Day 13: Monday, September 17, 2012
Underway: 9:25 am Motor Off: 5:00 pm Miles Traveled: 38 Stayed At: Boat Club
First Things First: First coast guard vessel (laying buoys); first time sharing a lock (with RumpShaker); first cooked breakfast (had time while waiting for lock to clear to make eggs, bacon and toasted bagels; first ferry moving material from bank to bank; first time in Missouri at 10:30 am; first 500 mile mark at 1:08 pm.
Mile 365 to Mile 327: Our record has been broken. We shared Lock 19 with Rumpshaker. We made it within 2 miles of Missouri before sharing a lock. Amazing. Lock 19 has one of the biggest drops on the Mississippi – 38’ at normal water levels. In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. There is a beautiful old building housing the powerplant next to the lock. It also had a new feature – floating bollards (for tying off your boat) that rise and fall as the water level in the lock rises and falls. Rumpshaker’s crew, Rob and Ann, started in the Twin Cities too on a trip down the same route we are taking to relocate to Alabama where they have family. They are traveling on a large powerboat towing a skiff. Ann is going to look for a job down there and Rob will likely start a business making canvas products for large boats (the canvas on his boat looked great). Hey Rob, how much for a bimini for Aurora?
Its odd when you see cars whizzing by at 60 mph along the river. I try not to think that they travel in 40 minutes the distance we travel in an average day. The pace on the river is different – the tows travel about the same speed we do, the locks open and close slowly, the bridges seem to take forever to open and close and the river barely moves heading down river. It takes some getting used to in comparison to the way life operates in the “real” world but it does give you a fresh perspective.
We are comfortably and securely tucked away at a boat club dock in Quincy, Illinois. We couldn’t get into the municipal marina because of low water depths – some of the lowest water in history. It will be interesting how this affects the tows coming upriver. A great travel day with intermittent warm sunshine and big puffy clouds floating by to block the sun for some welcome relief. A cold front moved through just a few minutes after we got tied up to the dock bringing a little rain shower and a cool wind. It didn’t last long though. Another train is going by along the river. Hopefully the wind will die down and bring a quiet peaceful night of sleep.
Wild Things: Turkey vultures – lots of turkey vultures.
In Passing: Deadman Island, Hogback Island, Blue Goose Island, Buzzard Island and Pickle House Slough.
