Sept 29 Down the mighty Mississippi

We headed out of Grafton early in order to make the mileage down the Mississippi River (first pic) to Hoppies. We have 2 locks to go through and a busy area around St Louis (2nd pic). Two other boats joined us at the Alton Lock, the Irish Rover and the LoveShack, and we travelled together the entire day.


It was striking how the Mississippi is such a working river. We encountered many tow barges and there were many refineries along the way. Most of the tow barges were hauling coal to the larger cities for for power generation. The tow captains were constantly talking to each other about their position on the river and how they would pass each other. Most of the time the upriver barges would beach on the riverbanks and let the downriver barges pass through. The current on the Mississippi river is about 4 knots and it is difficult to control a vessel going with the current. We arrived at Hoppies, which is a barge on the river and the last stop to get fuel for more than 300 miles. The owner, Fran Hopkins, gives a daily briefing about the river conditions and what NOT to do on the river if you want to make it (last pic). A good meal at the famous Blue Owl and a tour of the small town of Kimmswick, and we were ready for the next leg of the trip.