September 15, 2004 - view the photos
 
Our journey has ended but we went right back to work so this is the first chance I’ve had to finish our journal.
 
I left you last on the Illinois River in Henry, Illinois. We had planned to travel only to Peoria on Saturday but the sun was shining and we arrived in Peoria about noon. The charts indicated a couple of anchorages further on so we voted to push on. Now, I say we because we were still traveling with our Florida friends Old Grumpy and Hippocantos.
 
The afternoon was warm and clear but the anchorages we had planned on were either not deep enough or there was not room enough for three boats. We tried a marina in Pekin but again the water was pretty skinny for what we draw. I had talked to a marina in Havana, Illinois, earlier in the day but they said they could not accommodate us. About 4 PM I called back to check their status again and explained our problem. They said come ahead and they would try and make room.
 
About 6 pm we radioed them and they had moved some boats around so we could stay in their harbor. Tall Timbers is the marina and they went out of their way to make us welcome. Oil & Water went first into a narrow slip by the bar/patio. Old Grumpy next at the gas dock and Hippocantos rafted off them. By the time we were all tied up there was room in the harbor maybe for a fly. We were off the river and had power and that felt like heaven. The owners were delightful and very kind hosts. Their marina is small and relatively new but if you’re cruising by stop in.

Bob, Bo and Bill went into town for breakfast in the morning and left Cathy, Carmen and I to snooze. When the boys returned we cast off and backed out of the harbor to make our exit.

The day was once again sunny and the temperature was more like an august day. Our next destination was Beardstown, IL. This stop was at the Logsdon Tug Service. You guessed it! We tied off a barge right on the river. For those of you who are boaters this spot was a testimony to boat wakes. The barges passing gave us some wake but the pleasure boaters and jet skies rocked us nicely.

We moved our dinner onto the barge so we could eat without plates rolling onto our laps. It actually was rather nice. We sat in the shade of Old Grumpy and cooked steaks (chicken for me) on an electric grill. We could watch the river rolling along and the sun set. The little gnats decided to join us at dark so we moved inside and turned out the lights.

Our departure from the barge was easy. Push off and let the current move you down the river. We were headed for Alton, Illinois and enjoyed another beautiful morning.

By mid-afternoon the clouds were gathering and we could see green cells approaching on the radar. We thought it would miss us but by Hardin, Illinois, the clouds opened and the rain poured down. Visibility was limited by the rain but also by the fogging on the inside of the cockpit windows. We ran in the wind and rain for about an hour. There were times when all we could see of the boats ahead of us was their running lights and the spots on the radar screen.

Finally, the downpour turned to drizzle and we made our turn from the Illinois to the Mississippi River. The palisades along the Mississippi in Grafton and Alton are beautiful but on this trip they were grey and misty. It was odd to see this part of the river by water. I have traveled the river road by car many times but this was a new experience.

As we approached Alton Marina the wind picked up again. We were ready to be tied up and enjoy an adult beverage so we pushed ahead. We were the last to dock and there standing on the dock was an Eddy Creek friend, John Grounds, waiting to catch our lines. What a nice surprise! Of course it started to rain again but we were under covered slips and stayed dry as we finished the docking process. Annette and the Freeman’s joined us and we all went to dinner at a great riverfront restaurant.

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Alton enjoying the grocery stores and the St. Louis Arch and museum. John and Annette were kind enough to loan us a car so we could enjoy the town a bit.

It stormed both Tuesday and Wednesday night so the river was swift and full of floating debris. We left Alton on Thursday. It was rather gloomy and grey. The lock was quick and we were on our way down the muddy Mississippi. Once again cruising along the waterway that I had spent so many hours driving along during our Edwardsville days was a unique experience. The sight of the arch by water is truly majestic. It rated right up there with the Statue of Liberty.

There are not many marine services along the Mississippi. The last of our trip was a stop at Hoppie’s in Kimmswick, Missouri. We all fueled and received pointers from Mrs. Hoppie on the hazards to navigation as we float down the river.

From Hoppie’s we cruised about 110 miles to Cape Girardeau, MO. The anchorage was the diversion channel, which is really a narrow ditch, off the river that drains the downtown when it rains. Our anchorage was uneventful and we pulled back onto the even muddier Mississippi the next morning. In neutral we were traveling 5 mph. St. Louis had had another night of rain and the debris in the water was everywhere.

We put in another long day but there is just no good place to stop along the river. It is a shame the Army Corp of Engineers doesn’t value the pleasure boaters.

From Cape we cruised to Cairo on the Ohio. We were traveling up river but the current wasn’t bad and there was minimal debris. Once again the anchorages we had planned for were not suitable so we floated on to the mouth of the Cumberland River at Tow Head Island. We were off the river but there was a nice current running beneath us. I got up a couple of times during the night to make sure we were still secure.

Sunday we cruised the Cumberland pretty much alone with the exception of a couple of fishing boats. The Barkley Lock light was flashing green and we went right in and out in about 15 minutes. When the gates of the lock opened onto Lake Barkley I felt like we were home. The landscape was familiar and welcoming.

Not too far down the lake the radio hailed Oil & Water. Bill and Sandy Phelps had come out to escort us home to Eddy Creek. About Kuttawa, Jim and Terry Hylsky joined the parade. Our neighbors, The Reibels, were on their dock waving noodles and flags to welcome us home. It didn’t seem like ten and a half months had passed since we began our journey.

What a trip! It seems like a dream now but every time someone asks about it I can tell another story.

I want to thank Mandy and Bart, Taylor and Kelsea and Marty for keeping the marina going while we were gone. It has been a trip of a lifetime. We may even try it again in a few years.

I would like to thank David at KentuckyLake.com for managing the Eddy Creek website to include the Great Loop entries. I am definitely a novice at this computer thing and he made the journal easy to access for me and I hope for you.

We have made some good friends on this journey and we hope to see many of you cruising along the waterways.