After 4 days and nights of rest in Grafton we were ready to head out onto the Mighty Mississippi River. Our next destination, just a short 16 miles down river, was Alton, IL, another decent sized city and the birth place of jazz musician Miles Davis. Alton Marina is another large floating marina with covered slips. Our first agenda item on arrival was refueling. Unfortunately, the winds were quite gusty and the fuel dock was full. We soon tired of trying to hold position and tied up temporarily to await our turn. The winds continued to increase as we waited. Moving to the fuel dock was relatively easy but our subsequent move to our slip was a bit more of a nail biter. The gusts were doing their best to make backing into the slip a challenge but with the help of a couple of dock hands and the crews from Sea Clef and Baker Street Blue we got in and tied up without any damage or trauma. It’s always a relief to have the lines tied and engines shut down. Time for a beer!
Sunset in a covered dock in Alton, Illinois
Looper boats come in all shapes and sizes. Our Canadian friends on Blue Moose
Our Lady of the Rivers shrine to the boaters of the Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers
The Alton marina was designed similar to the marina in Grafton with 40+ foot tall, 2 foot wide pilings to support their floating docks. While we were there Hurricane Ian was on a collision course with Florida where it would cut a wide path of destruction. Many of the marinas in the Fort Myers area where we started our trip were wiped out when storm surge caused the dock to float over the top of the pilings. I can’t help but think that if Florida marinas were built like those along the Mississippi, many would have survived the storm.
Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc in SW Florida. Would the marinas have survived if they were built like those in Grafton and Alton?
The highlight of our stay in Alton was a bike ride to the Mel Price Lock and Dam. In a few days, this would be our first lock on the Mississippi. Tows on the Mississippi are much larger than on the Illinois. It is not unusual for one tug to push a load consisting of 30 or more 200’ x 35’ barges. These tows are larger than a football field! To accommodate these large tows, the locks on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers are 1,200’ long and 110’ wide. Even at this gargantuan size, some larger tows still need to be broken down to transit the locks. The Mel Price, like many on the great rivers also have a smaller, auxiliary, lock alongside the main chamber to allow smaller traffic to lock through while the main chamber is servicing the larger tows. The auxiliary chambers are usually just as wide but only 600’ long.
The Mel Price Lock and Dam is also home to the National Great Rivers Museum dedicated to showcase the mighty Mississippi River and its surrounding environment, as well as to tell the story though interactive exhibits, of its importance to commerce, how tugs and tows work, and how the dams and locks are built to control the river to move the barges safely. We got to drive a simulated tow and a guide also took us out onto the dam to give us a bird’s eye view of the locks. It was all quite impressive. Unfortunately, there was no traffic transiting the lock for us to see while we were there but it was still impressive viewing these massive feats of engineering.
One 15 barge tow carries as much cargo as 216 train cars or 1,050 semi trucks. The tows can move goods using 1/5 the amount of fuel as a fleet of trucks!
Back at the Alton Marina, we had a meeting with other Loopers to plan our departure in the morning. A dozen of us were planning to leave so one Looper volunteered to contact the lock in the morning. The lock was only 1.5 miles from the marina. We hoped they would give us a time to transit before we left the marina so we would not have to float and maintain position in the current while waiting. Some lock attendants are very accommodating. Unfortunately, the attendant that morning at Mel Price was not. He would not put us in queue until he saw all of us lined up and waiting in front of the lock. So we all left the dock and the attendant kept us waiting and floating for 2 hours before we could enter the lock. AARRGGHH!
We all made it through the Mel Price Lock and proceeded down the Mississippi. Our next milestone would be the Chain of Rocks Canal and Lock just past the where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi. The anticipation of transiting this area has given many Loopers sleepless nights. To start, as the Missouri flows into the Mississippi there is a large surge of water that pushes boats towards the left east bank of the river. While maneuvering through these troubled waters the navigator must also keep an eye out for the SIGN. I’ll explain…… Most of the locks on the rivers are clearly visible from the river with a dam on one side and a lock on the other. Your path is clear. The Chain of Rocks Lock is well off to the side of the river down a narrow, 7 mile long canal. There is a sign at the entrance to the canal with an arrow pointing the direction. If you miss this sign and continue down the river you arrive at the Chain of Rocks dam and rapids. This area is impassible and dangerous. In 2021, as we were planning our trip, a sailboat missed this sign and ended up on the rocks. The crew was successfully rescued but the boat eventually broke up and was washed down the river.
Don't Miss That Sign!!!!!
The long narrow canal leading to the lock feels even narrower when there are large tows going both directions. It can sometimes be difficult to determine if a slow moving barge is coming or going when it is off in the distance. We laugh about it now, but at one point Karen was getting very nervous that we were on a collision course with one of the tows. Despite my best efforts to assure her we were not going to collide with this colossal behemoth, Karen was beside herself with my lack of concern. After a few heated rounds of discussion I finally realized Karen thought the barge was heading up river directly at us. I had the benefit of sitting in front of my instruments and could see on screen that the tow was heading down river, the same direction we were. At that distance it was difficult to tell. Once we got that cleared up it was smooth cruising again…. right on through the lock and back onto the Mighty Mississippi.
Exiting the Chain of Rocks Lock
Just a few miles past the lock was the city of St. Louis, Mo. The river in this area is highly commercial with tows running up and down the river depositing barges along the side. There are no marinas for recreational boaters as you pass by the city. The highlight here is the riverfront Gateway Arch providing another iconic photo opportunity, second only to the one in front of the Statue of Liberty. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, now known as the Gateway Arch National Park, extends from the Old St. Louis Courthouse to the riverfront. It was fist commemorated in 1935 to celebrate the diverse people who helped to shape the region and the country. The accomplishments honored here include Jefferson’s expansion of the US with the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark's scouting and mapping of a route to the Pacific, Dred and Harriet Scott’s filing suit in the old St. Louis courthouse for their freedom from slavery, and St Louis’s suffragette, Virginia Minor who sued for women’s right to vote. Without getting into too much historical detail, both of these cases made it to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, neither of these cases were successful but this memorial helped to recognize their struggles to further civil rights.
Approaching St. Louis, MO
After passing St. Louis, we tied up Hoppie’s. Being nothing
more than a few beat up old docks on the side of the river, it is none-the-less
a popular stop for Loopers. They offer the last fuel stop for the next 200+
miles, old time Americana character, and their proprietor, Debbie, gives an
afternoon briefing on what to expect further down the river, and recommends safe places to anchor between there
and the next popular stop, Paducah, Ky. We walked into the town of Kimmswick
for some good 'ole meatloaf and chicken fried steak and a big piece of pie to
take back to the boat. So far, the Mighty Mississippi didn't seem too scary. We hit the sack that night hoping for a good nights sleep, knowing that the next few nights we would be anchoring out along the river.
