Day 14

Today will officially be two weeks on the river for us. It feels like so much longer. We are really enjoying life on the river and in the marinas. We may not have every luxury or convenience, but we have great laughs and new experiences that we would not trade for our old boring lives at the office. We both can’t imagine going back to the old way, as much as we love our friends and colleagues…
It is the most beautiful day today. The high is going to be in the 70’s. We always seem to be in a marina when the weather is nice. It is a good day to clean up the boat. Wash windows, vacuum, etc… Also a nice day to read in the sun (Grant) or take in a run through the countryside (Tabbie). We hope for a few more of these nice days.
We went up to the lighthouse restaurant attached to the marina to try and catch the game. However, we couldn’t catch the Badger game, and had to settle for the Texas vs. Oklahoma game. Grant ordered an interesting meal of toast topped with meat, then covered with fries and cheese sauce. Called the horseshoe. We stayed long enough to ensure that the Badgers were ahead and then headed back to the boat. Another calm and relaxing evening.



Grants "Horseshoe" diner

Day 13

Last night on the river was very peaceful. At about 8pm, the wind died down, the sky cleared and every star in the sky was visible. However, we did wake to a very frosty boat in the morning. Tabbie almost slipped into the Mississippi when pulling up the anchor. Today we are without any water and our holding tank is full. We have no food left, nothing to drink besides cool-aid and beer and the transmission started to make grinding noises. The good news is that it is a beautiful day and we are making good time. Grant has become more confident on his boat handling skills during the locks, so we haven’t requested any lines today. (Good thing, because Tabbie was napping again) We were able to just float right through. We have finally made it through Iowa, so now we have Illinois and Missouri on either side of the Mississippi. We hope to be to the Ohio river by next Friday. However, this weekend we will chill in Rockport and watch the Badgers game on Saturday. (Yes we are both cheering for the Badgers-Tabbie has no allegiance to the Gophers.)
We ended up at a marina called Twin Rivers Marina. It was a nice marina with covered slips and a restaurant called the lighthouse. They let us use the van and we hurried into town to get some groceries that we desperately needed. Then back to the boat to do laundry (7 loads). Tabbie had to sweet talk the bartender into giving her some quarters because we forgot to get some. But after hearing “our story” she was interested in helping us. Next boat-must have washer and dryer. Even a small one will do.


Bird on a log

Day 12

Left Burlington at about 9:30 again today. It looks like the weather will be a bit nicer. Still cloudy and windy, but at least the sun is trying to peak it’s way out. It was a challenge crossing a large body of water on the way towards Keokuk, but Grant managed the boat fine, as always. Tabbie was taking one of her daily naps. Today I think that she took two! We had about a forty-five minute delay at a train swing bridge today. This put us behind schedule. Then we entered Lock 19, the most interesting of locks yet! This lock dropped between 33-35 feet and emptied out about 34 million gallons of water. We had to tie a rope to a “buoy” on the wall that descended down the wall as the water emptied. Grant held the rope, while Tabbie sat on the bow and pushed away from the wall with her legs to keep the front of the boat from slamming into the lock wall. The gates on this lock were massive and made you feel like you were in a castle. The lock was the length of 4 football fields. All of the past locks that we have encountered had dropped us no more than 11 feet and were about 1/5 the size. As a side note this lock and dam is one of only two dams that actually generate power, the other being the Minneapolis lock and dam #1.
Because of the delay at the bridge and the extra time at the lock, we didn’t make it as far as we would have liked. So we tried to beach the boat on an island, but found that it was too shallow (almost another sandbar incident, but Grant learned his lesson and took it slow). We then anchored it at the end of another island, when we noticed that we would be battling two currents. (Brilliant idea, Grant) But we decided to stick it out, only to find that our generator was not working, a battery had died, we were out of water, and we were STARVING! Grant tried to jump the battery to the generator, which resulted in it being able to start but not keep running. We were going to be without any power, heat and lights tonight. Which meant no warm food….. Until we figured that we could just set a can of beans on the grill and cook a boxed dinner in a cake pan. Calm all your fears folks, we are geniuses! (less the grammatical mistakes) So now we spend the rest of our night in candlelight. It will be an early morning tomorrow. We have to make up for lost time.



Lock Opening (34' drop)


"Pushing" away from the lock wall

Day 11

We started out our day at 9:30. We have decided to try and make it to Rockport Illinois by Friday. About 200 miles away. We are sick and tired of the rain and cold, and we need to get into some warmer weather.
It seems that most of the marinas are closing up for the winter or at the very least are only open on the weekends, which makes it hard for us to find gas. We have to call ahead and keep calling, because they don’t answer their phones very often. We finally find one in Burlington that has gas for us and pull in. A nice gentleman by the name of Chuck ends up talking to us for about ¾ of an hour, giving us tips and details of the trip. (He came up the river this past spring and summer) He even offered for us to use his vehicle. (Twice) Everyone we meet at the marinas are welcoming and extremely nice. People love to talk about their “stories” and give you endless amount of pointers. Which happen to be almost always the same pointers that the previous person told us. But we just politely listen and take what we don’t know out of it. It is helpful, for the most part.
We ended up docking at a restaurant called “Big Muddy’s”. We ate a delicious diner of ribs and catfish and stayed free on the dock. (No anemeties) It rained pretty steady all night. It is getting dark so early now. We always think that it is later than it really is. Then time just slips away and before we know it, it is 11pm. I guess that when you enjoy the company, time has little relevance.



Burlington Bridge

Day 10

Election day. Up and moving by 9:30, cold and cloudy yet again… Mental note: never live in Iowa! We bid Sneaky Pete a farewell, and headed south, only to get caught up waiting on a northbound barge to lock through #14. There was a southbound tow with a single barge also waiting, and we ended up locking in with him. Interesting experience, but no problems… Stopped for gas in Davenport at a marina that said they opened at 12:00. Come 12:30 we realized that they were not going to open, so we had to move on! Called ahead, and found fuel in Muscatine, IA about 20 miles down river. Grant slept the afternoon away while Tabbie piloted the craft (not too shabby by the way). Tied up for the night at the marina, and caught a bit of the election coverage… Good night.

Details for the Day:

Distance: 34 miles
Departure: 9:30 hrs
Arrival: 16:00 hrs
Fuel: 95.3 gallons (115 miles)
Bridges: 7
Trains: 2
Barges: 7
Locks: 2 (#14 & #15, 1/2hr delay on 14; and 45 minutes on 15)


Lock 15

Day 9

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the boat. Will it never end????? Just one nice day, PLEASE! We decided to stay the day in LeClaire. However, after a small tour of the town, which consisted of about 5 city blocks, we find that almost every store, shop, and business is closed on Monday. Including the Buffalo Bill museum. Perhaps this is in observance of Holy Monday. Is this small town part of some strange cult?
We ran up to the Post office to deliver some mail, then decided to check out a cool looking bar called Sneaky Pete’s. The best decision that we could have made. Sneaky Pete’s was a saloon/restaurant that was housed in an old hotel that dated back to the 1830’s. It even had the original tin ceiling, complete with bullet holes. Story has it, according to one bartender that it was an old brothel (Grant was oddly aroused by this…). The bar was made of solid oak, and the dining area was covered with business cards blanketing every inch on the walls, and ties hanging from the rafters. (see picture) No ties are allowed in this bar. They will promptly be cut off and tacked up to the ceiling.
We arrived at the bar at around 1pm, only to find out that the special from 12noon-5pm is .75c draughts and $1.00 domestics. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the afternoon there drinking and eating the salad bar. We also had a buffalo burger. Cost=$15.90 plus 5.00 tip for waitress!!!!! The people were very friendly and Grant made friends with several of the locals. One couple, Ann and George Ginns were we guessed in their late 60’s early 70’s and had a 3 year old great grandson… Small towns! George had lived in La Claire all his life and told us stories about how it used to be the biggest city in Iowa during the time of the lumber barrons. According to him, his great grandfater was a river “Piolet” in La Claire, and guided timber down the river through the rapids. Wow, we somehow covered 7 generations of the Ginn family tree in about 3 beers (45 minutes)…
We went back to check up on the boat and to make sure that the ties were all still intact. The weather was still miserable, so we decided to head back up to Sneaky Pete’s for Monday night football and the taco bar. Still reeling from several beers at lunch, we continue drinking, only so that we don’t fall asleep, at the bar. With lunch still heavy in our stomachs we proceeded up to the taco bar. I think that the tacos may have been what saved us! The grease from the meat soaked up all the alcohol settling in our stomachs. Regardless, we made it through almost the whole game before we decided that we better get back, so that we can make somewhat of a decent start in the morning. Total Cost for dinner and drinks=$20.00 including tip.



Sneaky Pete's


Inside

Ann & George

Day 8

Left today at about 7:30am. Of course Tabbie was still sleeping, so Captain Grant readied for departure. We are headed to Le Claire today, birthplace of Wild Buffalo Bill Cody. There is a museum on the river that we are interested in seeing. Who knew Wild Bill came from these parts? And IOWA of all places? The weather is cooperating today so driving up on top is possible. We need to go 81 miles and with one hour less of daylight at night, we have to cruise. There was more water traffic today. We are starting to see more pleasure craft out and about, along with the usual smattering of fishing boats and barges. Lots of beautiful scenery along the way. We passed under several bridges today that were only several inches taller than the boat. We could touch the bottom of the bridge if we stood up….
Keeping up with all of the major coincidences and odd occurrences of perfect timing that have been occurring since before the day that we left, Grant’s friend Chris from Madison calls Grant. It so happens that he will be passing through the town that we are heading for. We end up meeting at just about the same time. Both Chris and his girlfriend Marie have been criss-crossing the country in his pick-up truck for the last 7 weeks. (Don’t know how you did it) He had compiled a short synopsis of their trip on DVD, so we watched that, as well as several other clips from their adventure. It was a very nice visit. Thanks for stopping to see us guys!
The rest of the night was beautiful. We docked at the municipal marina (free, but no amenities), and Grant made us beer can chicken for dinner. Interesting. I don’t know what people’s obsession in Wisconsin is with beer. But it was good. I am beginning to think that there is nothing in this world that Grant is not good at……


Details for the Day:

Distance: 81 miles
Departure: 7:30 hrs
Arrival: 17:30 hrs
Fuel: N/A
Bridges: 5
Trains: 2
Barges: 4
Locks: 2 (#12 & #13, ½hr delay on 13)


Windmill