Kentucky Lake-Tennessee River - October 4-8

Twenty-two miles after turning off the Ohio River, we arrived at the Kentucky Lock to find 2 double size tows waiting to lock thru. 

The lock master advised us it would be 3-4 hours before we would lock through. Down went the anchor, out came the grill, lunch time! The first mate cooked while the captain worked on waxing the boat. 

Kentucky Lake has become a favorite area for us. A boater’s paradise. Too many beautiful coves to count. We could spend a whole summer here and never stay in the same anchorage twice. 

Our 190 miles on this portion of our journey was pretty equally divided between Kentucky Lake and then narrowed back to river travel. Our 2nd and final lock of this section proved to be a long wait also. 5 1/2 hours later we were thru. Argh! Fifteen miles later we arrived at Grand Harbor Marina at dusk. 

ALONG THE WAY:

Sunny, sunny, sunny weather….still.

2 locks, lifting us up 112 feet total.

1 night in a marina.

4 amazing nights on anchor. 

Huge full moon! 

PV2 at Kentucky Dam Marina 

Full moon at Dickey Tow Head
First repeat anchorage of the trip.

No Small Craft warning here!

Pickwick Lock, closing the doors behind us.

Mississippi River & Ohio River - Oct 1-4

We left Grafton on October 1,  beginning our journey down the Mississippi River. Fourteen miles later, we stopped in Alton to top off with fuel. While fueling up, the captain contacted the lock 1/2 mile away and was advised if we get there fast he’ll lock us right thru. Bam, done, we were out of there! Perfect timing. Our 2nd lock for the day went just as well. 

We dropped the hook up the mouth of the Meramac River. The river current kept us nice and centered in the river all evening. The next morning we found we were spun sideways and the back of the boat was somewhat stuck in the muddy bottom near shore.

By pulling  the boat ahead a few feet with the anchor winch, it allowed the back end to freely swing out with the current. Whew! 

Our journey on the Mississippi River took us 218 miles downstream, thru 2 lock, down 46 feet.

Our journey on the Ohio River took us 47 miles upstream, thru 1 lock, up 10 feet. (When we came up the river in 2021 the water was so high we actually went right over the dam rather than through the lock!)

ALONG THE WAY:

Sunny, sunny, sunny weather.

4 days of travel - never set foot on land.

3 nights on anchor - all new stops for us. 

Low water on the Mississippi provided beautiful, scenic beaches and log-free/stress-free traveling.

During a dinghy ride near Cape Girardeau, we excited a bazillion Asian Carp. Once the first mate stopped screaming she wanted to do it again.

Hello St Louis!

Exiting the lock. Tow waiting to enter 

Kayakers enjoying low Mississippi waters

The calm before the Asian Carp ruckus 

The Ruckus!!

Illinois River - Sept 24-30

As we entered the Cal Sag/Calumet River we also entered the world of bridges, barges/tows, dams and locks.

It’s time for the navigator to start earning her keep again - checking bridge heights, requesting openings, watching for tows. 

After 30 miles and one lock we again turned left and joined the Illinois River. 

Our journey on the Illinois River took us 303 miles and through 8 locks dropping us 157 feet from Lake Michigan water level. 

This took us 6 days of cruising with our final destination: Grafton Harbor Marina where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi.

ALONG THE WAY….

Sunny, sunny, sunny weather.

 Four nights on anchor, 3 nights in a marina. 

 Best brisket and pulled port this side of anywhere at the Blue Duck Tavern in Peoria. 

Bumping into, meeting, sharing anchorages and stories with many, many Loppers. (On a sad note, a couple we met at the marina made the decision to pause their Loop and leave their boat in Grafton to tend to their home on Pine Island, near Fort Myers, that was damaged by Hurricane Ian. Because they had to empty out their boat fridge and freezer they grilled up all their meat and shared it with all of us.  What a feast we had!) 

Next up…the Mississippi River! 

First lock. Many more to come!

Asian carp fish barrier 

Work, work, work. Finding the perfect anchorage.

Work paid off…perfect anchorage 

Dinghy exploration of our anchorage 

Pulling anchor - beautiful morning!

Tied to a mooring cell while waiting for a lock

Locking thru with 6 other Looper boats

Captain checking depths for an anchorage 

Grafton. Key West of the Midwest!

Hurricane Ian

 Hurricane Ian has devastated southwest Florida. It would be remiss of us not to comment on this tragedy. We have friends and family who have condos or homes in the Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Englewood  and Punta Gorda area.  We also have Looper friends who lived full time on their boats in Fort Myers. We know for sure that at least one has lost their boat (their home) to the storm. We are thankful they are okay.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost so much. 

Grand Haven-Chicago - Sept 23

 Here we go again! After enduring the winter last year without a boat in Florida, we decided that should not happen again this year.

We have to say, we did make good use of the time the Pura Vida was in winter storage in Michigan . We made quite a few improvements and enhancements that make her better than ever. 

Friday, September 23 was go day! We left our slip at Keenan Marina, and topped off our fuel tanks by 11am, cruised out the Grand Haven channel and yes, once again, turned left. Our planned destination for the day was New Buffalo, Michigan with the intention of crossing Lake Michigan on Saturday. As we traveled down the shoreline nearing Holland, we were as always checking the wind and wave forecast. Saturday’s weather was not looking as good as it had earlier, so after a crew meeting we reset our destination on our chart plotter to Hammond, Indiana. With 96 miles to travel in 6 hours of daylight, the throttles were pushed far forward. Full speed ahead! It was a cool day, but the lake was very calm all the way. Although we never, never, never anchor out overnight on Lake Michigan, we dropped the hook in Lake Michigan just north of Hammond Marina in a well protected cove in front of Beer Can Beach.  The winds were out of the south so being on the south end of Lake Michigan the waters, were calm. 

Saturday morning we were moved and waiting at the Hammond Marina fuel dock before they opened. We topped of our tanks again and cruised 3 miles north to the entrance of the Calumet/Cal-Sag canal. 

Next up, the rivers! 

Getting us into River mode. Waiting for a barge and drawbridge!
Grand Haven Drawbridge 

Goodbye for now Grand Haven

Smooth day cruising 

Chicago skyline 

Grafton-Grand Haven - May 16-31

 Good thing we like Grafton, Illinois!  Due to the rainy, windy weather, we ended up staying at Grafton Harbor Marina for 4 nights. Our down time was spent cleaning the boat - inside and out (washing off the Mississippi River grunge), re-provisioning, giving Steve a much needed haircut, and enjoying the fun, yummy restaurants in town. A short walk from the boat is the Grafton SkyTour which is a scenic aerial-lift. We rode the chairlift up to the top where we had amazing views from the Aerie's Resort and Winery of where the Mississippi River and the Illinois River join. Our ride back down was on the gondola. 

On Wednesday it was time to begin traveling the Illinois River. Due to the recent rains and flooding we had to once again constantly dodge huge logs as we fought the current. Some areas along the river had massive stockpiles of logs and debris jammed everywhere.  After traveling 96 miles we pulled behind Bar Island and dropped the hook for the night. Early Thursday morning we were back on log watch as we traveled 79 miles to Peoria. That night we anchored out in a bay across from town and took the dinghy in for a spectacular dinner of pulled pork and brisket at The Blue Duck BBQ Tavern. We anchored out 2 more nights along the river before popping out into Lake Michigan - 6:30 Sunday evening. It was cold, windy and we were tired! We pulled into Hammond Marina and tied up to the 1st dock we came to. For the 3rd time in our boating career we were thrilled to be done with locks, bridges, tows, barges, and logs on the rivers!  

Chicago!  On Monday, we left Hammond Marina and cruised over to DuSable Marina located downtown Chicago where we stayed for 2 nights.  Tuesday was Sheli's 60 birthday and what a fun birthday it was! After walking into the city for a fabulous birthday breakfast, we took off on the dinghy for a cruise thru downtown on the Chicago River. Coming in from Lake Michigan we had to pass thru the Chicago Harbor Lock at Navy Pier - a drop of 4 feet!  It was so fun to putz along while taking in all the high rise buildings and their impressive architecture. Later in the afternoon we walked over to Navy Pier to enjoy the rides and some famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. 

On Wednesday, it was time to head to Michigan. We had an absolutely gorgeous day to cross from Chicago to New Buffalo. About 5 miles out from New Buffalo we stopped and swam. It felt so good to swim in the clean and clear (non-salt) waters of Lake Michigan. Once again the weather turned windy and cold so we spent 3 nights at the New Buffalo Municipal Marina. On Saturday, we left New Buffalo with thoughts of Saugatuck as our next stop, however Lake Michigan did not cooperate and beat us up pretty good, so we only traveled 29 miles and stopped in St Joseph where we tied to their city wall. By the next morning, the winds died down and so did Lake Michigan so we had a nice cruise up to Saugatuck. We anchored out just off the lake in the Saugatuck Channel and had a lovely last evening before our final leg.  On Monday, 4 weeks after beginning this trek, we cruised 30 miles and pulled into Keenan Marina by noon. 

After 3-1/2 years and 7820 miles PV2 is back in Grand Haven. What a ride!!!!!!

Grafton-heading up on the chairlift 

Heading down on the gondola 

Check out the debris and log build up!

Maneuvering tows and barges into the lock.
Waiting to enter after they are tied off.

Tucked in the lock surrounded by barges and tows.

Powerful water released from lock

Tied off to a barge in a lock. Yikes!

Chicago here we come!

Beautiful Lake Michigan!

Dinghy Captain for the day.

On our way to the Chicago River 

Locking thru with the dinghy 

Downtown architecture 

60 is fabulous!

Our view of Navy Pier from our slip

Hello Grand Haven! We’re back!

Mississippi River - May 14-15

The mighty Miss. We are once again traveling upstream, fighting the current. Besides the current we must constantly dodge logs and sometimes trees coming at us. What a ruckus.  We sure don’t want any of those in our props.  Then on top of that there are the tows pushing 10-20 barges.  After pushing upstream for 51 miles we stopped for fuel in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. (This is where Rush Limbaugh was born)  We had contacted Kidd Oil Company that morning and scheduled for Charlie Brown (yes really) to meet us at his fuel dock. The dock is actually a 50 foot barge where they pumped fuel from a tanker truck on the other side of the flood wall. Another 1st time experience for us. Once fueled up we continued for 66 miles where we turned up the Kaskaskia River, proceeded 1/4 mile and tied up to the lock wall for the evening after getting permission from the lock master. At dusk we were entertained by chorus of howling coyotes. The first mate thought they sounded a lot like the captain when he tries to sing!  The captain claimed they were applauding our 12 hour, 165 mile day.

Saturday, May 15 after another 50 miles of fighting the current it was time for fuel again. We stopped at the legendary Hoppies to top off the tanks. After topping off the first tank, Sheli asked the attendant how he could tell how much fuel we were getting as the pump still showed zero. That caused a panic on his end. After lots of stomping around, we came to a consensus that we would have to rely on our onboard fuel meters to complete the purchase.  Over the next 60 miles we locked up twice. We were fortunate to only have to wait 1/2 hour at the Chain of Rocks Lock, but at the Mel Price Lock we had to wait 3 hours as they had to lock thru 2 upbound tows ahead of us. Commercial tows/barges have locking priority over recreational vessels however the lock masters are required to lock any waiting pleasure craft every 3rd lock.  After our 110 mile day, we pulled in at Grafton Harbor Marina. We are now off the Mississippi River and on the Illinois River.

Pulling up to barge for fuel

Cape Girardeau, Missouri fuel stop

Typical Tow pushing barges

Passing by the St Louis Arch