We are now on the Mississippi River on the border of Illinois and Missouri. Remember when I was griping about the cold weather? Well now it is hotter than Hades with temps in the high 90’s and the heat index well into the 100’s. That'll learn me to complain. Of course we are now having difficulties with our AC, but believe we have found the main culprit of why it was continually freezing up. A ‘seasoned’ boater in Florida told us to put dryer sheets in the bilge area where the AC unit is located to keep the air smelling fresh. Well, the sheets got sucked up around the intake coils and adhered themselves like glue. The ‘seasoned’ boater must have been a marine AC repairman needing more business!
The rivers are wide, and blissfully give us no worries about waves and winds. The water level is extremely low right now. Many barges are grounded in areas too shallow to pass. This works in our favor since we don’t have to play ‘chicken’ with them or pull over to allow them to pass. However….the water is so low that many marinas and anchorages are closed to boats that have more than a 3-ft draft. We are at 3.8 feet. So we are spending several days in marinas that can accommodate us while we wait for the autumn rains. One night 11 Looper boats had to tie up to Logsdon Tug Services’ barges in Beardstown, Illinois because it was the only docking for many miles. Of course there was no electricity or water hookups, but it was a fun night roaming around on the barges ‘roughing it’ with each other.
We have a new mattress! After too many mornings of aches and pains, we realized it may be our bed instead of actually being physically active. So Derek borrowed a truck from the dock master and bought a 10-inch gel foam mattress in a box. The fun part was getting a rectangle mattress to fit in a diamond shape bed frame. Solution: buy an electric knife and cut it to fit! Oh the joy of a wonderful night’s sleep.
Oddity of the week are the asian carp that have infested the Illinois River. I have included a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLmJjRqXDCo. These fish are CRAZY! Apparently, the frequency of the motor vibrations cause them to jump wildly out of the water when you pass. Edouard (our Frenchie friend) had a BIG one jump into his boat, leaving scales and slime all over his transom area. So far the height of our sides have saved us from the same fate. We passed a small boat filled with bowhunters that were getting them left and right as it cruised along. Our son, Trevor, would have a blast doing that!
Gypsea is growing and getting more insistent on being let out. When we allow her outside of the boat, she gives us heart attacks as she jumps up and walks along the 2-inch railing area along the sides. Today we took her to the town’s farmers market. Little did we know that it was a doggy dress-up parade day! There were dogs EVERYWHERE. She spent some time in a tree she climbed in order to have the advantage! BUT…she is actually leash trained now and will walk beside us. She has become the center of attention wherever she goes.
Almost all Loopers taking the voyage this year are now within a couple hundred miles of each other (since autumn is the season to be on the rivers). We know many people at each stop and our friendships have strengthened. I’ve met several retired nurses, one of them also a hospice nurse. We spend quite a bit of time with Michael from Australia who is literally sailing all over the world…..by himself in a sailboat!!!! We even run into people we met in Florida and Georgia months before. We now are always cruising with a least a half dozen other Looper boats. It’s very strange to be one of the ‘mentors’ for Loopers that have just recently started their journey in the Great Lakes. By the way…did you know that more people climb Mt Everest in a year than complete the Loop? It’s hard to believe that we have traveled about 4000 miles already. That’s approximately 78 different marinas and as many bathroom codes, laundromats, and docktail gatherings! Every grocery store is unfamiliar and takes twice as long to find things. We are constantly aware of the tank levels for our fuel, water and poop!!! But these are problems that give only minor irritations, and life on the water has been remarkably stress free. Whoops….I probably just jinxed ourselves into another boat system failure!!! We now have a hard time imagining going back to ‘our old life’. Btw..Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon Key came through the hurricane with very minor damage, so we’re still on for the holiday season there. Docktails on the Donna Mae for anyone wanting to meet us there :)
That’s it for now. As a Looper friend says….keep the wet side down!
The rivers are wide, and blissfully give us no worries about waves and winds. The water level is extremely low right now. Many barges are grounded in areas too shallow to pass. This works in our favor since we don’t have to play ‘chicken’ with them or pull over to allow them to pass. However….the water is so low that many marinas and anchorages are closed to boats that have more than a 3-ft draft. We are at 3.8 feet. So we are spending several days in marinas that can accommodate us while we wait for the autumn rains. One night 11 Looper boats had to tie up to Logsdon Tug Services’ barges in Beardstown, Illinois because it was the only docking for many miles. Of course there was no electricity or water hookups, but it was a fun night roaming around on the barges ‘roughing it’ with each other.
We have a new mattress! After too many mornings of aches and pains, we realized it may be our bed instead of actually being physically active. So Derek borrowed a truck from the dock master and bought a 10-inch gel foam mattress in a box. The fun part was getting a rectangle mattress to fit in a diamond shape bed frame. Solution: buy an electric knife and cut it to fit! Oh the joy of a wonderful night’s sleep.
Oddity of the week are the asian carp that have infested the Illinois River. I have included a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLmJjRqXDCo. These fish are CRAZY! Apparently, the frequency of the motor vibrations cause them to jump wildly out of the water when you pass. Edouard (our Frenchie friend) had a BIG one jump into his boat, leaving scales and slime all over his transom area. So far the height of our sides have saved us from the same fate. We passed a small boat filled with bowhunters that were getting them left and right as it cruised along. Our son, Trevor, would have a blast doing that!
Gypsea is growing and getting more insistent on being let out. When we allow her outside of the boat, she gives us heart attacks as she jumps up and walks along the 2-inch railing area along the sides. Today we took her to the town’s farmers market. Little did we know that it was a doggy dress-up parade day! There were dogs EVERYWHERE. She spent some time in a tree she climbed in order to have the advantage! BUT…she is actually leash trained now and will walk beside us. She has become the center of attention wherever she goes.
Almost all Loopers taking the voyage this year are now within a couple hundred miles of each other (since autumn is the season to be on the rivers). We know many people at each stop and our friendships have strengthened. I’ve met several retired nurses, one of them also a hospice nurse. We spend quite a bit of time with Michael from Australia who is literally sailing all over the world…..by himself in a sailboat!!!! We even run into people we met in Florida and Georgia months before. We now are always cruising with a least a half dozen other Looper boats. It’s very strange to be one of the ‘mentors’ for Loopers that have just recently started their journey in the Great Lakes. By the way…did you know that more people climb Mt Everest in a year than complete the Loop? It’s hard to believe that we have traveled about 4000 miles already. That’s approximately 78 different marinas and as many bathroom codes, laundromats, and docktail gatherings! Every grocery store is unfamiliar and takes twice as long to find things. We are constantly aware of the tank levels for our fuel, water and poop!!! But these are problems that give only minor irritations, and life on the water has been remarkably stress free. Whoops….I probably just jinxed ourselves into another boat system failure!!! We now have a hard time imagining going back to ‘our old life’. Btw..Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon Key came through the hurricane with very minor damage, so we’re still on for the holiday season there. Docktails on the Donna Mae for anyone wanting to meet us there :)
That’s it for now. As a Looper friend says….keep the wet side down!
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