Thursday we began the long trek to Paducah, KY. Between Alton Marina and Paducah there are only two places to tie up for the night and its a long haul and not one I was looking forward to. We started traveling this part of the adventure with 3 Ranger Tugs and a Lord Nelson Victory Tug—We are the tug convoy. We left Alton at 6:30am after the lock-master at Mel Price Lock and Dam gave us the go-ahead. Smooth “sailing” thru that lock, the Chain of Rocks L&D and then St Louis.
44 miles after we started the day we arrived at Hoppies in Kimmswick, MO. This place is a legacy in the Looper world. It isn’t much to speak of, but we were very glad to be able to tie up for the night. Hoppies is 2 floating barges and a fuel barge. So when a tow motor up/down the river, the barges and our boats all moved in unison with the waves and the floating barges all groaned in unison at the disturbance. It’s a wonder that these floating barges handle all the waves created by the passing tows.
Lunch was at the Blue Owl in town which was a nice walk from our boats. This restaurant is know for their pies and they didn’t disappoint. They serve a Levy-high apple pie that is over 6″ tall.
Later that day, one of the owners of Hoppies (family run since 1934) gave us a run down of the miles ahead of us. I didn’t come away from the talk feeling very positive and the “homesick” feeling was very real. The upcoming section of the river feels very daunting for me as there won’t be any marinas and we have to anchor for 2 nights in a row.
Friday was a long day of travel-about 10 hours at 11mph thanks to the current on the Mississippi. We finally arrived at our anchorage spot, Little Diversion Creek. Our first try to anchoring didn’t hold, so with the help of the other loopers we moved upstream and anchored for the night successfully (mostly). When the sun goes down and you are away from the city lights it is so DARK.
Saturday morning we were all ready to head out at 6:30 and enter into the current of the Mississippi. We finally reached the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi and turned up the Ohio against the current. Now we were going about 6MPH against the current. We had about a 3 hour wait for the next lock, but are now anchored on the Ohio River for the night. The sunset was spectacular and now all you can see are the anchor lights from the other boats anchored around us. It is pitch black once again. We grilled hamburgers for supper and enjoyed the quietness of this new location. Tomorrow Paducah and we get to tie to the dock. Beginning to appreciate small things =).
Tim & Martha's trip around the Great Loop 