FRIDAY JUNE 8TH, 2012

This is Quarters One at the Rock Island Arsenal. Built in 1872 it was the residence of the highest-ranking official at the arsenal. Over the years, many have lived here. It is the second largest federal residence in the U.S. next to the White House.

Before it was an arsenal it was a 946-acre Army post. It was later used as a Union Army prison for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. It is now the largest government owned weapons plant in the U.S.




We took this photo as we passed by where Tom and Diann Lanum live. Great spot on the river! Tom had his VHF radio on, spotted us and wished us well as we passed by. We sure did enjoy spending time with them last night.



We spotted the flag on this marker buoy from a distance. At that point we couldn't tell that it was the stars and stripes. Immediately we were concerned that the flag on a buoy represented some danger. Symbols, colors and shapes are used to convey information to boaters. When we were close enough we realized it was our flag, placed there by some proud American.






The water continues to rise and the current is getting very fast. Trying to dock at the Clinton marina was a challenge to say the least. After several failed attempts to enter a slip they wanted us in, we said no and told them we wanted to tie along the t-head at the end of the dock. The current was strong going one direction and the wind was strong going the opposite direction. It was somewhat of a rodeo getting to the dock and all secure but we finally did it.

It was late Friday afternoon at this point and people were starting to head out for the weekend. We all laughed when we saw this “redneck pontoon” being pushed by.

The water pump in the air conditioner is acting up. Great. Just in time for the 90 degree weather expected this weekend. The guys fiddled with it but to no avail.

Made creamed chicken, peas, carrots and onions for supper. Had it over buttermilk biscuits. Oh yeah!

THURSDAY JUNE 7TH, 2012

We left  pretty much at first light. The weather is holding and this morning the river was like glass. But our peaceful, tranquil morning was suddenly disturbed by a flock of starlings. What is it with these guys? They swarmed around the boat, landed on it, hopped around and then flew off toward shore. A few minutes later another group arrived. This went on for about half an hour.

We finally realized they were picking up dead bugs on the boat. Maybe starlings aren’t as worthless as I always thought!

At this point in the blog, there really isn’t much more to add. We’ve already traveled this section of it. So I guess I’ll give you a biology lesson instead. Starlings aren’t native to the U.S. They were brought here from Europe by a guy named Eugene Scheffland back in 1890. He wanted to introduce all the birds that were ever mentioned in Shakespeare’s writings. Starlings nest twice a year with an average brood of 4-6. Asian carp seem minor compared to the starling plague unleashed by Scheffland.

The locks remain the main factor in how long it takes for us to travel each day. If we knew where barges were in relation to the lock we could plan our speed better to avoid waiting at the locks. Leave it to Tami to find a website on her I-phone that lists activity at each lock. Between her info and Mark’s calculations we could make our travel much more efficient.

This is a tow that radioed us to warn us that he had lost his steering.   

This meant that he had lost an engine. Hence the black smoke. He was waiting for help and was just trying to maintain it in position. His cargo is something volatile so it is referred to as “red flag”. Somewhere on each barge is a small metal red flag marking it such.

We stayed the night at the Lindsay Park Yacht Club at Davenport, Iowa. A beautiful marina. The first Loopers we ever met were Tom and Diann Lanum. This is their home marina. We had a joyful reunion catching up on one another. We had a wonderful meat at the club’s dining room. The members were all friendly, and of course Tom and Diann knew everyone.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 6TH, 2012

The water rose several inches over night. Because of this, Ross wasn't quite so worried about us getting stuck again. Just to be on the safe side Tami, Mark and I sat out on the bow as we left in    case our “lard” was needed again.

With each lock we pass through we find those pools holding back more and more water. All that Minnesota rain that fell a couple of weeks ago is finally making its way to this point in the river. The high water lifts all sorts of things off the edge of the shore. This is a picture of a water logged tree trunk that passed close to the boat.  These are a constant danger and we are constantly watching for them. Even so, we miss seeing some as they are sometimes barely visible above the water.


The day was quiet, and long. 20 miles short of our planned destination for the night we had to wait for a swing of this bridge. We were told it would be a 10 minute wait as a train was coming. And hour later the train had long passed and we were still waiting, fighting the current. The bridge finally shared that something was broken and needed repair. We started to formulate Plan B. Just before enacting it the bridge swung open and we were back to Plan A; the free dock at Big Muddy’s restaurant at Burlington, Iowa.






Because of the holdup at the bridge we arrived late in the day. Because of the high water here the current was really ripping. We made certain that the boat was good and secure and then headed up to Big Muddy’s for a late supper.

TUESDAY JUNE 5TH, 2012

The Mississippi is much busier with tow traffic than the Illinois was. It is an issue for us because they outrank us at the locks and it takes a tow about 1 ½ hours to pass through each lock. Having to wait this amount of time at several locks each day really slows down our progress.

This was our first lock for today. Our hearts sunk when we saw one tow already in the lock and this great big one all tied up and ready to go behind it. This barge is almost as large as they can be for this part of the river. It is pushing 15 containers and has one additional tied up to the right side of the tow. If the tow had one tied on to its left side it would be at the maximum.

The towboat captains do an amazing job navigating and moving this immense weight of cargo around. Each single container holds the equivalent to 60 Semi truckloads.

Bless the heart of this captain as he gave permission to the lock to allow them to let us pass ahead of them. All we need to do is sneak in through the opening between the lock wall and the yellow cell that the front row of barges are tied too.




The water was squirrely and it was creepy going in between all that, but we made it.






We passed by Hannibal, Missouri. The home of Mark Twain. We could hear calliope music emanating from shore. We think the riverboat along the shore is a museum about Mark Twain and it was the source of the music.





We arrived in Quincy, Illinois fairly early in the day. We were lucky with the locks today so the travel day was shorter than we planned for. The water levels here are very low and we got stuck as we tried to enter the marina where we were to stay. Tami, Mark and I went as far forward as we could and stood on the bow pulpit. It lifted the stern up just enough for the props to clear and we were moving again.

The marina had power hookups, only they didn’t work. So it was a bit like camping. Lucky for us it cools off at night so it was comfortable to sleep.











We weren’t within walking distance of town so we called for a cab. We told them we needed it for 4 people but this what showed up. I figured if we could all cram into this, it would take the “jaws of life” to get us out! . Plus our driver took up plenty of space to begin with.  I’m sure it looked like a clown car when we arrived at the restaurant.






View of the Pier restaurant from the water where we went for dinner.











Today was my 59th birthday! My children, family, and friends called, texted or emailed me. I had a wonderful dinner with my husband and good friends Mark and Tami Heimer. Life is good!

MONDAY JUNE 4TH, 2012

This picture is taken from the back of our boat. It is where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi. The majority of Loopers take a left at this point and head downriver. But we take a hard right, and after so many, many months have our nose pointed toward home.

This is a perfect example of a wing dam. Piles of rock and rubble are strategically placed in hundreds of areas along the river. Before the lock and dam system was built, this was the only way of directing the flow of the water to a main channel. They are still used to direct water flow but the locks, dams and dredging are much more critical to the channel depth. The majority of wing dams are only visible when the water level is low.  This is why it is so important to pay attention to where you are in the channel and were the marker buoys are. If this wing dam was below the surface and you strayed on the wrong side of the buoy, it would cause severe damage to your boat. Possibly sink it if you were going fast.

The first of many locks as we travel upriver.

Stopped for the night at Two Rivers Marina in Rockport, Illinois. They have a very nice courtesy van so Tami and I took advantage of it and made a grocery run.

SUNDAY JUNE 3RD, 2012

Ross and Mark were awake early so they got us underway. The queens were allowed to sleep in!

 But the queens knew enough to get up before the kings drank all the coffee. The river surface was like glass. All seemed peaceful as we sipped our coffee and enjoyed the tranquility and beauty of themorning.

In all these miles of travel with the doors and canvas open we have never had a problem…till now!

A black starling flew in the back door. He tried to get out, but couldn’t. He was so frantic, that lets just say it scared the purple berries out of it.

I covered it with a towel and held it just long enough for Ross to take a picture.



















When I started to loosen my grip to release it he took off so fast that he left some tail feathers behind. Oops. Sorry pal.

We are getting much closer to the Mississippi with each passing mile. The landscape is flattening out, there are sandy beaches along shore and it definitely has taken on the look of the river back home. We stopped for the night at Grafton Harbor marina. We are still on the Illinois River, but from our slip we think we can see where this river meets the Mississippi.


This is a very nice marina. We took advantage of both the private showers and the laundry. While the clothes were in the dryer we walked across the parking lot to a small winery that also offered several varietal beers on tap. Not knowing what any of them were, they gave me little samples to try so I could choose. It was a warm steamy day so we sat outside at a table and listened to the band play.


Decided to grab supper at the Big Kahuna Grill overlooking the marina and Illinois River. One of the specialties was an appetizer called “Crabby Balls” so we figured we best try some. Well we’re not certain if there was even any crab in them. I think they were mostly ramen noodles. We gave it a thumbs down. Even the pina colada dipping sauce it came with didn’t help.  The fried fish sandwiches we ordered were good though. We joked that it was probably Asian Carp.

SATURDAY JUNE 2ND, 2012

Our friends the Heimers arrived this morning. They drove from Minnesota and will travel with us the rest of the trip home. Kirk left for home in their car. Worked out pretty slick.

Pretty quiet on the river today for the most part.

Our one bit of excitement was when we passed this group of guys bow hunting for Asian carp. We slowed down and watched while they made several passes back and forth in the shallows along shore. I think we were as vocal hooting and hollering as they were as the fish would jump out. You can see by the photo that one guy drives and the other two have their bows at the ready. You might have to click on the photo to enlarge it enough to see, but they have a line attached to the arrow so they can retrieve it. This time it looks like the carp got away!

There aren’t any marinas in this section of the river to stay at, so we were grateful to be able to tie up for the night along this crane barge at Beardstown, Illinois. For those of you wondering why Beardstown sounds familiar it is where a group of ladies formed an investment club, were very successful at it and eventually published a book as to how to go about starting your own club. The average age of these gals when they formed the club was 70. Senior power!!!




A local recommended a good place to eat up town called The Café From Yesterday. We laughed about the name figuring they served leftovers or something.



















The inside had a tin ceiling and the walls had many old photos of the area from the early 1900’s. By the time we finished the meal we understood more the “yesterday” part of the name. The menu and its prices looked like they were out of the 60’s.  For $7.99 we had a large dinner salad, 3 giant pieces of fried chicken, a pile (and I mean a pile!) of real mashed potatoes and made from scratch gravy. Plus a giant corn meal muffin. I get plenty of ribbing from people for taking photos of my food. Well I wish I had taken one of this meal because describing it doesn’t do it justice. We all brought home leftover containers that will be lunch for the next 2 days. Cripes, can’t hardly eat at McDonalds for $7.99!