Day 9: Thursday, September 13, 2012

Underway: 6:58 am      Motor Off: 3:15 pm      Miles Traveled: 40      Stayed At: City Dock

First Things First: First “real” rainy day (foul weather gear rain); first long pants day for Mike (I still had shorts on under my foul weather pants – does that really count?); first six (or seven) layer day for Cindy (t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket with liner, fowl weather jacket and a real life preserver); first time Cindy got to wear her new polka dot rain boots; first pipe laying operation on river; first museum (the Buffalo Bill and River Museum in Le Claire, Iowa; first email from and to Grandma A (have fun with your new Ipad); first laundry day; first time eating dinner inside in salon; first hot chocolate day; first two hot chocolate day for Cindy, first weeds.

Mile 537 to Mile 497: Bad thing – cold rain. Good thing – the sunset after a rain. Bad thing – wet foul weather gear. Good thing – clean, warm, dryer fresh clothes. Bad thing – no good anchorages. Good thing – a free stay at the city dock. Everything is relative I guess.

Today was our first “real” rain day. Thankful that the storms forecast for today earlier in the week petered out. A little chilly but we can dress for it by adding layers (ask Cindy). We survived another way-too-exciting lock experience today. We didn’t run out of gas this time but wind, big waves and a new hazard made for another heart pounding lock passage. We were lucky this time that they opened the lock for us right away even though a tow was waiting below to lock up. We didn’t have to pound to weather for an hour waiting for passage. But mother nature threw us a new twist – large, thick, mats of weeds (which had floated down from shallow areas upwind) filled the lock as we entered (some type of invasive species I’m sure). Boris did not like this. We were able to grab the guide ropes along the sides of the lock and stop the boat (our earlier lock experience helped prepare us for this) but the rolling waves still made it difficult to keep the boat off the wall. Imagine our relief when the upstream lock doors finally closed, calming the lock pool a little. It was amazing seeing the waves force their way through and probably 6’ up the gaps in the gate doors. Getting out of the lock also proved a challenge as we had to move through a lock full of weeds before getting to clear, calm water downstream. Another experience to add to our life’s resume.

We started early today and decided to stop early too. Anchoring spots on this stretch of the river are few and far between. We lucked out again, though, by stopping at Le Claire, Iowa to get gas and decide what to do next. After getting gas, we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Museum right next to city’s courtesy dock and asked if we could stay overnight. A very helpful volunteer at the museum didn’t know the answer but went above and beyond by calling the city and the police for us who said it was fine for us to stay. What a deal. Small towns are amazing places sometimes.

After securing the boat, we decided to go to the Buffalo Bill and River Pilot Museum. Both were interesting experiences. The Buffalo Bill Museum had a section honoring an inventor/professor from the University of Minnesota that ended up having a serendipitous connection to us (see Wild Things below). The River Pilot Museum houses a full size, original historic paddlewheel steamship from the late 1800’s– the Lonestar. Interesting seeing what life on the river was like back then compared to our experience now.

Next we decided to finally wash clothes. The gas station also happened to be a combination gas station/convenience store/A&W/ and Mother Hubbard’s Laundromat – and only 4 blocks from our home away from home (Aurora). We were excited to get this project done on a rainy day and its particularly fulfilling doing 3 loads simultaneously and getting completely done in a little over an hour (it’s the little things in life, right?).

Mike made a fun discovery while waiting for the clothes to dry. While reading a brochure about Le Claire he discovered/remembered that this is the home to the show American Pickers – he has spent way too many hours watching episodes online. He says he likes to learn about history this way but it probably has more to do with the treasure hunting aspect to the stories. It turned out their store – Antique Archeology – was right behind Mother Hubbard’s so he baled on laundry and went to visit their store. Another random discovery. And another story to tell.

Wild Things: While at the Buffalo Bill Museum, we were looking through an exhibit honoring James J. Ryan – an inventor and professor from the University of Minnesota in the 40’ and 50’s. He invented many safety related devices including the first “black box” recorder for airplanes. We were looking in the guest book for people who knew Professor Ryan to leave messages and the last entry was from August 2012 – from Professor Virgil Marple from the University of Minnesota. Mike had Professor Marple in college in the late 70’s and we have enjoyed visiting his “farm” where he raises old antique cars in his spare time. Small world I guess.