On the Mighty Mississippi

14 - 21 June 2008

What started out as a potential washout ended up being a wonderful trip and a good time for all.  Some months ago our family decided to take a houseboat trip on the Mississippi River aboard a houseboat.   With airline and boat reservations already made, the weather in the region deteriorated to the point that they had the worst floods in 500 years.  I mulled that last statement because I wasn't all that sure the aboriginal weather bureau kept records that far back, but then decided they must determine this information based upon tree rings or some such.  In any event, it makes for a better story ! 

 
 

The family decided to go anyway and if the river was too dangerous, we could sit tied up to the dock and play cards.  As things turned out, we had beautiful weather up in our area and what with the river being closed to traffic below us, we had very little barge traffic to contend with. 

 

My son Bill, my daughter Vicki and I boarded our flight from Phoenix on Saturday (14JUN08) and flew to Chicago Midway where my brother Bill picked us up and drove us to his dauther Deb's house in Burlington, WI for the night.  The next morning my brother's wife Lil performed nothing short of magic in packing all the luggage, food and supplies needed for a week for six people into the trunk of their car.  To say I was astounded would be an understatement.   Not only that, but she managed to pack us all back up into the car at the end of the week for the return trip !  

We drove to Lansing, IA and found our houseboat waiting for us .  We moved all our stuff aboard, unpacked the bags and put all the empty suitcases in the car.  The boat is designed to accommodate ten people, so it was very spacious with only six of us aboard.  Lil had prepared most of the food for the trip in advance so we had fantastic cruise-liner style cuisine during the week.

 

 

We met our instructor the next morning who spent about an hour showing us how to operate the various equipment aboard the boat.  It had all the comforts of home including an entertainment system and air conditioning.    We didn't watch the TV at all and no one seemed to miss it.  We didn't turn on the air conditioner until the last night aboard as the weather was a little warmer that day.  My son Bill became an expert houseboat anchorman.......  we anchored in a different spots  and we never even had to think about being safely anchored.  Vicki took on the engineering chores for the trip which involved daily checking of fluid levels in both the main engine and the generator, and daily cleaning of sea strainer.  Everyone who wanted to had a chance to be at the helm during the trip.  That boat is so big that the lag between helm input and rudder response seemed forever.  

On our first day out, we met the sternwheel steam excursion boat Julia Belle Swain . I knew she was in the area and I've always wanted to see her, so you can imagine what a thrill it was to see her steaming toward us.  She is a real steam-driven boat and even has a calliope aboard !  This is the boat that Johnny Hartford ( who wrote "Gentle on My Mind") got his Captain's license on.   All in all.........I think everyone had a wonderful trip and an experience of a lifetime.

 

 

 

LOG

Notations

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Numbers represent river miles above the junction with the Ohio River

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LDB = Left descending bank ( or Wisconsin side )

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RDB = Right descending bank ( or Minnesota/Iowa side)

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RON = Remain overnight

 14JUN08      662.5 RDB             S&S Houseboat Rentals :  RON

15JUN08                                    Depart upbound

16JUN08      679.2 LDB              Lock & Dam 8 :  Very strong winds; whitecaps inside lock chamber; brother Bill at helm; Bill and Vicki handled lines

                    689.2 LDB              "Boy's Camp" :  Daily river explorations and return to site at night ( 16-17-18-19-20 JUN )

 

 

18JUN08     696.8 LDB               La Crosse Municipal Boat Harbor :  Pumpout service

                   698.0 LDB                La Crosse Riverside Park dock :  Enjoyed great meal at famous Freight House Restaurant ; downbound for Boys Camp

 

19JUN08    689.2 LDB                Boys Camp:  The card room aboard was busy night and day with both chips and wine flowing freely

20JUN08                                    Depart downbound

                   679.2 LDB              Await double barge lockage for 2 1/2 hours.  Lockage was calm and uneventful

                   665.0 RDB              "Girls Camp":  Daily river explorations and return at night  (20-21 JUN) ;  continued gambling and wine drinking

662.5 RDB               Short run to S&S to take on fresh water. 

                 665.0 RDB                Girls Camp: RON

21JUN08    662.5 RDB               Return houseboat and depart on return home

Picture Album

Vicki getting the Spirit !

 

Family Gathering at Mike & Deb's

 

Arrival at S & S 

 

Nun bouy : Downbound

 

Along the shoreline

 

Passing on the two-whistle

 

Keeping well clear of traffic 

 

Vicki on the helm !

 

Di manning the wheel

 

Lil's turn steering

 

Brother Bill  in command

 

Son Bill heading upbound

 

Dean at the wheel

 

Kept sharp lookout for Aids to Navigation

 

Railroads on Both River Banks 

 

Three State Lines Converge

 

 

 

Red - Right - Returning

 

Secured before sunset each day 

 

Small towns all along our route

 

Party Time

 

 

 

Nature Walk

 

A most relaxing cruise

 

Avast, Ye Lubbers !

 

Dean's Stateroom

 

Forward Watch Galley Crew

 

Happy Days on the Mighty Miss !

 

R & R Time on the Beach

 

Forward Watch Helmsman

 

Tied Up in La Crosse

 

Shore Exploration Party in La Crosse

 

La Crosse Municipal Riverside Park

 

Julia Belle Swain Arriving for Concert in the Park

 

We were really in the heart of Eagle Country

 

Barge Switching Pushers Mid-Stream

 

So Long !

 

END NOTES...........

COMMERCIAL VESSELS MET     (source: Inland River Record c 1996, Waterways Journal, St. Louis, Mo.)

M/V Lexington :  Twin screw towboat, b. 1967 by Jeffboat, Inc., Jeffersonville, Ind. 170 x 40. GM 16-645E5B diesels. 5600 hp. Falk reduction gear 4.074:1.  Kort nozzles. Owned by SCNO Barge Lines, Inc., St. Louis, until sold June 1988 to American Commercial Towing Co., Jeffersonville, Ind. Hull # 508204.

M/V McNamara* : Twin screw towboat, b. 1980 by Dravo SteelShip Corp., Pine Bluff, Ark. 46 x18. GM 8V-71 diesels, 460 hp. Allison reduction gear 3.7:1. Owned by Corps of Engineers, St. Paul, Minn.

M/V Fogiphol *:  Single screw towboat, b.1958 by Marinette Marine Corp. 41.2 x 12.5. Cummins NH250-M diesel, repowered 1975, 200 hp.  Orig. No. 114, renamed 1977.  Owned by Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, until transferred  April 1985 to Corps of Engineers, St. Paul, Minn.  

M/V Samuel B. Richmond :  Twin screw towboat, b. 1982 by Jeffboat, Inc., Jeffersonville, Ind. 145 x 48. Alco 17-251F diesels, 6000 hp. Falk reduction gear 4..192:1, Kort nozzles. Orig. Ulysses, owned by American Financial Corp, Cincinnati.  Sold Sept. 1983 to American Barge & Towing Co., St. Louis, operated by Spartan Transportation Corp., St. Louis.  Sold June 1989, renamed Sept. 1989 by Ingram Barge Co., Nashville, Tenn.   Hull # 652589 .

S/V Julia Belle Swain : Sternwheel steam excursion boat, b. 1971 by Dubuque Boat & Boiler Co. 149 x 27.  Engines 12's-5 ft. stroke, high pressure, 350 hp., originally on ferry City of Baton Rouge and built 1916 by Gillett & Eaton, Lake City, Minn.  Water tube boiler. Capacity 400 passengers.  Owned by Sangamon Packet Co., Peoria, Ill., until sold Oct. 1994 to Great River Steamboat Co., Madison, Wis. Hull # 531233 .

*The Corps of Engineers vessels we encountered were engaged in transporting sand from a spoil site to their sandbag filling site.  The floods downriver were putting high demands on the number of sandbags needed.