Today, we arrived at Green Turtle Bay (GTB) in Kentucky. It's a "breathe" milestone among Loopers who start in the Great Lakes. It means you're off the big rivers for awhile, having survived the big lakes plus about 600 miles of inland waterways, including many anchorages, river currents and eddies and sand bars, 11 big … Continue reading GTB: What Is “Success?” (Day 62)
Inland waterways are the liquid version of highways, and the big ones carry a lot of product across the country. Pedukah, KY is a hub of this maritime activity because it sits at the confluence of two major rivers (the Ohio and the Tennessee) and near two others (the Mississippi and the Cumberland.) Given its … Continue reading A Waterway Hub (Day 61)
On to Kentucky, our fifth state in 60 days. (Life is slow at 8 mph.) Padukah Municipal Marina We're still in the floodplain, and the docks float up with the river. This leg was less than 40 miles but took us almost seven hours. Going upstream does that. We got underway shortly after 0630 from … Continue reading Kentucky! (Days 59-60)
Like hitting the brakes. That's what it feels like to go against the current after going with it for 20 days. Post-sunset on the industrial Ohio River. That's what happened when we left the Mississippi River and turned left to head up the Ohio. We instantly lost more than half our momentum. We knew it … Continue reading Against The Current (Day 58)
First, the fog. Fog obscures a tug on our port side at sunrise. The 14 boats jammed together at the free lock wall last night were eager to get "unstuck" and underway, so we moved out early. A little too early for my taste, since the fog hadn't yet lifted. "What's the rush?" I asked … Continue reading A Little Diversion (Day 57)
Many Moons (left) is dwarfed by a yacht, just feet from a concrete pillar. Tonight's post is titled "squeezed" because that's what we are ... squished, actually ... between a 49-foot yacht and a concrete lock wall. Our boat is 34 feet long. Big boats are supposed to go on the inside, not the outside, … Continue reading Squeezed (Day 56)
We are tied up tonight at the legendary Hoppies' Marina at Kinnswick, Missouri, getting bounced around by passing barges after an eventful 44-mile day. It started with a wake-up call at 0530, our earliest yet. We sure "woke up" from our six leisurely days in port! Hoppies This marina (if you can call it that) … Continue reading To Hoppies, Missouri (Day 55)
Docktails at Alton Marina At least 22 boat crews came to "docktails" (dockside social hour) tonight, our last evening of a long stop in Alton, Ill. After the sun set, we hosted four boaters in our salon, lit by solar flames, while snacking on Scotch Eggs that we made in the air fryer. Hosting visitors … Continue reading Community (Day 53-54)
"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." - T.S. Eliot. That sounds like a Looper motto to me! I wonder if, at the end of this trip, I will know myself "for the first time?" A curious question, perhaps, but … Continue reading St. Louis (Day 52)
Full Moon atop Clark Bridge. When a full moon meets the apex of a cable bridge, it looks like a spotlight. A 5x3 barge tow carries as much as 1,000 semi trucks. Loopers on a bus named Shittzengiggles do, in fact, giggle. Those are three things I learned during our third day in Alton, Illinois … Continue reading Bridges, Barges & Giggles (Day 51)
For Many Moons 