Oh, the great folks we have met. They say this is really all about the people you meet. Floyd and I often wonder what we would have done without the Kallemeier's and the great words of wisdom and encouragement they gave us at Polestar Marina before we even left. Ann and Bob treated us like long lost relatives, let us read their log book and the journal of their loop trip five years ago. The day before we left, we were thrilled to have them show up on the dock, help us carry in the groceries, and give us a few last minute words of encouragement. I think I'd have gone home with them if they'd asked. I was not feeling like a woman of courage and adventure at that point. That first night at Hoppie's was pretty scary. Just docking the boat was a huge ordeal...the marina is just floating barges right on the curve of the Mississippi. Strong current made just pulling up so very difficult. (We were so nervous we forgot to take a photo.) The Hoppie's not only gave us vocal instructions but also helped us tie up. Then Fern gathered us all together and went blow by blow through the charts of the river, pointing out what to look for, where to find anchoring places, how to talk to the tow boat captains. Of course, she was talking from memory with no charts and we struggled to even keep up. The other group there sure impressed me. Two women with very limited boating experience on a new 36' Selene trawler they had recently purchased . One just retired from Univ of Kentucky, School of Ed Psy; the other has three days until retirement. They have sold their house to live on this boat. They hired two female professional boating captains to instruct them and help move the boat from St Charles to Kentucky. They had been in front of us all day but we had no clue. I think maybe they were as skittish as me. They were here at Green Turtle Bay when we arrived. What fun we had comparing our experiences coming down the Mississippi. Then, of course, Nate and David, the two fellas from Univ of Northern Colorado recreating Huck Finn's float down the Mississippi. You can check out their blog site to see how they are doing. It is http://www.bearnakedrafting.com/. We've looked in on them a couple of times. What an adventure they are having. Course, I just think they are too young to know any better. Since arriving in Kentucky we have met the folks from Chicago who just purchased a 46' 1983 Chris Craft in Florida. They are parked to the right of us on the transient dock pictured above. Nice boat!!! Bill and Bobbie left us this morning because the high water was going to prevent them from getting through. So they rented a car to go home, then will return after the water goes down. Several folks around here have been very helpful. We've eaten at great restaurants (one is high and behind our boat in this photo), gotten rid of Big Bertha, rented a golf cart to see the sites, and have relaxed and rested. Neal, an airline pilot from Tennessee, and his family who recommended other marinas on the way east. His boat is "Plane Money". The mechanics have assured that they can fix our inverter, get our 110 volt electric system in good shape, fix the winch that lifts the anchor, and finish the installation of the lower helm chart plotter. We are about at the end of our list of things to get fixed, purchase, paint or overhaul. Tomorrow we rent a car and head to Oshkosh, Wisconsin fora week of their big air show. Muriel (Floyd's sister) will return to the boat with us on Sunday for a few days of cruising. We plan to head toward Nashville do some touristy things and see the Opery. So probably no new posts until next week when we start that run. We hope some of you will think about meeting us along the way. After Nashville we'll head back here then south on the Tenn-Tombigbee to Demopolis, Alabama. Right now we're thinking we'll be back in Wichita round Sept 15.

As we passed this on the Ohio River, we couldn't resist photoing it for our Fredonia friends and relatives...yep, a working riverside cement plant...Lafarge is everywhere.

Our trip through the Barkley Lake Lock and Dam...we've been too skittish to even attempt pictures as we went through the other locks. This was by far the largest. We'd like to say that because of our previous experiences it was really the least intimidating. Floating bollards are our friends. Tumbleweed was lifted 57 feet in this process. You should be able to see the water mark lines on the walls.

WE MADE IT...St Charles, Mo to Green Turtle Bay, Ky...312 miles, 5 locks (but had to go through one twice, so let's say 6), 1 marina, 3 anchorings,3 rivers, one lake, and one Big Blue Bertha of gas...What an adventure!!!! Floyd and I have both commented that we couldn't remember a time when we worried about so much, worked so hard, sweated so much or had so much darn fun. We had forgotten that when you commune with nature, it starts so dang early. Those birds start singing and the sun pops up...hard to stay in bed. We are not ready to do it again tomorrow, mind you. But we do want to come this way again. The hills we saw today were so beautiful all dressed in green. We think they'll be magnificent in their fall colors. The Cumberland River today was smooth and uncomplicated. We saw a few fisherman, one small tow barge, and lots of vultures. We arrived right on schedule. Floyd is a master at locating points on the charts and predicting exactly how long it will take to get there. The gas dock loves us...and we were thrilled to have arrived with 88.5 gallons of gas in the tank. We even ran the generator 10 hours yesterday. We didn't need that gas drum after all. Better safe than sorry I guess. We are looking good now...gone are the boat bums that have been on board these last three HOT days...and we're off to have a meal that some one else is cooking...Celebration time. Yes, we have more photos...we'll try to get to that tomorrow.

TGIF

It's Friday. Tomorrow this time we should be plugged into shore power, watered down and refueled. What a day we have had. We are currently anchored just outside the mouth of the Cumberland River, tucked in behind a small island. We have traversed the Ohio from where it joins the Mississippi to where it joins the Cumberland. What a difference!!! No more icky muddy water. The Ohio is very green. Couldn't believe how you could see the difference the minute we crossed. Since we were going upstream today the going was pretty slow. We managed to average alittle over 6 miles an hour at 1400 rpms. HOT today....and we got stuck at Lock and Dam 52 for two hours. Then had to go through twice. Some professional Tow driver couldn't follow directions and we courtously backed out so he could recover. Floyd and the Tumbleweed knew what to do...and Linda had practiced throwing the 40ft rope. So we got to do it twice. Gold Stickers for everyone! The lock manager even commented that we were good. He also said we were the first of the Loopers to go through this year. Guess they expect a few more. Big storms are all around us now. But the anchor is holding and we have an alarm to let us know if it gives way.

July 24 ...Our view of the dam...wish you could see the jumping Asian Carp. They don't have many redeeming qualities. No one eats them and they eat everything...all they do is jump. Sometimes even into the passing boats. Folks down there are looking for ways to get rid of them.

Yep, this is us all tied up at the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam, Wednesday night, July 24.

July 24

Our longest boating day...10 hours running time. We left those jumping Asian Carp in our wake and scooted back into the Mississippi right in front of the tow "Randy Eckstein". He was behind us ALL day. We are starting to cath on to the tow lingo on the radio and it was interesting to hear them chatter to Randy about the river conditions and where they were. Kept us informed cause we sure felt like we were the only folks on the river. We encountered very few folks on our long stretch. Those we did encounter were pretty huge and pushing lots of barges. We even got so we could tell if they were empties or full. Heavy showers outsdie of Cape Gireardeau made us really glad we had the canvas up. Those new zippered windows worked great. New to us though were all the whirlpools in the water. In some areas you just couldn't avoid them. Many were dangerously large and deep...yes, made me skittish. We decided to push alittle and traveled on to the Angelo Towhead for the night. We are in the area behind an island just off the US 60 Cairo Highway. Anchoring was a piece of cake...Linda at the helm and Floyd managing the anchor line. Then came the fun of transferring the 50 gallons from Big Bertha. We had a siphon and some hose that didn't really match up...but with a little duct tape and we were good to go. Only took us about 40 minutes. We've got gas and water to spare...one more night out and two full travel days til we reach Green Turtle Bay on the Cumberland River. It will be slower going as we'll be headed up river with current against us. We are trying to maintain 14oo rpm to monitor and conserve fuel. We figure that'll be a whopping 6 miles per hour....I'm reading a good book. Let us hear from you by logging on to the comments bar. We are missing our friends.

Day two- we are having fun

As you can see we have a new traveling companion...Big Blue Bertha contains 50 gallons of gasoline. We can't get fuel between where we were and where we were going. So 350 lbs of gas sitting on the aft deck should guarantee that we'll get there. No Smoking or use of the grill allowed until she departs. Oh, the things we are learning. Just get a load of those pretty dock lines...the first mate has mastered the art of cleat knots, using the boat hook, and even adding that touch of good taste that the Tumbleweed has come to expect. Hey, even the gas drum is the right color. Tonight we are tied up to the guide wall at the Kaskaskia River lock and dam. You would not believe the fish that are jumping. If they don't stop soon we won't get any sleep. We've also spotted an eagle and a small coyote. Pretty darn cool. Today's cruise included a portion of the river that many folks consider to be the most dangerous...wing dams, turbulence, sharp turns, and, of course, the tow boats with barges. We managed just fine. Needless to say, we are just pretty darn proud of ourselves. Tomorrow we should make it to Cape Girardeau.

We made it...day one

We did it...those locks that look so scary were a piece of cake. St Louis was breath taking from the water. And we managed to dock at Hoppie's without hurting anyone or wrecking the boat. An absolutely gorgeous day to be on the river...cloudy and about 80 degrees. We saw and/or passes about 30 tows. Some pushing barges 5 wide and 6 deep. The funniest thing though has to be the fellas on a true Huck Finn raft floating to Baton Rouge. They caught up with us this evening. They left Davenport Iowa and say they average about 30 miles a day just floating along. They are currently walking to the Walmart store, 6 miles away for supplies. The bad news is that this is the LAST gas stop for us. Since we still have 248 miles to go, a gas tank that holds 240 gallons, and we need a little more than a gallon per mile...we got issues. For now, the marina manager is planning to get us a 55 gallon gas drum, some hose and a hand pump. We'll secure all that on the aft deck, and pray for a strong current to help us out. We'll let you know how that all works when we get to Green Turtle Bay.

We are outta here.

We are planning to leave Polestar Marina, St Charles, MO around 11:00 this morning, July 22nd. Headed to Green Turtle Bay Marina on the Cumberland River 313 miles downstream. We’ll travel around 70 miles a day, and hope to average 12 mph. There is very limited fuel and even fewer marinas for overnight docking along the way. Floyd is busy with last minute cleaning (gotta look good going down river), fueling, adding water and getting a pump out. Though really, we are just waiting for the FedEx guy to deliver the spare fuel filters that we might need on this voyage. We figure better to be a few hours safe than a few days “sorry” on down the line. Here’s the plan (you knew there’d be one): Today’s travel will include the Melvin Price lock and Dam, the Chain of Rocks Canal and lock and dam, St Louis. We’ll spend the night at Hoppie’s Marina in Kimmswick, MO. Our last marina night until Green Turtle. Wednesday night will be at the Kaskaskia river Lock and Dam where they say there is a place for mariners to tie off to a free floating guide wall or a small cove for anchoring out. Thursday night we’ll be at the Little Diversion Canal. Friday we’ll have reached the Ohio River where we can tie off on some free mooring buoys. Then Saturday, good Lord willing, we’ll arrive at Green Turtle Bay. Hoppie’s and Cape Girardeau are the only fueling spots. I’m more than a little skittish about all this rope throwing and knot tieing. Floyd, on the other hand, is grinning from ear to ear and hoping the FedEx guy comes early. Between here and Green Turtle we’ll have to stop where we can, not necessarily when we want. It’s an adventure. We’ve been talking about it, analyzing it, planning for it…and now it is started. Woo Hoo…boogadie, boogadie, here we go.

All systems are go. We plan to depart Polestar Marina, St Charles, MO, around 11:00 this morning,July 22nd. We are doing the last minute cleaning (gotta look good floating down the river), getting fuel, water and a pump out but most important waiting for the FedEx guy to bring us the spare fuel filters we might need on this voyage. Better to wait a couple of hours now than be a couple of days sorry later. Here's the plan for this week (you knew there'd be one):

Tuesday we will travel almost 64 water miles down river, go thru the Melvin Price lock #26, enter the Chain of Rocks Canal and through the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam #27, past St Louis before docking at Hoppie's Marine in Kimmswick, Mo. Because we are going with the current we hope to get about 12 mph. We had heavy rain last night so the current might actually be stronger. We'll see. And doesn't that whole Chain of Rocks sounds just peachy....I'm more than a little skittish...Floyd on the other hand is grinning from ear to ear and is itching to get started.

Wednesday and Thursday are longer days with no marinas for night docking and very little access to fuel. We plan to spend Wednesday night at the Kaskasjia lock and dam where they say mariners can tie up to a floating guide wall or anchor in a small cove. On Thursday we can get fuel in Cape Girardeau but there is no overnight docking for transients. We

We are here....and what a mess it was. Seems that the electricity had been off for quite some time. Needless to say the chicken in the freezer was more than rank. We could smell the boat when we flew over!!! We managed to get that all straightened out and began working on our list of things to do. The biggie was getting the dinghy rigged, installed and mounted to the swim platform. That should be completed on Monday. As we near the end of all the other items on the list, we are planning a couple of shake down day cruises this weekend. One to Grafton and another to Alton. If all goes well, then we plan to pull out of Polestar Marina and head toward Kentucky on Tuesday, July 22. We've heard that the Cumberland River is pleasure boat friendly and at this point we are thinking that anything is better than where we are. There is a real reason they call the Mississippi the "big Muddy". It is!!!! and smells bad too. We are a month behind and heading in a totally different direction than we had originally planned. But what the heck...we are having fun on a Big Boat.

Water Water everywhere...can't get to the boat so we are staying put for another week...now plan to leave Wichita on July 14th. With projects and chores to complete on the boat before taking off, our trip is in the delay mode. We are re-thinking all those plans we had for the summer. Stay tuned for further developments.