GRAFTON, IL TO KIMMSWICK, MO

Wednesday, September 23rd to Thursday, September 24th, 2015

Day 415-416

Miles Traveled on Thursday: 60

Total Miles Traveled: 6588


  Wednesday we stayed at Grafton Marina and took advantage of the stay three nights and get the fourth one free.  In addition, our next stop (Hoppie's Marina) was booked until the following day.  Dan washed the boat decks down, but, other than that, we did nothing but relax. 


  Thursday we untied the lines early.  A beautiful sunrise made the early awakening worthwhile.  It was a nice welcome to the Mississippi River.  The Mississippi River runs over 1700 miles, however, we are only going to travel 218 miles of its water.  

sunrise while leaving Grafton, IL - just up ahead was Mississippi River

  There were beautiful white bluffs on one section of the river today.  This helped to make up for the not so scenic wingdams.  Wingdams are rock jetties that deflect the river current toward the center of the river to prevent erosion of the river banks and create a self-flushing action that helps keep the channel from shoaling and becoming too shallow for navigation.   

white bluffs on the Mississippi River

wingdams on the Mississippi

  Just past the town Portage des Sioux, MO stands a large statue of the Virgin Mary.  Called, "Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine", it is a fifty foot shrine built after a disastrous flood in 1951 as gratitude for the water stopping just short of flooding this little town.  

Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine

  We had two locks to deal with today.  Fortunately, neither gave us a significant delay in our travels.  Before we knew it, we were cruising by St. Louis, MO and seeing the grand St. Louis Gateway Arch (by water this time).  We were traveling with Dave & Penny of "Penny Pinchin' " and took turns taking pictures of each others boats in front of the Arch. 

"Seahorse" in front of the St. Louis Gateway Arch

  To add to our collection of "You Never Know What You Are Going To See on the River", we spotted an interesting yard art sculpture.  

interesting yard art

  In case you are having difficulty making out what it is, I have included a close-up shot.  I included the previous picture to show the size of the sculpture.  It is almost as tall as a house.  

WOW!!

  We made our final destination without difficulty.  We docked at the famous Hoppie's Marina.  Owned and operated by Charles ("Hoppie") and Fern Hopkins, the marina has been around for about eighty years.  The Hopkins men worked on the river as lamplighters.  

Hoppie's Marina

    Every evening Fern holds a captain's meeting to give advice about boating on the upcoming sections of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers.  She is all about keeping us boaters safe on the waterways. 

Angie with Fern at Hoppie's Marina after the captain's meeting

  We grilled some hot dogs for dinner, which we planned to use for upcoming dinners after the long travel days on the Mississippi.  Then, off to bed for a good nights rest.