TX TO MN TO TX CRUISE
TRIP 4 LOGS
Twin Cities, MN Area to Houston, TX
August 9 – 20, 2003

Twin Cities Area, MN to La Crosse, WI, Saturday, August 9, 2003

     Over the next two days we saw more boats than I have ever seen in a similar period of time.  There must have been 200 – 300 small fishing boats, of the flat- or semi-flat bottom type, plus another 200 – 300 larger fishing boats and ski boats.  I was not in as much of a hurry as I had been, but we were on plane and then off, over and over again.  Angela finally said I reminded her of an impatient blond trying to get through a traffic intersection with a blinking red light.

     We left Treasure Island Marina (near Red Wing, MN) at 8:30am.  We had planned to have dinner with Bob and Lynn Pugh, who keep their 50-foot Gibson houseboat in La Crosse, WI.  We met Bob at the Pettibone Boat Club on the trip up to St. Paul.

     It was a beautiful day, with a high in La Crosse of 86 degrees F.  I could see spending the summer in that area.  The flowers were lovely, and there were flowers everywhere.  The water was pretty, and everyone who could get out on it was out there.  We saw tents set up on sandbars, literally more than a hundred.  Every one of those spots had a couple, or ten, boats pulled up on the shore.  Houseboats were common; several companies in the area rented them for the weekend.  Of course we had to slow to a crawl to avoid giving some of them a bad wake.


   

     Around every bend in the river was a new group of fishermen, or skiers, or families in pontoon boats, or towboats and barges; it was unbelievable.  We went through Lock 3 and then the Town of Red Wing.  Then we went through the 20 mile long, pretty Pepin Lake, which was generally 25 or 30 feet deep except at the lower end where it was over 50 feet deep.

     

      We met a fuel truck at Wabasha, MN at noon, and we filled up with diesel and groceries.  The local grocery store would send a van to pick up boaters and bring them and their groceries back to their boats, from the municipal dock or any one of several local marinas.  It was a good place to be boating; people were friendly and courteous, mostly.

     

     The run from Wabasha to La Crosse was the prettiest on the river, I think.  We took a lot of photos in that area because we kept seeing sights that were appealing to us.

     After leaving Wabasha we went through Locks 4, 5, 5A, 6, and 7.  The locks were 5 – 15 miles apart and provided a lift or drop of 5 – 10 feet.  They each had dimensions of 110 feet wide by 600 feet long.  If there was a tow and barges there, it was a double load, which took between one and a half to two hours to get through the lock.  Those locks did not have floating bollards.  Boats entered the lock one at a time and were directed to a lock attendant at the end, usually, of the lock wall closest to the land side of the lock, where the lockmasters had their offices.  The lock attendant would drop first one, then a second, line to the boat to hold during locking

     

     

       

       

     At Fountain City, WI I paid particular attention to the spot where we hit the wing dam.  As shown in the two photos below, as we made our turn into the Fountain City area, we would expect to see greens on our right and reds on our left; and they were there at the beginning of the turn.  By the time we get to the other end of the straight stretch, and look back, there were no greens visible for a long distance.  In fact, the chart shows about 6 wing dams before any green marker going upstream.  Prior to that straightaway, there was green Pap Chute Daymark, next to an island, all the way over to the land; so it would not warn you away from the upcoming wing dams.  There were three wing dams on the right, and three red buoys to mark them.  It seems the wing dams could have used another green buoy or two; it might have saved me and possibly some others a lot of grief.

    

       

     Looking at the charts a lot, I noticed the new uses of names with which I was familiar.  For example, I saw Vermillion River - there's a Vermillion River in LA near Intracoastal City; Dakota County, MN reminds of the Dakota states; Stockholm, WI - there's a famous city in Sweden named Stockholm; Bass Island, reminded me of South Bass Island in Lake Erie, home of Put-In-Bay, what a cute name; Houston County, MN; Reno, MN; N. Buena Vista, IA reminds of Lake Buena Vista, FL, home of EPCOT, etc; Bellevue, IA reminds of Bellevue, WA, KY, NE, TX, Hospital in NYC, etc: Savanna, IL reminds of Savannah, GA; Clinton, IA  reminds of several other Clintons; Camanche, IA reminds of Comachee Cove Marina, on Comachee Island, near St. Augustine, FL, where we stayed in March 2000; Dallas County, IL; LaGrange, MO reminds of LaGrange, TX; Louisiana, MO (the birthplace of Mark Twain) reminds of the State of Louisiana; Jersey County, IL reminds of the State of New Jersey; and Mississippi County, MO reminds of the State of Mississippi.  There was a Pike County in MO and another in IL on both sides of the river at the same place at times; at Latitude 37 degrees and no minutes, the chart shows the State of Missouri on the west, the Mississippi River, the City of Cairo, IL in the center, the Ohio River, and the State of Kentucky on the east. Since the state lines were established to coincide with the path of the Mississippi River at points further south than Cairo, it is not uncommon to now find two states on both sides of the river, for example, as the path of the River has changed over the years, bur the state lines have not been changed.    

    


   

     In La Crosse we bypassed the Pettibone Boat Club and turned right into a long narrow channel leading up to Bikini Yacht Club.  They said they had 220volt, 50amp power for us, and we knew Pettibone did not.  Well, it turned out the BYC moved us from one slip with the power we needed to another that had only 30-amp power.  

     I got the Smart-Y out and tried again, but it just didn’t work.  The 30amp outlets were not wired to give 30 amps at 110 volts to both outlets at the same time.  The manager was nice; he came over and brought a long 30-amp power cord.  That allowed us to connect one side of our Smart-Y to a different pedestal, and that worked.  We could draw almost 30 amps at 220 volts, which is what we expected the Smart-Y to do for us.

      Bob and Lynn came over and picked us up.  The toured the boat and liked it.  Bob said he would prefer to operate the boat from the flybridge.  I was enjoying the air conditioning of the pilothouse.  In fact, I used to go topsides whenever entering or leaving a dock.  At that point I never operated from the flybridge, only the pilothouse.

     Bob and Lynn took us into downtown La Crosse.  (Both sides of the river were in the town of La Crosse for some reason.)  They said there were three colleges in the City, and the downtown area was full of bars and restaurants.  The one we went to was a neat place called Fayze’s.  It was a bakery in addition to being a restaurant, and it had small portions and low prices.  We were more than satisfied with their choice.

     We went back to the boat and the power was still working well.  We had covered 101 miles in 8 running hours.  We started out at 8:30am and stopped at 7pm, which was 10 and a half hours.  The difference was due to turning off the engines inside the locks and at times while waiting for a lock.

La Crosse, WI to Dubuque, IA, Sunday, August 10, 2003

     We were passed again by a couple of large and fast power boats from the Quad Cities, near Davenport, IA.  They did not slow down for the houseboats and sandbar picnics as we did, and they were faster.  Our wake may have been higher, too.  Anyway, they would get to a lock and wait; we would arrive and we would all go through together.  Sometimes we would precede them into and out of the lock; it depended on where they anchored to wait.  There was no formality about entering the lock in the order that you arrived at the lock.  That happened over and over on Saturday and Sunday.


     

     In a lock they told us they were going to Dubuque for the night.  I had not previously considered it because it did not have 220volt, 50amp power, according to our copy of Quimby’s.  But, I found an ad for the Dubuque Marina in Quimby’s, and the ad said they did have 50amp power.  So I called and confirmed a slip, and we went in there for the night.  That marina had diesel for sale, too, at $1.559 per gallon.  That was about the going rate at marinas there.  What it did not have was water depth; we went aground a few times there at the pump-out dock and at the transient dock.  Fortunately it was a mud bottom and not rock.
  
     We ran 115 miles that day, but it took us from 8am to 6:30pm to do so.  That was another reason to stay at the marina rather than go on and anchor somewhere else.  We were delayed for 2 hours at Lock 10 for a tow and his double load.  The high temperature in Dubuque was 84 degrees F.

     We pumped out at the fuel dock and then got tied up at the transient dock.  We spent 30 minutes or so talking to the Quad Cities boaters.  Then we went to eat at their restaurant, which was a mistake.  It basically was an outdoor eating area with some sandwiches, chips, and fries, and lots of beverages.  The food was not good.  Slip rental was $1 per foot, or a lower amount possibly; the attendant charged me $50.

Dubuque to Anchorage near Muscatine, IA, Monday, August 11, 2003

     That was the worst day for us for delays at locks.  We went through Locks 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.  We were delayed, in order, 1.5 hours, 45 minutes, 1.5 hours, 1 hour, and 1.5 hours, for a total of 6 and one quarter hours of delays.

     We were underway at 7:15am, and we turned off the engines at our anchorage at Mile 448 at 8:30pm.  During those 13 hours we ran the engines only 10 hours; at other times the engines were turned off.  We would do that often in lock chambers to avoid giving our exhaust to the boats behind us.  Often there would be 20 recreational boats in the lock, on the weekends anyway.  At other times we would anchor or drift with the engines off.  We added many more hours to the generator than we did to the engines.

     That day was also not a pretty one, with overcast skies and occasional light rain.  We could really see the banks of the river being lower than they had been.  As far as the high rocky bluffs, the area between Red Wing and La Crosse was the most scenic.

     

     We anchored in the same spot we used on the upbound trip.  We could see a lot of wing dams, and I was traumatized by them.  I did not want to ever hit one again, nor did I want to hit anything else.  The consequences of a moment’s inattention were too dear.

     


Anchorage near Muscatine, IA to Hannibal, MO, Tuesday, August 12, 2003

     I decided I did not need to refuel as often, as we were never buying anywhere near the fuel capacity of the boat.  I decided to test our range by planning for fuel in Hannibal, MO. 

       I got up at 5:15am and got the anchor up at 6:10.  At 6:50am we were at Lock 17, where we had a 1.5 hour delay.  At Lock 18 we were delayed by a special lockage: the tow PHYLLIS pushed a barge of visitors, 180 of them, up through the lock.  They went out into the upper pool, turned around, and came back into the lock.  We followed and then passed them so as to exit first.  The lockmaster said they were a group of members of the Corn Growers Association.

     At the Ft. Madison Bridge, the lady bridge tender said we would have to wait for some trains.  But we only waited for about 10 minutes, and she opened the bridge and let us through.  That bridge was interesting, as it had trains on the lower level and highway traffic on the upper level.  I think the upper level was also a toll bridge.  Anyway, to open it required stopping highway traffic as well as the trains.  That bridge has a clear span of 200 feet in either direction, and it was reported to us as being the world's largest bridge of its type and design.

     At Lock 19, one of only two on the Upper Mississippi with a hydroelectric power plant, we dropped 38 feet after a 30 minute delay.  Then we found the tow waiting for us had blocked us so we could not get out.  Furthermore, he had to come towards us in order to twist his load; so we had to back up.  He offered us a space 18 feet wide, but I held out for more.  He back up his load again and offered a 25-foot hole for us to go through.  I took it, but the currents in a lock situation like that make controlling the boat much more difficult.  Some of the lock approaches are difficult (not straightforward) for the towboat captains to make.

    

     We had no delays and no lines at Locks 20 and 21.  About 20 or 30 miles above Hannibal, we began to have second thoughts about our range.  I had run most of the fuel out of the side tanks and switched us over to the middle tank.  The fuel in the middle tank went too fast, it seemed; and we traveled at a slow speed those last miles to conserve fuel.  I noticed that we had flood walls and levees in Hannibal, but not above there.  So, I checked out the charts.  The levees seem to start about Mile 362, where the Des Moines River joins the Mississippi River.  Above that point, the river banks were apparently high enough to avoid additional levees.

     Right as we came into Hannibal the generator died.  I quickly switched us to the side tanks again instead of the middle tank.  I felt sure there was enough fuel there to run the generator all night.  We had a nice rain shower for about 10 minutes as we tied up to the riverboat dock, the same place we tied up on the way upstream. 

     We went into the small town and showed Susy some of the Mark Twain places, briefly because they were all closed.  Then we ate again at Lula Belle’s.  We had another good meal there; it was a good place to eat.

   

     After dinner we called a taxi and went to the grocery store.  That worked out pretty well.  I was looking forward to filling up the boat and seeing how much fuel it took.  I had ordered 700 gallons and later changed it to 800.  Then I asked them to send 900, as I thought we were almost empty in all three tanks.

     I believed it was imperative that we know our fuel consumption and our range so we could plan our fuel purchases.  We had had days of 1.7 gallons per mile and other days of 2.1 or so gallons per mile.  If the actual usage was 2.0 gallons per mile, which was the worst I thought we would do, then we would have a range of 450 miles (900 gallons of storage in three equal tanks).  Hannibal was 450 miles from Wabasha, where we last filled up.

Hannibal to Kimmswick, MO, Wednesday, August 13, 2003

      

     We waited for the fuel driver to arrive, and he did about 8:45am.  We put 205 gallons in the empty middle tank, and it would not take any more.  (What about three tanks of 300 gallons each?)  The other two tanks took 555 gallons, which was about what I would have expected.  We bought 770 gallons, and 45 more would have topped us out.  I then thought our total fuel capacity was 805 gallons, not 900.  We ran 450 miles on 770 gallons for an overall average of 1.71 gallons per mile.  Thank goodness it was not 2.0 gallons per mile.
 
     We left the dock at 9:45, and there were very few towboats, or traffic of any kind, on the river.  That led to good luck with the locks.  We went through Locks 22 and 24 (there was no Lock 23) with no delays; we floated instead of getting lines from the lockmasters.  Then we saw our first towboat of the day.  We had no delay, and we floated through Lock 25, the last of the “lines” locks.  It was a pleasure, usually to speak to the towboat operators, or just to listen to them interact with others on the river.  Here's an industry that insists on letting you know before I take an action that might affect you, discussing it with you ahead of time, and then remains willing to appease the other operator if he thinks the plan needs to be changed.  In fact, nothing that happens by plan is a surprise; and each towboat operator will occasionally be in the other man's shoes.  So they seem to each one be careful to be just and fair, because they know what the other operator wants and needs.  What a world we would have if, in our business activities, and our pleasure ones as well, we spoke to people before we did something that might affect their business and secured their cooperation on a mutually agreed plan.

      

    The area below there was a pretty area, just above St. Louis.  The river gets wider, the Illinois River enters from the LDB, and the high rocky bluffs are on the LDB after that.  In fact, the river is quite wide there, maybe a mile wide in places.  There were interesting places to see along the banks of the river, and a number of picturesque spots.

 

       

     When we reached the Mel Price Lock (Lock Number 26), we found the auxiliary lock was closed for maintenance.  We waited 40 minutes for a tow and load to go down and the lock to come back for us.  That chamber was 1200 feet long.

        

     We went past the Missouri River and through the long canal to Lock 27.  We were delayed 45 minutes there, and it was very slow to drain and to fill.  After leaving the Chain of Rocks Canal, we were in downtown St. Louis, MO.  We passed the familiar “Arch”, and we were glad we could show it to Susy.  She lived in Paraguay and had not seen much of the USA.

     We pulled in to Hoppie’s Marine Services in Kimmswick at 7pm and fueled up.  We showered and changed and used Fern’s van to drive over to The Old House Steakhouse.  It was as good as it was on the way upstream.

       

      

     We ran 151 miles and used 302 gallons of fuel, almost exactly 2 gallons per mile.  But the port tank took 162 gallons and the starboard tank took 140.  Our total mileage for Trip 4 was then 640 miles in 46 running hours, or 13.9 mph average speed.  We had run the generator 78 hours, almost twice the engine hours.

Kimmswick, MO to Hickman, KY, Thursday, August 14, 2003

     Hoppie’s wife, Fern, had told us about tying up to the US Coat Guard cutter in Hickman, KY a few years ago.  It looked like a great next stop for us on this trip.  It was 191 miles away, and we had no locks to go through.  I expected to up the daily mileage now that we had all the locks behind us.

     

     For 20 or more miles below Kimmswick there were stone quarries on the RDB.  Also, there were those high rocky bluffs I liked so much; but, as Angela pointed out, those rocky bluffs were being eaten away by the quarries.

     When we got to Tower Rock, I was interested to see that our anchorage on the way upstream was not usable at that time due to low water.  The water had dropped 3 – 5 feet since our anchorage there.

     

     At Cape Girardeau, MO we were allowed to pass through the new bridge construction, but towboats and barges had to wait.  The construction involved a barge stationed in the middle of the channel, blocking the larger loads.  Loads of concrete were being lifted up to the bridge deck by a crane, over and over again.  We were told to contact the tug PATRIOT for permission to come through.  But the tug saw us and called us first.  The man was very nice and reassuring.  “Go slow and come down the Missouri bank and you’ll get through just fine.”  And we did.

     

     We passed the Little River diversion Canal, but we still didn’t need to anchor there.  We saw once again the anchorage behind Angelo’s Towhead, just above the bridge above the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers.  But we didn’t need an anchorage there either.  Seeing the Ohio join the Mississippi was a thrill; we were glad to be able to show it to Susy.  We did encounter more debris after the merger of the two rivers at 4pm.

     Hickman, KY was on the LDB at Mile 921 on the Lower Mississippi River.  (Mile zero on the Upper Mississippi River equates to Mile 953.7 on the Lower Mississippi River.  Head of Passes just above the Gulf outlet is Mile zero on the LMR.)  There was a dredge there; the boat was named PONCHARTRAIN.  The operator was friendly on the radio.  We passed him and went into the port a couple of miles to the Coast Guard cutter.

     

     The crew was outside painting the 75’ boat, named CHENA.  We had tied up to her on an earlier trip.  This time the threat of terrorism prevented their allowing anyone very near the vessel, so we went to the end of the channel and anchored.  It was a delightful anchorage.  Fish were jumping all around us.  Several young people came by and spoke to us.  They were friendly and courteous. 

Hickman, KY to Memphis, TN, Friday, August, 15, 2003 

     Memphis was an easy 185 miles away, and there we would find a marina and diesel fuel.  We left Hickman at 7am, and we arrived in Memphis at 3:15pm.  However, the fuel pump had a problem, and we had problems pumping out the holding tank, too.  It took 2 hours to get those chores done, so we were in our slip at the Memphis Yacht Club at about 5:15pm.

      

     The Mississippi River was about 25 feet deep until joining with the Ohio, and it became 35 feet deep.  As we went further downstream, the river gradually became wider and deeper.  We saw depths of 60 feet, then 80 feet at Mile 862.  It was 90 feet deep at Mile 825.  At Miles 788 – 789 the depth meter showed 100 – 120 foot depths.  We were riding on one of the mightiest rivers in the world, tamed and controlled to some degree by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.  That legendary group has built engineering marvels all around the world, and they run most of the inland waterways in the USA.  They build the locks and dams, operate the locks, and do the many channelization projects that keep the river useful for navigation around the clock and around the year.  We owe a lot to them.  We constantly saw them and their presence on our daily trips.

     The weather all week was really very nice.  We almost never had any rain or wind.  It got warmer as we moved further south.  It was 89 degrees F at 2pm in Memphis. 

     The weather forecast changed, too.  The NOAA weather announcer started giving the “Heat Index”, whatever that means.  I mean, really, are they saying that 91 degrees and 50% humidity means a heat index of 101 degrees, and does that mean it feels like 101 degrees on the thermometer with 0% humidity?  And if it did, who would know it, as we never have days with 0% humidity?  I fail to see any value to the "heat index"; to me, it's another way to sensationalize our news.  We were hearing about Tropical Storm "ERIKA' in the Texas area at that time.  It came ashore south of Houston a couple of days later and gave that area some much-needed rain.

     A friend of mine in Houston made reservations for us for dinner in downtown Memphis.  Greg and his wife Susan used to live there, and McEwen’s on Monroe was a favorite of theirs.  Our reservations were for 6:30pm, because they were rapidly filling up the place.

     

     The dock attendant was a man named James, whom we had met on previous stops in Memphis.  I asked him about travel across the river to downtown, via the overhead tram.  He recommended against the tram and loaned us his vehicle.  That was the first time we had been into Memphis while there on the boat.

     

     The streets were a mess; it reminded me of downtown Houston when all the streets were being redone.  Memphis had a lot of reconstruction done, underway, and needed.  There were some very pretty buildings, etc. in the downtown area, and some nice homes, duplexes, and condos downtown and out on Mud Island, where the marina was located.  We ate from 6:30 to 7:45 or so, and then we drove around to see some of the sights.  Greg’s restaurant was good, although expensive.  It was a “fusion” place, which always confuses me.  They put together things that don’t go together.  It tasted good, though.
  
     We returned James’ vehicle, and I gave him some gas money.  We turned in early, for I had an early chore to do.

     We bought 714 gallons of diesel.  James was so happy with the sale that he asked his boss to comp our slip, and he agreed.  We put 155 gallons in the middle tank, which ran us 89 miles for an average of 1.74 gallons per mile.  We put 559 gallons in the two side tanks.  We ran 254 miles on that fuel for an average of 2.2 gallons per mile.  We were getting to know the boat and its capabilities.

Memphis, TN to Greenville, MS, Saturday, August 16, 2003

     The generator needed an oil and filter change every 100 hours, while the CATs needed a change at 250 hours.  I got up at 5:30am and changed the oil and filter on the generator.  Then we left at 7:45am.

     The weather radio said it was 84 degrees and 69% humidity in Memphis at 8am.  It seemed much more humid than that.  I was very glad to have an air conditioned pilothouse.  There were more towboats on the river, and less debris.

     At 11am we passed Helena, AR, where we had anchored with Wally Moore in 1997.  I had borrowed charts from Bob Rackel that showed that anchorage, or I would have missed it.  Helena was about 70 miles from Memphis, and we had been told that sometimes the Memphis Yacht Club made a cruise to that destination as a group.

     Angela kept offering, and I occasionally let her help me with the helm.  At noon I was bored and tired, so I went below to lie down.  I forgot my intention to switch the forward tank, so it ran out.  Angela came to a slow stop, and I switched the tanks.  After a few minutes, the generator and both engines were started.  (I had to open the tops of the Racors to get rid of the air lock and pour some diesel inside.)

     

     At 4:30 we turned off the Mississippi River into Lake Ferguson, where the Greenville Yacht Club was located.  A young lady named Lee Ann was there to help, but she could not get the diesel pump to operate.  She called Charlie, whom we also had met on a previous cruise.  He was the cook at one of the casinos, and the fuel and bait shop were apparently his to run or manage.

  

  

     Charlie finally showed up, and he did indeed get the fuel pump to perform.  Lee Ann wanted to leave there at 6pm, but it was 6:30 before we got 414 gallons out of that pump.  The middle tank took 218 gallons.  Since we had run out, I concluded that was the effective capacity of that tank, plus 300 each on the two side tanks, for a total of 818, say 820 to round it off.  We ran 105 miles on that 218 gallons, for an average of 2.08 gallons per mile.  The other two tanks took 196 gallons; again the port tank took more (111) than the starboard tank (85).  Our overall average fuel usage for the trip was  exactly 2.0 gallons per mile at that point.

     We ate on board, and used the marina water, which had a discoloration to it.  It tasted okay, though.  We had the only 220volt, 50amp electrical service on the transient / fuel dock.

Greenville, MS to Old River, LA, Sunday, August 17, 2003

     We ran with the current in the outside of the bends, and saw speeds of 21.6 knots go up to 23.5 knots at 2080 RPMs.  Even the 21.6 represented a current in our favor, as we found out when we got out of the river.  We covered over 240 miles on Sunday.  We went through the Old River Lock about 5:30pm, and then we turned right and anchored amongst the water skiers.  It was a fine anchorage.  The channel went a mile or so and ended at a levee.  The young people we spoke to said there were wing dams down a little farther, not to go down and hit them.  We could see them later.  Not sure why they were needed there, but they were there.

      Along the way we saw Vicksburg, MS.  We used to stop in Vicksburg and enjoyed the dinner buffet at Harrah's Casino.  However, the fuel truck did not deliver on Saturday afternoon or on Sunday.  And the last time we were there the little dock for fishing boats was completely covered up by our Carver.  This time we had more fuel capacity; we didn't need Vicksburg, and it wasn't convenient to stop there.

      

     Towboat loads got longer.  The longest we saw on that trip was seven barges long and six barges wide, although they do put together larger loads at times.  The water was somewhat low, which restricts the size of the loads the tows can push.

     

     We passed Natchez, MS, which had no provisions for boats like ours, or boaters, as far as we knew.  We have never stopped there.

     

     During periods of high water on the Mississippi, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers diverts water to the Atchafalaya River through the Old River Control Structure.  That structure reduces the water load that has to be met by the levees in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and prevents the Mississippi River from permanently changing course to the Atchafalaya River location.  The Atchafalaya Waterway is a huge swamp, with occasional high and dry spots in it, surrounded by high levees on the east and west sides of it.  Sportsmen love the fishing, hunting, and trapping possibilities that exist through miles of wide and narrow channels through a desolate and beautiful place.

     

     We went through the Old River Lock, with a tow and several barges of gravel.  Upon exiting the lock and the short channel, we turned right into a dead-end channel and anchored for the night.

     

   

     We had a great meal on board.  Angela got some great photos of the sunset behind the boat.
    
Old River to Freshwater Bayou, LA, Monday, August 18, 2003

     We pulled up anchor and left in a light fog about 7:15am.  I planned to get to Morgan City/Berwick, LA by mid-day to fill up with diesel.  Then, I planned to go to the Freshwater Lock and anchor just outside the lock, on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.  The nice thing about a departure like the present one was the lock was behind us.  I just had to get up and go, with no assistance needed, and no delays likely at the beginning of the day.  Of course, no one could sleep after hearing that anchor chain coming in, so we were all up and having breakfast as we moved quickly down the Atchafalaya River.  We began our day at the upstream end of the Atchafalaya River, which is made up of the Red River and Ouachita Rivers.  The former runs through Shreveport, LA.  The latter runs through Hot Springs, AR, where I had some work to do regarding the river some years earlier.

       

     The Atchafalaya River has some deep spots in it, like the Mississippi River does, spots with depths of 120 or more feet deep.  It has some strong currents, too.  It does have buoys, where they are needed to keep you out of trouble; there were a few spots where I wished they had more buoys.  There were no marinas or good spots to anchor in the upper river, and the lower river is too close to Morgan City to pass us the opportunity to get there instead of staying out in the swamp.  There are a lot of bugs out on the river at night.

  
     We usually buy fuel at ASCO on the RDB, in Berwick, LA; and we did so this time.  The price for diesel, including sales tax, was just less than $1 per gallon.  While we were waiting at ASCO, the tow DISCOVERY pulled into the dock upstream of us.  The barge string was so long that his activities were right next to us.  I was afraid he would swing into us.  I could not reach him on the radio, so I went out on the front deck and waved a radio at him.  He opened his door and told me what he was doing.  He did a great job dropping off a barge, retying his load, and moving out without any really close calls at all.  He knew what he was doing, and he did it well.

     Traffic was held up at the construction of the Louisa bridge, being built to replace the Cypremort Swing Bridge, at Mile 134 WHL (West of Harvey Lock, which is on the west side of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, LA.  All mileage on the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West) of Harvey Lock uses Harvey Lock as a zero point.)  We knew that and went slower than usual to time our arrival.  Quite often the recreational boater is encouraged to get through and out of the way of the more complicated towboat and barge situations.  We arrived there just as construction was ending for the day.  We went ahead of a barge with liquid tanks and met another coming the other way, and we stayed out of everyone's way.  I was speaking to both of them on the radio; it worked out fine.

      
  
     While in Berwick, I called the Freshwater Bayou Lock on the cell phone.  (I believe it helps to use the phone rather than the radio at times, and I try to always have the phone number of significant locks, bridges, etc. to call them when I think it might help.  The 57' boat had satellite phone service, which was helpful for those cases where the cell phone did not work.)  I asked the lock operator if he had any maintenance closures scheduled for that afternoon.  I had the option at that point of going down the Atchafalaya River to the Gulf and then west to the Freshwater Bayou Lock.  He said he didn't, and he seemed curious about us.  When I told him we would see him in 4 - 5 hours, his curiosity was really peaked.  When we were making our final approach into the lock, he said on the radio, "Come on in here, ILLUSIONS.  I've been waiting for you, hoping I'd get to see you while I was still here on duty."  He wondered what type of craft would tell him in advance we were going to average some 20+ mph to get there 4 - 5 hours later.  He didn't have many customers running that fast.

  

     After passing through the lock, we turned left into the same place we tied up on our eastward journey back in May.  It was an old, steel sheet piling wall where the water was deep enough for us (8 - 10 feet that time).  It was located on the chart where it says "Beef Ridge", and it was just off the channel, within a few hundred yards of the lock.  We tied up there with plenty of fenders and grilled outside before darkness and the bugs.  We had an uneventful night there.

Freshwater Bayou, LA to Houston (Seabrook), TX, Tuesday, August 19, 2003

     On our last day on the water, I wanted us to be home while it was still daylight.  So, I was up at 5:30am.  We were all excited, and we ate where we were tied up, since crossing the Gulf might be rough.  The weather forecast was not bad, but you never can tell.  So we prepared for some rough moments, and headed out at 7:30am.

     We had one period where the water was rougher than the rest, when it looked as though we were about to get some rain; but the crossing was uneventful and pleasant.  There were a number of boats waiting to get into Galveston, and a number waiting or moving around inside the jetties. 

    

      



     We stopped in Galveston and took on some less expensive diesel; then we went to Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, TX.  After unloading the boat to some extent, we went home to dinner and to sleep on our familiar beds that night in Houston.  I estimated the fuel use and costs for that last hour and a half in order to present statistics for the whole trip.

     My surgery had been scheduled for Wednesday, August 27.  It was moved forward by my doctor, and I was operated on at 7:30am on Monday, August 25.  It looks like the surgery went fine and accomplished its objectives, which had to do with my back.  I was glad to get it done.

Trip Statistics

Running Hours:  104
Miles:  1,840
Generator Hours:  179
Fuel Used:  3,843 gallons
Fuel Costs:  $4,491
Running Days:  11
Lay Days:  0
Travel Days:  0
Total Days  11
Average Speed:  17.7 mph
Average Fuel:  2.09 gals per mile, 37.0 gallons per hour
Average Fuel Cost:  $ 1.17 per gallon
Average Miles Per Running Day:  167
Average Running Hours Per Running Day:  9.4
Locks  27

Cruise Statistics (Trips 1 - 4)

Running Hours:  275
Miles:  4,035
Generator Hours:  475
Fuel Used:  8,112 gallons
Fuel Costs:  $9,916
Running Days:  33
Lay Days:  14
Travel Days:  4
Total Days  51
Average Speed:  14.7 mph
Average Fuel:  2.01 gals per mile, 29.6 gallons per hour
Average Fuel Cost:  $ 1.22 per gallon
Average Miles Per Running Day:  122
Average Running Hours Per Running Day:  8.3
Locks  73

Year 2003 Cruises Statistics (Two Cruises, From FL to TX, and From TX to MN to TX)

Running Hours:  360
Miles:  5,365
Generator Hours:  567
Fuel Used:  10,500 gallons
Fuel Costs:  $12,908
Running Days:  44
Lay Days:  18
Travel Days:  5
Total Days  67
Average Speed:  14.7 mph
Average Fuel:  2.01 gals per mile, 29.6 gallons per hour
Average Fuel Cost:  $ 1.22 per gallon
Average Miles Per Running Day:  122
Average Running Hours Per Running Day:  8.3
Locks  81