#63 River Travels!
Folks, I actually thought my writing would slow down once we got out of Chicago and on the rivers. After all, it’s mostly just a big ditch, full of muddy water, with fewer cool little towns along the way, and barges and locks to contend with. A means to get somewhere. Well, once again serendipity has stepped in and said, hold on there a minute!
Let me back up just a bit. We left Chicago early one morning on a fuel run about ten miles south. The forecast had been for calm winds all night, and that day. About one am I was woken up by the wind whistling through the rigging of the sailboats next to us. Say what? I stepped out on the deck and found it was blowing like stink, which is a technical sailing term that means “We’re going to get our a**** kicked when we go out there.” And sure enough, while the wind did die down by dawn, mighty Lake Michigan was still upset about it and the seas were two to three feet, some of our biggest to date. But hey, it was only ten miles, right? So we took off and just held on for about an hour till we got into a big marina with a stone break wall which stopped the waves and we got fueled up. We think that because we had such terrific sailing on Lake Michigan, she decided to give us a reminder on our last day that she was the boss. Uh, thanks! MoonShine didn’t care about the waves, boats can take far more than the people on them, which is reassuring when you are in that situation, but it never is comfortable. We are always worn out after a day of that, even an hour fatigues you, and besides the physical action needed, I am sure it’s because as humans, being tossed around on the water stimulates some primitive survival-focused part of our brains and puts it in flight-or-fight mode. It’s hard to sustain that for an hour, much less a day. We will both miss the big waters we’ve been on, but we’re also looking forward to NOT having to check the wave height forecast all the time!
The rivers have their own issues and risks as well, of course. Like giant barges. This one is carrying 26,000 tons of light oil per barge, and he is pushing four of them. He’s bound for a refinery in Texas. At four miles per hour.
If you do this Loop, you will get up close and personal with some of them.
Besides those guys, there are Jumping Asian Carp. Yes, it’s a thing. The fish get excited by a boat passing by and jump out of the water randomly, and occasionally hit and kill someone who is riding on a fast moving boat. How would that look on a obituary?
These fish are invasive species, and the state is trying to keep them from moving north with deterrents like underwater electric fences, acoustic barriers, and bubble walls. And warnings.
It’s not all fun and games, however. These barges are serious business. So when a massive barge went by with this itty-bitty flag proudly flying front center, I laughed till my eyes watered. It says “Throw Bread on Me.”
It just struck me as funny, a way to push back at the oh-so-serious goofs who fly the flag with the snake coiled up and printed with “Don’t Tread on Me”. They are usually the ones who are the worst at treading on others, and yet their own insecurity makes them feel the need to announce their supposed defiance. So it cracked me up. (I realize this flag has origins in the Revolutionary War and the significance that carries, but still. We live in one of the richest and safest countries in history and we have the Bomb. These people might occasionally be offended, but they are never going to be “Treaded On”.)
Along the way we saw a number of these guys. Like we saw in Florida, it’s nice to see an environment that can still support an apex predator.
Once again we were lucky to share docktails with several fellow Loopers. This is a screen shot from Nebo, an app we use to keep up with other boats. We pulled along this wall in Joliet IL to spend a night and by evening this was the scene.
And of course, that meant another docktails!
So yes, there is lots to see on the river, no doubt. But I also mentioned serendipity. We pulled into a small village on the Illinois River called Hennepin. It has a very small marina that was positioned about right for our travels. As we tied up, Jake the dockmaster told us a floating circus was coming to the dock later, and would tie up right behind us, and perform a free show for the town. Say what? A floating circus? Really? Yep. Really.
Seemed like the whole town showed up! Check out all those golf carts in the back too, a dozen or more of them!
It was a great show, with acrobats, jugglers, aerial trapeze, and comedy. Great to see people having so much fun. The Circus had the whole crowd singing along.
I said the tugs are serious business, except when they’re flying goofy flags. Or pulling up to within feet of the Circus just to talk to the performers for a while!
While walking to a cafe for lunch we saw this sign.
The cave just happened to be just steps from our boat. (In the background above.)
Which of course kicked in my insatiable curiosity, so I had to go read everything I could find about Father Louis Hennepin. In the interest of keeping our readers, I’ll just give you the short version. 🙂 He was a Belgian Catholic priest who came to Canada and America in the 1600’s to explore. He made it to present day Hennepin where he built a fort, was captured by the Sioux and taken to Minnesota, where he was eventually freed and made his way back to Europe. There, he is credited with introducing Niagara Falls to Europe when he wrote a book about his travels. He used this cave, and others in the area, to stash supplies and sometimes hide from hostile natives. He was somewhat discredited in later years when his claims of canoeing the Mississippi from Hennepin to the Gulf were disputed. Even so, the Canadians and Americans still named several places after him, including a freighter in the Great Lakes. Which went down in a squall about five miles off South Haven, one of our recent stops. So we probably sailed right past or even over the sunken ship that carried his name, then just weeks later we docked next to his cave. And I had never heard of him.
Just a few months ago, June 2026, the water at Hennepin was at that top mark. Wow.
I’ve posted a number of sunsets, how about a sunrise picture? This is what anchoring out looks like. Thanks to Craig on Resolute for this one.
Alton was another nice stop, we had a covered slip, which was refreshing, and once again we ran into old friends and made new ones. This docktails represented the crews of Resolute, SlowPoke, GadaBoat, Seaquel, NeverSayNever, End Game, Eksit Strategy, Rival, and The MaryDale.
Cheryl was visited by her friend Karen. They had a great time at the casino, coming back with a few hundred dollars more than they left with! Maybe that’s why they just couldn’t stop laughing. Cheryl claims to have been in dire need of some “girl time” and Karen more than fit that bill.
This is the kind of thing that makes this Loop so interesting and intriguing. You’re walking back to your boat one evening expecting nothing and suddenly see the most beautiful scene, like this one in Alton. We are a lot closer to nature out here on the water, and the rewards are sometimes unexpected.
Finally, the Illinois River merged into the Mississippi. I’m a reading sailor who has spent a lifetime enjoying Mark Twain’s stories of young boys adventurin’ and the sharp-eyed river pilots who share their river. So while looking at the nearby hills and contemplating the relic fault lines of the 1811 New Madrid quake that lie underneath, steering MoonShine onto the upper Mississippi felt like sailing straight into the belly of American folklore. The lack of fanfare was striking, it is quiet, broken only by the low rumble of the engines and the distant, rhythmic chug of a northbound towboat pushing its acres of steel. I look out past the bow, watching the murky, muscular current swirl into treacherous eddies, half-expecting Huck’s raft to drift from behind a willow-draped island or the water itself to suddenly reverse its flow with a phantom tremor from 1811. Every bend in the river demands the same rigorous respect as open water, yet here, the water carries a heavy, ancient history—a living, muddy ribbon of lore beneath our boat that somehow has transformed a lifetime of armchair reading into the cool, damp air on my face. Gives a sailor a chill, it does. Another of the moments this trip has granted me that I won’t forget.
We ran a fast 250 miles from Alton, IL, to Paducah KY. This is a long, empty stretch, with no marinas, few decent anchorages, and importantly, no fuel. I was worried about that as our range is well over 250 miles if I go slow, but it’s a boring stretch, it was HOT, and I wanted to do at least some of it fast. So we ran at regular speed the first day, then later when we saw we were going to have plenty of fuel, we kicked it up to cruise. We did it in two days, anchoring one night. I don’t know why, but I really kind of like that uncertain feeling you have when you leave a dock and don’t have a destination. I knew we could anchor somewhere; there’s always someplace to get out of the way. After all, necessity is the mother of desperate creativity. As the sun was going down we passed a small island so we tucked downstream from it near the shore, just out of the channel, and dropped the hook in sand. The current held us in place and the crescent moon came up and it was gorgeous.
We had a steady current pushing us downstream on the Mississippi, so I almost got her up to warp-speed.
For whatever reason, Cheryl took a picture of me eating a Swedish Fish, one of the food staples aboard MoonShine.
.
Just south of Alton, IL, is, of course, St Louis MO. We were lucky to be traveling with two other boats so once again, like we did at the statue of Liberty, we took turns taking pictures of each other. Thanks to SlowPoke and GadaBoat for the help!
The tows just kept getting bigger. This is a 4 wide 6 long tow, one of the biggest we saw.
In Paducah, at the River Discovery Museum, we got into a conversation with the docent John and learned that over 63,000 semi trucks worth of goods and freight pass through the Olmsted lock and dam in Paducah IN ONE DAY. Think about that a sec. Imagine an interstate packed with 63,000 semis. That amount of freight goes by here every 24 hours. And this is one river. The Tennessee and the Mississippi are just miles from here with their own loads of traffic. Wow. John also told us another interesting thing I did not know. These tows are paying a .29 per gallon tax on their diesel fuel, a direct fee to maintain these locks. Since we, as recreational craft, go through free, these tows are paying our way. Thanks guys!
Paducah was yet another awesome stop. When you pull into the city floating docks, it looks pretty “ugh”. All rock and no view. But once you walk up and over the hill, you are treated to a picturesque little town, clean, well-kept, and walkable. Or in our case, scooterable.
Paducah hosts the world-famous Quilt Museum, and yep, that’s what it is. A museum full of quilts. But hey, everyone said we should go, so we did. And it was indeed worth it. These are not your Grandmother’s quilts. The closer you look, the more detail you see, so intricate and well designed as to be almost fractal. The hours that go into those quilts must be phenomenal, some of the artist’s comments mentioned years spent on one quilt. I must admit though that after a couple of dozen quilts I was good to go. Here are a few examples.
At the River Discovery Museum they wanted our photo for their social media to announce that its Looper Season here in Paducah. He we are with fellow boaters on S.L.I.M., Robert and Joyce.
The River Discovery Museum was in the oldest building in town and full of history, from river lore to the Civil War to the settling of the area. Love that stuff. Notice Cheryl, the pretend piano player, in the distance.
Paducah, being prone to flooding, has a miles-long wall along the waterfront with gates that can seal off the whole town. Most of the flood wall is covered with murals, adding some nice local color. We got this photo walking back from the theater! When we got here, Cheryl found that the local theater was performing a production of “Come From Away”, a musical about the 30 some planes that were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11, and how the townspeople took care of the 7,000 people that suddenly dropped in on them. The show provided a great evening break from the heat and the boat and it was yet another example of how cool this trip is. When we tied up we had no idea we’d be going to a theater production!
They are serious about high water here, look at how high those dock pilings are! Those docks can and do float almost to the top in high water.
And now for an announcement that may be disappointing to some of you, since it certainly is for us. This is our next to last update. See that blue arrow? That’s where we are. See the yellow tag with the star? That’s the end of our trip. (The miles to Knoxville don’t count as they are not officially part of The Great Loop.) Now look at the outline of the rest of our Loop and you can see how far we’ve come and how little remains to travel. That impresses even me, and I lived it! We’ll do one more update from Iuka, covering this last stretch. We’re hoping it cools off a bit so we can take a mini-vacation on Kentucky Lake, anchor out, swim, hang out in the aft cockpit drinking wine while watching the sunset, that kind of thing. We are done with moving hundreds of miles, planning stops, checking wind and wave heights, instead it’s time to kick back, chill out, and enjoy the boat, the water, and each other.
We’ll do one more update once we get home with our reflections on the Loop, maybe some thoughts about what we might do next, and answer any questions we get. I have really enjoyed writing these, probably far more than anyone has enjoyed reading them! I can tell you, there are hundreds of hours invested here. It was fun, I do love to write, but I’ll be glad to give it up and move on to other pursuits. (I am looking forward to being home and doing some other writing.) I am hoping to be able to convert this whole site to a form that can be published so we can get a hard copy of all this and when we’re old and decrepit, get some young-un to read it back to us. If you have been following along, we’d really appreciate it if you could comment on this one, even if it’s just a note to say you read it. We aren’t sure how many people actually have followed along with us, and we’d love to hear from you.
“Few eyes see, and few minds understand. Through this want of observation and knowledge, the world suffers immense loss. Carl Linnaeus
It has been a blast following you guys! I can’t believe it is about over. It has been fun to see some of the sites Becky and I have visited by land and then seeing your visits by sea. It would have been fun being up in the Arch in St. Louis and seeing you down on the river or bumping into you in Paducah. That is about half way for Korey or I when he drives up to Nebr. to visit or If I drive down to visit him in Florida. It will be interesting to see what your next adventure is! Thanks for sharing!
So glad that you’ve enjoyed it. Butch has spent hundreds of hours on it. Me? Maybe 4 hours!
Always enjoyable, and usually highly fascinating reading. I am thankful for your sharing your trip with us.
Max
It’s been a pleasure. Glad you’ve enjoyed it
Of course I read it.
I have followed you the entire trip
Well done!❤️
Our life line!
We read them all! Great writing about a fantastic adventure! I love boating but this trip takes it up 3-4 levels. I’m not sure I could hang out on a boat for a year, but the variety of ports and people must make it easier.
It’s been wonderful having you along on our journey. I think you and Lady Jane would love it! You could always do it in segments.
Did you go under the Mackinac Bridge? We did and, also, Phil made me drive across it!!
Yes we did. One of the highlights of our trip. I’ve driven a motorhome across it. It’s like dragging a billboard through an obstacle course on ice on a windy day.
I would love to be able to read your book to you😃
Hahahaha! I bet you would! And you’d do a fabulous job of it.
I’m struck by the curves and lines in this post’s pictures especially…the clouds in the sunset, the curve of the Arch, the floating dock pilings, your path on the map, Butch’s sandle tan lines…
You’re so easily impressed!! We call those lines his Teva Tan. We’d better get home soon, his Tevas are wearing out!
I’ve read every post and have enjoyed them all! What an adventure!! And now I’m looking forward to hearing more details when you return home. Strong work captain!
He really has worked so hard to make this an adventure of a life time!
I always enjoy the parts of your journey that I read.
And I particularly enjoy a different take from the same places I visited 😃🤩
Glad you’ve enjoyed our blog. It’s been quite an adventure.
I was so happy to be able to tag along on your journey! I love you both so much and I’m so happy you had a wonderful adventure 😊
Thank you! We love you too! It has been quite a wild ride!
I’ve enjoyed reading about your adventures. Continued safe travels as your time on the loop comes to a close
So happy that you were part of our Loop!
As a fellow boater it was fun sort of sharing this great adventure with you. Marianne and I enjoyed our visit in Michigan and wish you well on your next adventure!
Thank you! It was wonderful having you be part of our Loop.
So fun to read about what you guys are up to! Love you!
Ah, glad you came along with us!
Loved following your adventures!
Old camping friends from Interlochen!
So happy that you’ve followed us. It’s been one crazy ride.
Still following you guys!
So happy that you’ve been along for the ride!
What a great way to record and document the year. I have so enjoyed reading your blog, sometimes on time and sometimes out of time with the post, but have marveled at the variety of things you have done and seen a long the way.
Soon, it will all be yours to discover!! And we can’t wait to hear about your adventures.