Mississippi River heading south at 7:30 a.m.
Statue of St. Mary watching over the river.
Some of the rock formations on the river
Approaching St. Louis.
The famous St. Louis arch signifying the middle of the U.S.
Downtown St. Louis.
Left Grafton Illinois at 7:30 this morning with one other boat for the 60 mile ride to Kimmswick Missouri.
It was a beautiful sunny morning with the river current adding 4 mph to our boats speed. It was pretty much dodging large trees, branches, and garbage in the river all day. The Mississippi is dirty and has been at flood stage for weeks and literally picks up all the debris from the shore and carries it down stream. The river is currently dropping 2 1/2 feet per day.
We arrived at Hoppie's Marina which is legendary on the river and a must stop for every "looper". It is three, 300ft. barges attached to each other and anchored to the shoreline. There are NO conveniences like most marinas with bathrooms, showers, wifi, and cable etc. It is what it is, and a must stop. The proprietors are in their late 70's and the marina has been in the family since 1934 and they are the real river people. Fern, the owners wife, runs the show with daily briefings at a comfortable and casual gathering area in the middle of the docks over cocktails. She has lived on the river all her life and goes over all the areas to be carefull of, passing tugs in turbulent waters, etc.
We will be here for a few days as we are awaiting friends who arrive tomorrow in their boats from Grafton and are headed to Burnt Store in Punta Gorda where they winter and another couple from Holland Michigan.
