Slow and Steady Progress

September 26, 2014

9/25 Woke up to a leisurely morning and left Hoppie’s after a breakfast smoothie with the Tailgater. It is wonderful. Thanks again Black Shift. We’ve found the Mississippi to be great, much better than the Illinois River. The Mississippi has been scenic thus far. The amount of commerce taking place is incredible for a guy like me. Found a statistic that 66% of the worlds grain passes through the Mel Price Lock. We’ve seen everything from mining, electricity generation (coal) to scrap iron and mulch being shredded and shipped. I wanted to pass on information about Hoppie’s. It’s an interesting place, very old school. If anyone has spent any time with rural people on the river. This is it. It reminds me of a friend my dad had when I was a kid duck hunting on the Mississippi. George lived very simply and his skin was as weathered his house.The facilities at Hoppie’s were almost nonexistent. There was power, water and fuel if you needed it. There was a restroom without toilet paper and brown running water. You tie up to several barges that have been lashed together on the Missouri side of the river outside the town of Kimmswick. Fern sat down at 4 in the afternoon with us boaters, had a few smokes and gave us the current lowdown on the river system down all the way to Green Turtle Bay. Her husband “Hoppy” is reported to be the last living Mississippi River lamplighter by Dozier’s guide. The mooring was the worst of the whole trip. The river did not settle down until sometime after 2 in the morning. During the night I washed the fenders down with soapy water to quiet the grinding noise against the hull. Karen slept in the center of the boat because of all the motion. The town is very nice and quaint but rolls up the sidewalks at 4 in the afternoon. Dozier’s guide reports Kimmswick as the second oldest town in Missouri. Anheuser Busch operates a horse farm here for kids with disabilities. We watched as several children rode the horses with the help they needed. It was very nice to see.

Fern Filling Fuel Cans for Cruisers.

Fern giving advise at afternoon meeting.

Last Mango Tied Up to Barges at Hoppie's.

Sitting for Meeting

Everyone Awaiting Advise

Busch Horse Arena

Beautiful Grounds

It's a Tailgator Morning Smoothie

Water Change on the Mississippi

Floating Barge Dock.

We’re currently tied up off the Kaskaskia Lock wall. Hey it appears to be quiet and it’s free. You know me. Free! We’re waiting for the Texans to show up and then we’ll go for a dinghy ride to a nearby campground. Hopefully the dinghy ride will be Asian-less.

9/26 Woke up to the alarm. We’re setting off to the Little Diversion River to anchor for the night. This section of the river was better than yesterday. Scenic and somewhat violent in places. Unfortunately I did not get pictures of the whirlpools that form at sharp bends and narrow areas of the river. They actually move Last Mango around at will. I can only try to power through the areas as fast as I can. We reached over 12 MPH today and with the current had a hard time getting into the anchorage. I took a dinghy ride up the river to find nothing but birds, turtles and fish. I came back and took a shower after Karen finished. Karen’s reading the Kindle and I’m typing. We’re going to finish the salad tonight with a drink and watch other boaters come in and crowd the anchorage. The Mississippi is almost behind us…48 miles to go to the Ohio…then we will move SLOW.