Day 23: Thursday, September 27, 2012
Underway: 7:30 am Motor Off: 5:40 pm Miles Traveled: 59 miles Stayed At: Anchor
First Things First: Passed by first cajun restaurant in Cape Girardeau; first 30 barge tow (5 across by 6 long – yikes); first mail (woohoo!).
Mile 60 to Mile 1: We were in the same place we were before we went to bed last night – that’s always a good thing. Only a 50% chance of rain today – do we go or do we stay?
Today we made a good choice. Except for a little high fog and early sprinkles, the day gradually switched over to puffy clouds and bright sunshine – perfect drying weather for all of our wet gear. Aurora looks like a laundry barge but dry stuff is better than wet stuff on a 22’ boat any day. After a short 8 mile motor from our slightly sketchy anchorage we found the dock we were looking for – the only dock anywhere on the waterfront along Cape Girardeau, Illinois. The dock is used by Kidd River Fuel to sell diesel fuel to powerboats and working boats on the river. Charles was nice to let us tie up long enough to go get gas and, more importantly, visit the post office to pick up some highly anticipated packages. The dock is 50’ long which is about as long as our dock at home but when a 46’ powerboat is docked there, 50’ is pretty short. We waited while they fueled up and soon docked and went to shore.
Cape Girardeau is a touristy college town with lots of interesting shops and restaurants. The town is hidden behind a tall seawall the top of which is probably 50’ from the current water level. A sign near the large metal sea gate (only closed during flooding) says that any boat tied off for more than 24 hours needs a permit. This is odd since the few large bollards (cleats used to tie off large barges) are currently 25’ above the river and 25’ back from the edge of the water – not much of a chance of tying off here.
It’s too bad we usually don’t have much time to sight-see – especially on this difficult stretch of the river. When there are docks, we usually don’t feel secure leaving the boat empty. Most of the time, though, we need to get to the next secure anchorage or marina and spending 2-3 hours in a town just doesn’t fit into the day’s schedule. Priorities are usually gas, restrooms, food and water.
We got to Cape Girardeau early and I hiked about a 3 mile loop up to the nearest gas station pulling our folding cart with two empty 5 gallon gas cans and a large bag with miscellaneous junk we are shipping home. After getting gas, I rolled my now much heavier cart to the post office to trade junk for treats. Luckily, all 5 packages/letters we were expecting from Jess, Sarah, Grandma A and Grandma G were eventually tracked down and I trekked back to the boat – this is what has counted as exercise on this trip so far. But it is better than nothing. But now we can celebrate by trying out the homemade goodies – what an amazing treat. We are going to need to ration them or we’ll need a bigger boat soon. Thanks everyone – it was worth the wait. We are now set for the next 140 mile stretch to Green Turtle Bay Marina – sounds tropical and we can’t wait.
Mike met Ron, a fellow traveler on the river heading down the Mississippi after starting in eastern Wisconsin on the Illinois River. We actually noticed his tent on a sandbar as we came into CG so it was nice to hear another river story. Ron was laid off from his job, his unemployment ran out and he lost his house so he packed up his dog and the gear he needed and left down the river for warmer climates and hopefully a better life. Surprisingly, he has been traveling 30-40 miles per day on the fast part of the river – kind of amazing since we only go 50 miles on our best days. Good luck on your search Ron.
I have a deal for you. Thousands of feet of riverfront property. All sand. Beautiful. Usually under water but a nice place to pitch a tent. We have seen dozens of long sandy beaches especially on this lower part of the Mississippi but haven’t been able to spare the 2-3 hours it would take to anchor, inflate the dinghy, get to shore, run around for awhile, get back to the boat, deflate the dinghy and get back on the river. There aren’t enough hours of daylight to get to a safe anchorage and take long breaks.
After getting past all the tow traffic near Cape Girardeau, we had a nice cruise down the last 50 miles of the Mississippi – wow! A nice milestone to check off. And we passed the 800 mile mark at Mile 45 at about 12:20 pm. We anchored in a large protected cove called Angelo Towhead at Mile 1 on the Upper Mississippi. We were joined later by Lady Barbara, a large motor yacht that came in and quietly anchored where we both enjoyed a nice sunset and quiet night. The captain of the Lady Barbara has been all over the river systems, up and down the gulf and east coast and through the Great Lakes. Definitely a nice way to travel. Tomorrow, we enter the Ohio to begin another leg of our journey.
In Passing: Deans Blue Hole, Stevenson Bayou (a new type of slough), Dogtooth Bend, Sliding Towhead, Angelo Towhead (looks like an island to me), Giboney Island, and Future City.
