Dave starts the engines by 7:30 and this is his view!!!
Across from us, we find we now have a neighbor that wasn't anchored there when we turned in for the night!
Two more photos of the fog; spectacular!
We pass by this kayaker. Didn't get to talk with him, so I'm not sure where he's headed, but he is definitely packed for a long venture. Byron Curtis (former co-worker of mine that has kayaked from Prescott to the Gulf), Dave and I think of you often and are amazed of your accomplishment!!!
Just when we're beginning to think we are the only ones on this river, we see five boats headed towards us, coming out of Lock 24! After chatting with one of the boaters on the radio, we find out that the group was headed north to Quincy, Illinois, for an antique boat show. Four of the five boats turned out to be classic cruisers; beautiful!
As we float in Lock 24 (many times we are the only boat in the lock chamber, so the lock master will let us "float" and not hold a line next to the lock wall), we see a construction crew working on one of the gates for the dam. You can really tell how massive this structure is when you compare the size of the man to the dam.
The bluffs on the Missouri side of the river are out of sight,
and now we see beautiful, rocky ones on the Illinois side.
A second ferry on the Mississippi River at Golden Eagle, Illinois;
appropriately named, Golden Eagle Ferry!
This house comes with its own set of caves!!!😲
We realize that we must be getting closer to a bigger city, as we start to see more pleasure boats and people!!!
This is so exciting as we begin to see the Illinois River on the other side of these two islands!
After the island on the left, just past the red buoy, is the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. When we brought the boat back home from Maryland, we came down the Illinois and then turned north on to the Mississippi. We are now in virgin territory! So excited!!!
Looking back up the Illinois, we can see Grafton Marina on the right, where we stayed returning home from Maryland.
Going forward into this new passage, the first thing we see are beautiful bluffs
that remind us of Lake Pepin!
Looking behind us once more time, you can see the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers (a towboat is on the Mssissippi).
As we head towards Alton, Illinois (which is a town of approximately 25,000), we see a shrine of "Our Lady of the Rivers". This is a statue of the Virgin Mary that is both a reminder of the tremendous power of nature and a tribute to its incredible beauty. "Our Lady of the Rivers" gets its name from the fact that three major rivers - the Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi - meet within a few miles of the site.
We are in the beautiful Alton Marina that is a very popular stop for "loopers", and have already met a few. We will stay here for three nights to take on some more fuel ($2.70 a gallon), do some laundry, get groceries, and check out the sites. Southbound once again on Sunday!
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