Monday, September 26 to Saturday, October 15
Milwaukee to Mississippi
Notes from the “Rivers”
OCTOBER 25, 2005 — Writing From Wisconsin …
Reflections on the trip to date:
La Nostra is presently in Columbus, MS about 300mi north of Mobile, AL. We got way out ahead of schedule and arrived at our interim destination (Columbus) about two weeks early so we’ve decided to return to Wisconsin and take care of some business. We’ll return to the boat right after Thanksgiving and move her to Panama City, FL. Where she’ll stay while we return to Wisconsin for Christmas/New Years. Then we’ll begin leg #2 which will be across the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Gulf Coast area, and on to Key West.
The Rivers.
To date we’ve covered just under 1100mi on 8 different river systems; the Chicago River, Chicago Ship Canal, Illinois River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, Cumberland River, Tennessee River, and the Tennessee-Tomtigbee Waterway (called the Tenn-Tom). Each river is somewhat unique. The trip on the Chicago River through downtown Chicago was overwhelming. Beautiful clear sunny morning, watching a bazillion people scurrying to work as we passed underneath bridges and past skyscrapers.
The Chicago Ship Canal is just that…..where all the upbound barges unload their bulk cargos for destinations inland. One stretch is called “12 miles of barge hell” and for good reason. Truly an industrial river but fascinating in it’s own way. The Illinois rambles through a lot of rural farm countryside until it meets the Mississippi just north of St. Louis. The Mighty Mississippi is muddy, fast-moving current (fortunately downstream) and hard-working, carrying a LOT of barge traffic in both directions. From “old man river” we merged into the Ohio just below Cairo, IL and the contrast is striking the muddy waters of the down-flowing Mississippi hit the upbound fast current of the Ohio and the change is immediate; clear flowing waters but now you’re traveling against the current. The Ohio is briefly industrial but then turns into a large, rural river. After about 60 mi on the Ohio we turned south (but still considered upbound) onto the Cumberland. River. This is rural, narrow, and winding, with no place to stop for 35 miles. At Barkley lock we turned off the Cumberland and into the Tennessee River which is beautiful and picturesque. Here again even though we were traveling south we were considered “upbound” traffic on the river. And still against a rather strong current. In several areas the river widens into beautiful lake-like areas. Just north of the Tennessee/Mississippi border we turned south into the Tomtigbee Waterway, now finally considered “downbound” and with the current. The Tomtigbee was completed in 1985 as an alternative route to the Gulf instead of the lower Mississippi. This will take us all the way down to Mobile, AL and the Gulf of Mexico.
River boating is about as different from Great Lakes boating as night and day. Very few cities of any size, not much in the line of marinas and generally what is called a marina is nothing more than a few barges welded together with a couple of large tanks for gasoline or diesel fuel. But it’s beautiful in it’s own way. The navigation channels are well marked and you learn to stay within the channel. Wandering out of the channel even for a few feet and you might find the bottom pretty quickly.
The Barges.
Barge traffic is tremendous in both directions on the rivers. And many of them are HUGE. Called “tows” (even though they’re being pushed by 10,000hp tugboats) some of them will be as many as 24 barges; 4 across and 6 long. Over 1/4 mile long, they can take over 1-1/2 miles to come to a stop. You learn to respect them and stay out of their way. They’re skippered by very competent and courteous captains who can be a great source of information on river conditions, etc. They refer to pleasure craft as “pc’ers”.
The Locks.
For this first leg we went through 26 locks, all dropping in elevation with the exception of one on the Ohio River. Intimidating at first, we’ve gotten reasonably good at handling the procedure on our own. I position the boat while my extremely competent (and pretty) Line Lady lassoes a large device called a bollard. The boat is secured to the bollard while the lock gates close behind us . Once closed, the water is then let out and the bollard slides down inside the lock wall as the boat and water lower to the next elevation. The lower gates are then opened and out you go and on your way. Most locks are all the same size; 600′ long and 110′ wide. This size is necessary to accommodate the barge traffic. Barges always have the right of way at the locks. If a large double tow is locking through, the wait can be as much as 3-4hrs, depending on the size of the tow. Fortunately we had very few long waits. The drops in elevation can be as small as 1-2 feet to one lock on the Tennessee River that was 85 feet. They’re all operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Towns.
Most all towns along the rivers are small and rural. The exception would be St. Louis but for some strange reason there’s not a single marina or dock available to tie up at in St. Louis. No wonder Lewis and Clark kept going on the Missouri.!!! One bothersome item that I noticed at a lot of the small towns near the marinas we stayed at on the entire length of the trip. When asking directions on how to get to town (we have a couple of fold-up bicycles that are our primary means of land
transportation) we’re told…”not much in town worthwhile, but there is a Super Walmart out on the main highway where you can get everything.” And that’s exactly what you see….deserted towns with boarded up local hardware stores, local meat markets, local drug stores, etc. All boarded up. The Super Store has swallowed them all up and the local community (s) have become completely dependent on Sam for just about everything. Not exactly the picture of The American way. By their own account, in 2004 Walmart imported 18 billion dollars worth of merchandise from China. And in 2006 they plan to open over 100 new stores, most in rural areas. It’s a shame to see these communities so dependent on a single source. One has to wonder if this wasn’t Sam’s original intent. Enough political statement.
The Boat and Crew.
Glad to say that both have held up exceptionally well. We’ve not experienced a single problem with La Nostra and the same can be said for the crew. No mutiny’s, not even a threat of one. Methinks the two of us have enjoyed this adventure immensely. Ronda does a great job of line handling whether we’re going through locks, tying up at fuel docks, dropping anchor somewhere, or sliding into a slip at some marina. If people are around, there’s never been a shortage of folks willing to help her out. On the other hand whenever I’m tying up the boat, I’m doing it myself. What the heck is that all about.????
The Friends.
One of the most often mentioned comments we’ve heard from people who have taken this trip is the friendships they’ve established. And that we’ve learned in spades. The couples we’ve met along the way are from all points; Twin Cities, Cleveland, Stevens Point, Annapolis, Delaware, North Carolina, Punta Gorda, etc. All on the same adventure and each as enthusiastic as the other. We share anchorages together, depart at our own pace in the morning, and most likely end up at the same places at the end of the day. It’s great. And everyone looks out for one another, sharing tips, chores, etc. Oh, and wine too.!!!!
Conclusions After Leg #1.
This trip has been more fun than either of us had anticipated. We’re ready to go back already.!! We’ve learned to deal with the rivers on their own terms and conditions. We had one minor incident just outside of Grand River, KY. We violated one of the cardinal rules of river travel: NEVER attempt to travel on the river at night. We had radioed ahead to a lock about 30mi ahead and were assured we’d be able to lock right through. We were headed to a marina just below that lock. We decided to “go for it” and arrived at the lock at 600p but found the lock was going to be tied up for two hours with a huge double tow locking downbound. I guess they forgot to tell us that on the radio call. When we finally locked through, the lower gates opened up into the blackest night we’ve ever seen. Even with a one million candlepower spotlight on the upper bridge, we couldn’t pick our way through to the marina channel. We ended up brushing bottom with the bow but were able to quickly back off in reverse. Fortunately no damage to anything and the marina sent out a “follow me” boat to guide us into the facility. But a lesson well learned. Be to your overnight spot while still in daylight.
And learn to slow down. We’re going to follow that motto on leg #2.
To Contact Frank:
Cell: 414-254-1668
Internet: frank / Frank@QG.com