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.

Yes, all this flooding has caused us to re-think our journey. Reliable sources say we can not even get to the boat. Waters in the St Charles area are not expected to crest until Friday, June 27th. For now, we are planning to head to the boat on Monday, July 7th. Though issues with the air conditioner may cause a delay in that as well. No reason to be in a hurry. We are NOT planning to be going to go north along the Upper Mississippi but rather will head south past St Louis, turn left at Cairo, Ill. and make our way to the Nashville area. More details as they develop...if you are planning a trip that direction, we hope you'll plan to visit us. Til then computers and cell phones will be our connections. Keep in touch.