Our Adventures: Alton IL

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Alton, Illinois - Day 2

Relaxing day prepping for the next leg of our adventure! It was interesting watching what was occurring 20' from our aft deck! It was a bit strange being in a covered slip after so many months of open water and dockage. I felt very enclosed and uncomfortable in such tight quarters. Charlie "planted sod" for Garmin so he can "be comfortable" along this stretch. He may not have opportunities to get to land for many days ahead. He immediately started digging in the sod....ahh, that's not what's it for, G-Man!

Tomorrow, we are off to tackle the "most dreaded part" of the Great Loop...we won't completely relax for several days until we reach Green Turtle Marina in Kentucky. We will encounter crowded locks, minimal anchorages with many Loopers needing to anchor also, no marinas, strong currents, huge barges, zero fuel stops.....Hopefully, it's not as awful as everyone says. Let's do this and get it over with! We'll make it fun!

Thinking I should be wearing a hard hat while viewing this! Fortunately, these guys were very skilled and didn't take out 1/2 our boat! They dropped zero mud on our swim platform!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Alton, Illinois

Perfect travel day! We left at sunrise and were immediately locked through the one lock today. We had the lock all to ourselves, locking down 10' and were able to float without needing to rope around a bollard or hold a line! The remainder of the day was easy breezy, relaxing, sunny, mild temps, minimal traffic, zero issues, surrounded by trees lining the river with wildlife all around! We traveled. 90.3 NM today and are docked at Alton Marina, Alton, IL.

We reached the most western point of our Great Loop travels today and joined the Mighty Mississippi River! The landscape changed at this point to beautiful stone cliffs with Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, and Pelicans flying high above us!