of the Winona, MN. bridge; a floating "bar" above Winona by Lock 5A (if you have to wait for a barge!)....the "Stairway of Water" shows the locks from Mpls. to St. Louis (if your interested!) 
.....our harbor hosts from Great River Harbor near Alma, Wis.  (our summer home)...(Janet and Hale Evans)...do stop in if you are ever in the area..they have a great bar and restaurant in the summer!!!!  we will miss you!!!!

Captain's log: 09-18-10 (Day 1)

8:00 AM Sat. Ready to go!!!.... No wait. The captain neglected to do a trial run on loading the dinghy. Theory didn't work like reality. I needed 2 eye bolts, none at the marina, none in Alma, so 20 miles later Ready to go again!!! So official start time 11:50 AM on 9-18-10. So if this was a race we are already 4 hours behind schedule.  For anyone who's just joining us ,just a reminder, this is NOT a race and there is NO schedule!

     Day started out cool,no ,Cold and rainy. Overcast all day until sun came out for a beautiful sunset at our 1st stop at Trempealeau marina..fittingly called "Sunset Bay Marina"

     Eagles are like sparrows on the upper Mississippi so I promise I won't let Dorene post 5000 pics of them but, here is one.

     Note from the Dog:  Did I mention that I voted to leave in August? This may be my spot till the end of this nightmare.

Captain's log: 9-16-10

It was a dark and stormy night. No, really it was. And it looks like that is the way this story/adventure is going to begin for real. Lightning strikes so close last PM that it blew our GFI breakers on one side of our boat. Rain is forcast every day for the next week. We will leave rain or shine Sat. or Sun. (barring no wind)
      Gas gauge read 1/2 tank so we filled her up .  Only took 210.9 gallons. You do the math I can't do that high of numbers.

     Did I mention I have a tendancy to break things? Broke the handle on the pump out hose tonight...Sorry Jim! I'll have to leave in the middle of the night if this keeps up. In my own defense, I set it down gently and when the hose rolled over the plastic handle got stuck in the crack of the dock (crack kills)

      I don't know if it will show up in this picture, but after the rain there was a beautiful rainbow over our boat. Of course if you took the picture from a different angle it was over Wabasha but I like to think it was over our boat. It's my blog so it can be over my boat if I want it to be.

Captain's log: 9-14-10

We have really gotta get out of here soon. The marina is feeling way too much like home. You know that land kind of place with "roots" and everything. I can't even walk home from work down the dock without a potluck breaking out.
     last night we had a wonderful sunset cruise on the Mississippi Pearl Queen or was it Scrap Iron or just plain Srappy? The boat is still metamorphizing, Is that a word? A 1964 Whitcraft still kickin.

     The top dog in the marina, an 11 year old yellow lab, named Hunter was waiting on the dock behind our boat this morning. He has chosen a few select campers that he stops at while making his "rounds" every day. We are honored that we have been chosen. The carrot cake he had for breakfast probably swayed his decision to consider us.  I hope he isn't too upset when he returns next week and finds a hole in the water where our boat once was. I'm sure it will leave a hole, it has been there sooo... long.

Captain's log 9-11-10

 Well it's "going away party time" Friends in St. Charles threw us a bon voyage party Friday night. Thanks guys! I guess we can't chicken out now. I'll try to post pictures of that delish. boat cake later.
     Saturday we finished up final boat projects with a $450 trip to Fleet farm and then later Dorene ran the Karaoke at the bar for the last time this year. Great turnout , more good-byes

     Since this blog is kind of a personal diary for me to look back on I have to mention the dog incident the night before last. No details, no names, but let's just say....you should know which way the dog is facing BEFORE you reach in the kennel to see if they are in there! It involved a digital exam and a very suprised dog. ( I didn't know dogs could look suprised.)
      Sunday we did our annual sunset cruise that we auctioned off for cancer. The same lovable bunch of ladies bought it again this year. It was a wonerful time. Thanks for coming ladies!

(Carole,Marlene,Izzy, and Dorene)


NOTE FROM DOG:  Do they have child protection services for dogs? I gotta get off this ship!

Norway friends..(fellow river travelers) (9-9-10)

..these are 2 fellows we met here that built their authentic Norwegian rowboat (hope that's right?). They are "rowing" all the way down the Mississippi.!!!  Whew--more energy than I have!  Eddie and Jon....we are hoping to see you on our journey!!  (Did I mention Eddie is chef???) hint, hint....

Safe journey's to our new friends!!!!!

Captain's log 9-7-10

    Well time to leave port is getting closer. Time to panic started a week ago. It's time to change all my boating theory into actual experience. I'm thinking of installing the fenders like these we saw on last weekend's trip to madeline island, Bayfield Wi.

      Apparently Dorene is not as concerned as you can see from her choice of  boat !

Well followers, or should I call you crew? That's all for now. Stand by, stay dry.  Oh, I should start with some weather notations... 40 mph wind gusts today. Definitely know we live on a boat today.