This is the beginning of week 6 for us on our Great Loop adventure. Fern had advised us that if there is fog down the river, do not leave until later in the morning. We took her advice and had a leisurely morning exploring more of Kimmswick. We also talked with Hoppie himself who told us of the river crest of 40 feet in this area in 1993 which put the water up to the roof on the barn. This year a 5 foot section of shore bank that was washed out last year has been silted back in. That’s how the Mighty Mississippi earns her name.
We departed at 12 noon with “Baby Grand” in the lead as we have AIS to let us know where all the barges are. We were fooled a little bit when we had an AIS target named “Adventure” going 14 mph and it turned out to be a 70 foot Nordhaven which passed us as well as the upbound and downbound barges.
We hit areas of turbulence caused by Weir dams under the water which push the river water into the main channel.
We pulled into the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam to tie up for the night at about 4:30. The Kaskaskia River meets the Mississippi at this point but the lock and dam is also used for transient overnight use with the lockmaster’s permission. We radioed ahead on Channel 14 and graciously received permission not only to dock, but also to walk on the jetty which is rigged with pipelines and valves. We all gathered on the jetty to trade stories about our day and all looked forward to a calm and quiet night away from the current and barge traffic.
We departed at 12 noon with “Baby Grand” in the lead as we have AIS to let us know where all the barges are. We were fooled a little bit when we had an AIS target named “Adventure” going 14 mph and it turned out to be a 70 foot Nordhaven which passed us as well as the upbound and downbound barges.
We hit areas of turbulence caused by Weir dams under the water which push the river water into the main channel.
We pulled into the Kaskaskia Lock and Dam to tie up for the night at about 4:30. The Kaskaskia River meets the Mississippi at this point but the lock and dam is also used for transient overnight use with the lockmaster’s permission. We radioed ahead on Channel 14 and graciously received permission not only to dock, but also to walk on the jetty which is rigged with pipelines and valves. We all gathered on the jetty to trade stories about our day and all looked forward to a calm and quiet night away from the current and barge traffic.
