Leaving Hoppies and the fog!

Three boats left Hoppies heading down the Mississippi. You can see the sun shining on our boat and light fog. Then we met a fog bank and you can see our boat going into the fog. The first boat radioed that he was turning around and coming out. We turned and then the fog started chasing us up river! It wrecked havoc with our fuel economy for the day since we went a few miles in the wrong direction! We waited it out.

Alton to Hoppies

Our first lock of the day. The bridge right next to Alton Marina. St Louis from our boat.

Hoppies, Kimmswick, MO

38 21.514N

90 21.627W

We are now attached to a barge in the Mississippi River. There are not many places to stop along the river and we have been planning along with other boaters where our next stop will be. This is Fern, she is quit important among the loopers. She has vast information on anchorages and the river. She has people checking places out up and down the river for hundreds of miles and letting her know about shoaling and deadheads and debris. We have now gone 2,253 statue miles and we are still talking! Hoppies has been in the family since 1938.

You can see how high the water has been in the recent flooding along the Mississippi.

St Louis, MO

We arrived in Alton in time to rent and car and drive to St. Louis. There is no place for a pleasure boat to stop in St. Louis. The arch is pretty impressive and the ride to the top is something else. The courthouse in the background is where the Dred Scott decision was made.

Alton Marina, IL

38 53.035W

90 10.579

We were surprised to see the cliffs along the Illinois River. Our Lady of the Rivers stopped the flood waters here and they built a shrine in 1952.

Alton Marina is actually on the Mississippi. We have just begun our trip down the Mississippi

Dock at Illinois Resturant

39 09.205N

90 36.983W

A much more comfortable stop for the night. As you can see the ramp to the dock is underwater! We shared the dock with two other loopers. One couple from California, Grape Escape, and a single from Tennessee, Dream Seeker.

Mortland Island Anchorage

39 06.956N

90 36.768W

As you can see the islands are under water. We anchored off the river behind this island but the current was running very fast and we were only anchored a few minutes when a log hit the boat. We decided to up anchorage and look for something better. We saw some more white pelicans.