Woke to bit of rain that cleared and it became a beautiful sunny day! It’s 52 degrees and suppose to warm up to 78 degrees. No more bundling up!
We walked through Grafton and enjoyed its shops and small downtown district. The town was once a busy steamship port and depot due to its location where the Illinois and Mississippi meet. Today it is known for its wineries, as a wintering grounds for bald eagles and being the Key West of the Midwest, due to its many quirky bars and restaurants.
Now some background on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River system is the third largest in the world. It has played a significant, role in the history, agriculture, commerce, art, literature, and recreation. of our country. Beginning as a trickle at Lake Itasca, Minn., it flows 2348 miles to the Gulf of Mexico and is divided into two distinct sections: Upper Mississippi and Lower Mississippi.
The Upper Mississippi is navigable for 858 miles from just above Minneapolis to Cairo, IL at the confluence with the Ohio River. After that point the rest of the river is called the Lower Mississippi.
In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet explored the Mississippi for the French, hoping it would lead to a route to China.
In the 1920’s, the Army Corp of Engineers began to build a series of 29 locks and dams to better serve navigation over the 420 foot fall on the river. Their work kept a nine good depth in the navigation channel with dredging and water flow control.
The Mississippi meanders through area of high limestone bluffs, past road flood plains, rich farmland and many towns, large and small.
Now for our journey down the Mighty Mississippi River.
At about 11:00, we left to travel the last mile of the Illinois River and entered the Mississippi. Two small islands was all that separated the two rivers.
The eastern shoreline rises to 600-800 foot limestone bluffs as we leave Grafton, which were quite impressive to see. These cliffs continued for about 10 more miles along the river shoreline.
Along the way, we passed the town of Portage des Sioux with its many marinas and the our Lady of the River Shrine. This 50 foot shrine was built after the flood of 1951 as gratitude for the floodwaters stopping just short of the city. Each year the blessing of the fleet occurs here.
The Mississippi River is about .5-1.0 miles wide in this section and has a 2-3 knot current that helps us speed along at 9-10 knots. We noticed that everything is bigger on the Mississippi, it’s barges and tugs and the loading depots along the shore.
Some of the barges are so large i can not even get the whole tug and barge in one picture!
As we approach Alton, MO we enter our 14th state on the Loop and pass a large grain processing plant and then the Argosy Casino before we turn into the Alton Marina and get settled.
Here are some shots of the marina and the nearby bridge.
We plan to catch up on sleep, do laundry, grocery shop and visit St Louis while we are here the next three days.
Day 142. October 12. Lay day in Alton
Slept in and had a relaxing morning waiting our turn for the fuel dock. We were greeted this morning by migrating geese accompanied by their harmonious honking!
When we came in yesterday they were low on fuel and asked us to hold off on fueling so they would have enough for the boats leaving tomorrow. So we had to disconnect electrical and water and the lines to drive to the fuel dock and after fueling reconnect everything. Here are some shots of the marina and the nearby bridge.
After getting resettled we called the local grocery which has a vehicle that comes to take boaters to their store so we can get a few fresh veggies and fruit. The driver was very prompt and filled us in on local history and the four generations of her family that have run the store.
Returning to the boat with our groceries, we stowed everything and then took off to walk downtown to see the sites.
Alton was a successful steamship port focusing on grains and fertilizer. The town has the older flour mill still operational on the riverfront. We enjoyed the older buildings and homes, some dating to 1836. There were some cute shops and lots of bars and restaurants.
Some of the old buildings have murals depicting the cities history on their side walls.
We came upon the statue of Miles Davis who was born here in Alton. Didn’t realize that Miles Davis produced more than 300 albums and received over 30 Grammy’s in his lifetime.
On the way back to the boat, Bill stopped in a bar and purchased dessert for this evening, and no it was not ice cream, but cake. Will be sharing cake with our boating buddies tonight!
Threw in the last load of laundry and took a shower, while Bill ticked off his To Do list. Kinda nice to get caught up.