9/24/15 – 10/2/15        Alton IL on the Mississippi to Clifton TN

9/24/15                        Alton IL

We left Grafton IL and only travelled 16 mile down the Mississippi to Alton IL.

 

Alton turned out to be a pretty big town. And it had its own casino built using two old river boats, when gambling was only allowed on the rivers.

 

The Argosy Casino from the water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to dinner at Mac’s with our friends, Curt and Tracy, from the sailboat Isabella.

 

9/25/15                        Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick, MO

We headed out bright and early down the Mississippi for 44 miles. We went through our first lock on the river which took us down 26 feet. About 5 miles below the lock the Missouri River merged with the Mississippi. We also went through lock #2 on the river which took us down another 27 ft.

 

We passed St. Louis and its Great Arch. There is no docking at St Louis so we just took pictures. It looks as if they may be cleaning up the waterfront area, but I don’t know what plans they have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also passed the Queen of the Mississippi as we were leaving the waters around St. Louis.

 

And below is Hoppies. It is a stop for most loopers. It is the last chance to fuel up for the next 107 miles and the only marina for 238 miles. The other attraction at Hoppies is the nightly river briefing by Fern Hopkins the owner of the marina. Unfortunately, Fern had to take her husband to the hospital and was unable to meet with us.

 

9/26/15                                    Little Diversion Canal

This was a very long day and a long trip. We covered 109 miles. Thank God, we were heading downriver and getting up to 12 mph at idle speed. Here are some pictures along the way.

 

The barges here are really large. The one below is 7 long by 5 wide.

 

And this was to be our anchorage for the night. Little Diversion Canal!

 

9/27/15                                    Bean Creek, KY

The next morning the parade proceeded down the Mississippi. Check out the turbulence in the water. This trip was 76 miles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point we took a left turn leaving the Mississippi and entering the Ohio River.

 

This is a new lock under construction. We had to do 2 locks in this area and we had to wait for both of them after waiting to be escorted through the construction area.

 

And this was our anchorage for the night, Bean Creak. It is right along the river.

 

9/28/15            - 9/29/15         Grand Rivers, KY

On our way, we passed through Paducah, KY. Here again they had no dockage. Most of the area appeared to be industrial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This run was 47 miles. We left the Ohio River at Paducah and entered the Tennessee River, And here are some other pictures along the way.

 

Our destination for tonight was once again a marina. The below shots are entering the Green Turtle Bay Marina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Turtle Bay had its very own mascots and wildlife.

We think it is a Green Herron

 

9/30/15            - 10/1/15         New Johnsonville, KY

We continued down river on the Tennessee. We crossed Kentucky Lake heading for our destination. We travelled a total of 74 miles. These little islands were in the lake.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at Pebble Isle Marina.

Very narrow entrance into marina

Tammy and Randy were great hosts. The provided eats for the loopers on the night we arrived and made us feel right at home. Bill and Kellyrae of the Ocean Dancer provided entertainment. They did several numbers and had everyone singing along. It was wonderful!

 

Talk about a small world. We spoke with the entertainers the next day and believe it or not, Kellyrae is from our neighborhood and Ken went to school with her dad.  

10/2/15                        Clifton, TN

 On leaving Pebble Isle, we went back into Kentucky Lake which later resumed as the Tennessee River. This trip was a 62 miles and we had to do one lock.

 

We are currently in Pickwick MS and were able to get to an AT&T store and get a new hot spot, so this posting brings you up to but not including our current stop.

 Come back, because I’ve got lots to show you from this stop.