RIVER SYSTEM: DAY 104: Alton IL to Hoppies Marina in MO

Alton to Mel Price Lock: 4.7 mph; 1.8 miles; 0:23 hours

Mel Price Lock to St Louis Gateway Arch: 8.2 mph; 13.0 miles; 1:35 hours

St Louis gateway Arch to Chain of Rocks Lock #27: 8.6 mph; 5.0 miles; 0:34 hours

Chain of Rocks Lock #27 to Hoppies 8.9 mph; 21.8 miles; 2:27 hours


Total Time: 6h 15m

Luck is with us again! The lead boat called the Lock Master at 6:30AM and locked us though after a 10 minute wait. I think the trick is to make the call early. 


Mel Price Lock: DOWN 23’

Floating bollard; you tie one end of the rope to your boat mid-cleat, then ‘lasso’ the bollard with the open end, and use a boat hook to help you hold your boat in place.

This Lock Master allowed six Loopers to lock through with the dredging crane - very cool.



FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD - GO LEFT! IT'S A GIANT ARROW! How that sailboat missed the signage is beyond my thinking!
Emergency crews were called in and the people were saved but the boat was unsalvageable.

Chain of Rocks Lock #27: DOWN 12’
Floating Bollards. Yikes! We were told to ‘float’ in the chamber! LegaSea doesn’t have bow-thrusters! Jim is so good with this boat and we simply stayed in place - what a captain!

Passing the St Louis Gateway Arch

We took pictures of the other Loopers as they passed the center of the Arch. When we were finished, another Looper did the same for us!



Hoppies Marina: Kimmswick - Imperial, MO

Last stop for gas/diesel. It’s 208 miles to Paducha and 257 to Green Turtle Bay.


The marina is a floating barge with fuel tanks. $57/night with electric. We had one 30 amp plug because of our location on the barge; which I refer to as ‘the honeymoon suite’ because we were alone, had party lights, and a deck chair. To physically get off the barge required some ninja-like skills to crawl through some metal beams and up a rusted ladder that is strapped to another barge - but the legs of the ladder are wedged into another metal beam; so, good to go! 



HOPPIES 4:30 PM BRIEFING: Passing the torch

The nightly debriefing of the river has been passed from the legendary Fern to her daughter Deborah. Deborah is just as knowledgeable as her mother and almost a spitting image. 


EXPLORING KIMMSWICK

It is a quick walk into town from the marina. We went to the Blue Owl Restaurant in town and had the famous Mile High Apple Pie with caramel and pecan topping. This quaint little town has become a tourist destination with busses and oversized vehicles. The houses are ancient with gingerbread trim and so much stone work - simply beautiful. 



The Anheuser-Busch family home is here and has recently been donated to the town for use as a wedding/festival venue. It’s huge but not pretentious and overlooks the Mississippi River. When Mr Busch lived here, he would take his steam ship to St Louis, everyday, rather than a horse and carriage - he could have been a Looper.

GIFTING THE LOCK MASTERS

The Virginia Peanut gifts for the Lock Masters are paying off - we are locking through without a wait.

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