We are suddenly in the thick of things. Left Alton this morning with 7 other loopers for Hoppies. We had looper cocktails last night and 50 people attended! All at one marina. A key lock wall destination just closed for 12 days so we are all trying to figure out where to anchor after Hoppies. … Continue reading Heading to Hoppies
We had a peaceful cruise from Two Rivers to Polestar Marina near St. Charles. The turn into Dardenne Slough was a critical one or you hit a sandbar. Busiest recreational boating area since the St. Croix. This was our last day on the “650 mile entrance ramp” to the loop route from Minnesota. Monday we … Continue reading Day 11: last day before we join loopers
We enjoyed a day on the wall at the Keokuk Yacht Club. They are a friendly bunch and their clubhouse was open for drinks and dinner, 100 feet from the boat. They have a burgee collection including one from the St. Croix Yacht Club. Last week it took all the focus I had to “launch” … Continue reading Days 9 and 10: Keokuk to Quincy, IL after a day off
Left our anchorage just after 7 am. We actually slept, anchor alarm gave peace of mind, and shiny anchor came up without a hitch. Confidence building. With a long day and a fuel truck scheduled tomorrow I put the boat up on plane and did some wide open throttle runs to get those Cummins diesels … Continue reading Day 8: 89 miles to Keokuk Yacht Club
I explored every option to find a dock around Muscatine. Finally got ok from the city to use river side dock that looked good on google earth. After a long day we got in site of it and it was a mess. Most was on land due to the low water. Two teenagers warned us … Continue reading Day 7: Clinton to Muscatine at anchor
Curt and Marjorie came to our boat at 7:15am with a card and nice bottle of wine to send us off on the next 6,750 miles of our trip. As planned, they turned north and we turned south out of Ice Harbor, each on our own now. I was not happy when our last lock … Continue reading Day 6: Dubuque to Clinton, Iowa
Our rest day ended up busy. Three more great loopers stopped by to chat. Took 90 minutes to pump in 225 gallons of diesel. Gas dock was slammed as many marinas have low water but Dubuque harbor is deep. Then we spent enjoyable afternoon at the River Museum, then I washed down the boat some … Continue reading Day 5: stayed in Dubuque
Curt and Marjorie led today, last day of traveling with our friends before they head back upstream on Monday, and we go the other way (at least that is the plan) More marshes today at times felt like we were traveling in a swamp - but the scenery was great. We had time to have … Continue reading Day 4: Guttenberg to Dubuque
80+ miles today at 9 knots. A most beautiful part of the river with broad grassy areas, backwaters and migrating waterfowl. The three locks were all waiting for us. Got a call on the radio at Guttenberg and it was a Great Loop harbor host reaching out to welcome us - they saw our looper … Continue reading Day 3: LaCrosse to Guttenberg, Iowa.
Wind gusts to 35 mph made our five locks a test for the captains. A highlight was a tow captain actually invited us to pass his 8 barges so we could beat him to the lock…and he actually powered down the tow so we could make the pass. Captain Nancy 7.30am departure Experimenting with this … Continue reading Day 2: Parkside to LaCrosse
Reimanns 'round the loop in 2022 