TERI ANN: Grafton

9/11/14- 9/17/14

We got an early start because we planned to travel 100 miles today. Good places to spend the night along this stretch of the river are few and far in between. We left Havana at 6:15 AM. The forecast said the day would be beautiful with clear skies and bright sunshine all day. As usual, the forecast was wrong! It was cloudy, rainy and there was a bone chilling dampness in the air. We were so cold that we started the generator to run electric heaters an the bridge. Because of the heavy rains the river was flooded and the current was pushing us right down the river. The current was about 2.5 mph, so we were able to travel at 12 mph. We were making great time, but had to dodge lots of debris and huge timbers. In some spots there was so much debris that it was difficult to find a clear path through. We actually hit a big tree. Only a small branch was at the surface. When Al realized the branch was attached to a submerged tree it was too late to turn. He put the engine in neutral and hoped for the best. We heard it hit the hull and bounce down the keel. When it was safely past he put it in gear again. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be any damage to the running gear. The next issue we had to deal with was clearence at the bridges. We had looked ahead and knew we could go right under all of them. Now that the river was 12 ft. higher, we would have to wait for some of the bridges to be raised so we could go under.

The flooding did have one good benefit. Because the water was so high at the LaGrange Lock the wickets were down. The wickets are normally up and act as a dam. The only way to pass is to go through the lock chamber. With the wickets down you travel right over them and don't go through the lock chamber. After having to go through so many locks on this trip it felt odd to go around one. Al had to ask the lock tender twice for directions, to make sure we were going right.

We arrived at our planned stop at the Riverdock Restaurant at 3:15 PM. We tied up and were looking forward to relaxing awhile, then going to dinner at the restaurant. We heard that they had great food. After spending a few minutes here Al wasn't happy with the location. The boats were exposed to the river current & all the debris coming down the river. He felt sure that we would be hit all night by the huge trees and logs in the water, and our boats could sustain serious damage. Plus he wasn't happy with the way the dock was attached to the land. He could picture the dock breaking loose in the swift current and the dock with our boat attached could be swept downriver in the dark. I called the Grafton Harbor Marina which was another 20 miles downriver. They said they were full, but would let us stay at the fuel dock over night. They would be able to have a slip for us tomorrow. We decided to keep going and got to the marina at 5:20 PM. That's a new record for us, 120 miles in one day. The previous record was 100 miles in a day. Summerland, the boat we were traveling with decided to stay put. The next day they reported being unable to sleep, as they were hit all night with debris. In the morning they had to dislodge a big timber that was wedged between their bow & the dock. We were happy to see them pull into Grafton Harbor without any serious damage to their boat. Al just hates being right all the time, but both Row & Gus said he was right not to stay at the Riverdock. Plus the food at the restaurant wasn't great.

We stayed at Grafton Harbor Marina, dubbed "The Key West of the Midwest," which is located at mile marker zero on the Illinois River where it empties into the Mississippi River. The point where the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers come together is known as a "confluence". The marina is running a special on dockage. If you pay for 3 nights, you get one night free. If you pay for 4 nights, you get 3 nights free, so we'll stay here a week.

There are currently 30 looper boats at this marina. Because there's so much debris in the water it's not safe to travel on the river. We hear that you should wait 2 days after the river crests for safe travel. The river is expected to reach it's peak flood level on Monday. There's also no marinas on the Mississippi, so you have to anchor. With the water at flood level there's no good spots to anchor. We also heard that further downriver on the Ohio River there was a problem with lock 52 causing it to be shut for several days. This caused a back up of tugs and barges which would take several days to clear. With all this going on at one time on the rivers no one is in a hurry to leave.

We plan to rent a car and go sightseeing. On Thursday we'll head 20 miles downriver to Alton Marina and see how conditions on the river are before going further.

Muddy, muddy water

The water is up so high that the riverbank isn't visible. The water goes right up to the treeline.

The current & heavy debris is getting caught on the buoys & pulling them under

LaGrange Lock

The wickets are down due to flooding so we drive right over them.

Grafton Harbor Marina

Al fixing the ice maker

We didn't want a covered slip because our satellite TV wouldn't work.

This is our new slip. We had to move to get a better wifi signal.

The sun finally came out Saturday 9/13/14

Sunrise at Grafton 9/14/14

A pirate ship cruises by Grafton Harbor

Our rental car 9/15/14

The view from Aerie's Winery

We drove to Alton, that's the next town down the river where we will stop

Years ago they mined the limestone and left caves

The Piasa (/ˈpaɪ.əsɔː/ py-ə-saw) or Piasa Bird is a Native American dragon depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on bluffs (cliffsides) above the Mississippi River. Its original location was at the end of a chain of limestone bluffs in Madison County, Illinois at present-day Alton, Illinois. The original Piasa illustration no longer exists; a newer 20th-century version, based partly on 19th-century sketches and lithographs, has been placed on a bluff in Alton, Illinois, several hundred yards upstream from its origin.

9/16/14

Sunrise

We drove to St. Louis to go sightseeing.

The famous arch

When we bought tickets to see the arch, they said there was a tram to the top. To me it looked more like a tiny astronaut pod. The doorway was only 4 ft. tall and there were 5 tiny seats inside. We were all squished together and you couldn't even sit up straight. It took 4 min. to get to the top. It seems a lot longer when you're claustrophobic like I am.