A number of you have asked, “Why do you get up so early? Aren’t you supposed to relax when you’re retired?” Now that daylight hours are decreasing, leaving the dock at first light allows us to get to our destination with some hours of light so we still have time to go for a walk and explore. I am happy to report that I am “sleeping in” more easily to 6:15.
Since this is Monday, more barge traffic is apparent on the river. We used AIS to tell us where they were and their speed. The “Donna Rushing” was downbound at 5.6 mph and our speed was 9.0 so Bob asked permission to pass. I expected that we would be told to wait but were directed to pass her on the curve with an oncoming upbound also approaching. These pushers really know their stuff. I think Bob felt a real adrenaline rush from this while I was “doing the beads.”
We passed a river raft of college students who recently left Peru IL on a homemade raft equipped with a motor, crates and tarps bound for the Gulf of Mexico. Are they having a real Huck Finn adventure!!!!
The afternoon produced more wind and waves which slowed our 2.5 to 3 mph bump from the current a bit. We were making really good time on this long mileage day but got stopped at the Hardin RR Bridge for 45 minutes. The clearance is 20 feet and now that we are fully rigged again with mast and antennas, we stack up at 21 feet so we judiciously waited for the lift.
We pulled into the Grafton Harbor Marina at 4:30. We are now at the confluence with the Mississippi and the topography even changes. Grafton has tall limestone cliffs and it is the winter home for bald eagles. It is a delightful town with a number of restaurants and shops. We were told that the area had 3 floods this past year but the resilient locals keep on cleaning up and rebuilding.
Since this is Monday, more barge traffic is apparent on the river. We used AIS to tell us where they were and their speed. The “Donna Rushing” was downbound at 5.6 mph and our speed was 9.0 so Bob asked permission to pass. I expected that we would be told to wait but were directed to pass her on the curve with an oncoming upbound also approaching. These pushers really know their stuff. I think Bob felt a real adrenaline rush from this while I was “doing the beads.”
We passed a river raft of college students who recently left Peru IL on a homemade raft equipped with a motor, crates and tarps bound for the Gulf of Mexico. Are they having a real Huck Finn adventure!!!!
The afternoon produced more wind and waves which slowed our 2.5 to 3 mph bump from the current a bit. We were making really good time on this long mileage day but got stopped at the Hardin RR Bridge for 45 minutes. The clearance is 20 feet and now that we are fully rigged again with mast and antennas, we stack up at 21 feet so we judiciously waited for the lift.
We pulled into the Grafton Harbor Marina at 4:30. We are now at the confluence with the Mississippi and the topography even changes. Grafton has tall limestone cliffs and it is the winter home for bald eagles. It is a delightful town with a number of restaurants and shops. We were told that the area had 3 floods this past year but the resilient locals keep on cleaning up and rebuilding.
