Gotta Smile!: Guttenberg, Iowa In My Rear View Mirror

September 30 & October 1, 2011

Two uneventful days of smooth sailing have passed. A welcome relief after day 2 and "The Lock From Hell". This is what life on the river is supposed to be. Gail noted that we are certainly in retirement mode. Previous trips required getting up before dawn, starting the engine and being ready to go at sun up. Now, we get up around 7:30 (meaning Brian gets up at 7:00 – I roll out closer to 8:00) and we are moving by 8:30. Cool night air and warmer water temperatures equal morning fog, which also slows our morning departures. The river is winding through stone bluffs, beautiful wooded hills (the color is brilliant in some areas) and small towns—it looks like Currier and Ives brought to life. We have seen very few pleasure boats (maybe three since we left Bayport), but lots of tow boats and fishermen.

So far we haven’t stayed in a marina. We have found beautiful spots to safely anchor and enjoy the stillness. Friday night we anchored near Genoa, WI. The night sky was clear with a bright crescent moon. Tow boats with 15 barges pushed by us so gracefully we hardly knew they were there. As we stood on the back deck to watch one of them, both of his 6 million candlepower spotlights focused on us. We waved, danced and gave him a bit of show. He responded by flashing those lights at us to show his appreciation. I guess his nights get pretty long and boring. Last night we anchored near Guttenberg, Iowa. (Yes, we have left Minnesota.) After dinner we watched our favorite boating movie "Captain Ron". I’ve seen it at least 9 times and I still laugh out loud throughout most of it—of course, I’m easily amused.

We decided to visit McGregor, Iowa on Saturday and have lunch. They were having their Fall Festival, so the town was humming with activity. After surveying the marina for a place to park, two very nice guys invited us to share their end of the dock and helped us tie off. Our 48 foot length, 18 foot width, 19 foot height and 29 ton weight (not including cans of diet Coke) looks pretty big in these small towns. (In Florida we look like the dingy compared to the private yachts.) They even brought over a step ladder so we could easily climb off. It felt good to get on land and walk a bit.

We’ve gone through eight locks – seven without incident. If we are the only boat in the chamber, they will frequently let us float in the middle. I think all of the tow boats that had pulled off the river on Thursday were making up time on Friday. It seemed that we had to wait 30 minutes to an hour and a half at every lock that day. When a tow has more than six barges, they have to lock part of the load through, raise or lower (going up or down stream) the water in the chamber, lock through the other half of the tow, then once it is at the same level as the first load reconnect and proceed. Tow boats are typically 45’ wide by 135-155’ long (north of St. Louis) and each barge is 200’ x 35’. Lock chambers are 110’ x 600’. The largest tow will be 3 wide by 5 long which equals 105’ by 1,000’ plus the length of the tow boat. Air craft carrier size! As you can imagine -- no small task to maneuver! (Technical information provided by B. Smillie)

Gotta Smile -- we’re lovin’ the ride!