Log 24; Day 100; August 29, 2008; Kimmswick, IL.

Log 24
Day 100
Friday, August 29, 2008

5:45 AM CDT
Location: Kimmswick, MO.
Weather: 70* with 76% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 today with a 30% chance of rain.

A barge came by last night at 2:13 and almost knocked Deb and I out of the bed. Well maybe not knocked us out...but woke us up very quickly. Another one came by at 4:12 and did the same thing. I went back to sleep after that...but did not sleep very well. Finally got up at about 5:30 and will have to make this log short because we will be leaving at first light. Just as I write this there are two barges passing out in the Mississippi so I’m sure the boat will be rockin’ in a couple of minutes. Also I won’t be sending any pictures today, because the Verizon signal is not strong enough, or fast enough to get that done in a reasonable amount of time.


Yesterday we ended up going 40 miles from Alton, IL to Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick MO. Hoppies is a very unique spot. It has been run by Hoppie and Fern for who knows how many years (lots...they are probably 75 or 80 years) and they run it their way. It is nothing more than a couple of barges tied together just off the Mississippi River channel (which is why you get rocked by barges going by) at MM158.5 but everyone stops here because it is the only place to tie up between Alton and Green Turtle Bay...a distance of 240 miles. The only other option is to anchor...and we will be doing that the next two nights. It is about 1 mile to Kimmswick...a very small town know for it’s antiques and one great restaurant called the Blue Owl. I walked up the hill at the marina to a couple of elderly gentleman sitting on chairs just looking out at the river (assuming they were locals and knew everything) and asked them how far it was to town...and was there a place where Deb and I could go in and have a beer. It took them about 10 minutes to tell me this, but the quick summary is...the town is only 4 blocks square; it only has one restaurant (Blue Owl); but hell...they only open from 10 to 3; used to be 4 taverns and a pool hall...all closed; town says they have 150 people...but if you took a census I’ll bet there is less than 100. When I asked why things were getting smaller and changing they said “folks died...and some moved away...and the town is too dam political”. So there you have it...the story of Kimmswick, MO. Does anyone wonder why we are only staying one night?

Today we plan to go 110 miles to a little river/creek just down river from Cape Girardeau, MO. It is called the Little Diversion channel to folks running the river and it’s one of the only places to safely stop for the night between here and the mouth of the Tennessee River...over 200 miles from here. So I need to top off the water tanks (so well have water for the next two nights) and head out. It’s 6:15 now and starting to get light. Looks like a good day for cruising.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.