The Mighty Mississippi

We began our trip down the Mississippi by traveling through two locks in the first 20 miles.   We passed a small paddle wheel boat that we think was home-made.

It was at the Alton Marina.  They were making a documentary of their trip.  The locks were easier since they had two chambers, one for small boats and one for larger commercial boats.   We passed a barge in the canal before the first lock because they were too big for the small chamber and it was ready for us. The locks were a bit different because they had a small wall that lifted instead of gates that closed. 

We then got into the Mississippi River and found that we had 4 mph current which helped a lot on fuel economy.  There are also a lot of weir dams that help control the water flow, but from what we saw it churned up the water and made whirlpools.  You had to keep away from them because they were just under the water line and you did not want to get stuck on one.  St. Louis was not far from the second lock.  There were a lot of industry and bridges as we approached downtown St. Louis.

The current was strong as we went by the Arch, but we were able to get photos of our boats with the arch as we went by.  We always thought that this would be a good riverfront area for tourists but now that we see how the water flows through this area, we can see why St. Louis has not built any city marinas or day docks.

Once past the downtown area, we entered into an area where barges were everywhere!  Stacks of them were anchored out in the river, and also tugs were moving many around.  It was not too difficult to maneuver around them, but it kept you on your toes.

We thought we might stop in at Hoppie’s which used to be a fuel stop, 40 miles south of Alton.  They had been damaged by the flooding and their fuel tanks went under water so no fuel in 2019.  The docks did not look that great and after taking a closer look we decided to keep moving south. 

We heard of a lock wall that was off of the Mississippi River that you could tie to.  As we went south we passed a man canoeing (would rather have a motor) and a familiar house boat that we met in Chicago at Hammond Marina.

We pulled into the river where the lock wall was, and the water was nice and calm. Only one other boat was there. It happened to be the same Loopers (Happy Trails) that helped us tie up in Hammond Marina in the wind (near Chicago). The houseboat also arrived a bit later

The lock wall was free with one catch, you could not walk off the wall.  To get to land you had to use your dingy, which we do not have.  Bubba and Anne have one but it launches from the swim platform and the platform would not go down.  Therefore, their dog, Dexter, had to rough it.