A Few Rainy Days

We  departed from Montrose at approximately 9:15 Saturday morning.  It was hard to leave our friends but it was certainly time for us to get back on the boat OR we may have decided not to return to the journey.
(only kidding, of course)

Locking through Lock and Dam #19 Keokuk was quite an experience.  It was a 40 foot drop and had was called a floating bollard.  We were wondering what this was and finally experienced it.

Instead of each of us hanging on to a rope as the water is let out of the lock, you simply put a rope around the "floating bollard" and the boat lowers with the water as the float lowers.  This lock was a 40 foot drop, by far the biggest drop we've had yet.  Check out some of the view from inside.  It was just a little creepy.

This lock was much longer than usual which gave us quite a view.  It was almost as exciting looking out the back because of its size.

I don't think we will have this type of lock again until we reach the St. Louis area and then we will have a couple.  Hopefully we will have good weather and not much wind when we go through.  The wind seems to effect us as much as anything.

We had intended to stop at a famous little spot in MO called the Purple Cow but instead saw the place below as we were travelling and decided to stop. Good sandwiches and a neat little spot.







The water began getting choppy as the day progressed and we were not making the time that we had planned.  We had to pass through a second dam and were unsure if we could make it to Quincy before dark.  We both agreed that we did not want to be on the water after dark.

We ended up parking at a courtesy dock in the town of La Grange, MO.  It was about a block from the town's Casey's and although we had no electricity, it was a nice place to stay.

It rained during the night and continued through the morning.  We decided to continue to Quincy to stay in a marina so we could at least have electricity.  We found a local marina where they were having an "antique boat show" and riverfest.  Our boat does not qualify as an antique, but it was fun visiting with boat owners and visitors.  Many people here are from St. Louis and they helped us with information about the trip ahead.  We do have electricity but do not have wonderful bathroom facilities as in some marinas.

We have been told that the marina in Hannibal is closed because they are dredging.  We are hoping to find a dock to spend a little time in the area.  From there we continue to Louisianna, MO.  We spoke today with a friend from Chenoa who is going to try to meet up with us sometime soon.  We always enjoy the company.  Hope everyone has enjoyed the rain and that we soon have sunshine again.