How does a cat say “raccoon”??

Well, for once the forecasters were right. They said it was going to get hotter and it did. The last few days have been around 98F and with humidity well over a 100F. If you don’t know Fahrenheit and just know Celsius, trust me, it is very hot!!

Still on the Illinois                                                                                                                                       From Beardstown we traveled about 6 hours to an anchorage behind Willow Isle. Here we swam and swam. The water, although murky seemed cleaner (or so we told ourselves).  The evenings were a little cooler but then the bugs come out in force! So we closed our screens and turned on the fans and they kept us cool enough. We also ran the genny and had the air-con on for a little while but we don’t like running the generator overnight. (ha- ha famous last words!!)

Pelicans over head

The following day (Tuesday) we did a 5 hour trip to Grafton. It was extremely hot and with no breeze it was very uncomfortable.

Two Bald Eagles trying to cool down

At Grafton marina we took a day dock with power for a bargain at $8.00. We filled up with water, did some laundry and tried to get the boat cool by blasting both air conditioners.

Gary wanted me to post this picture as |"His point of view"
( This one is of the Illinois just past Grafton)

We went shopping with the crew off MV My Therapy and MV Sixteen Ton. And here we sadly said goodbye to our new friends, Yonetta and Mike who were staying in Grafton for another day. In the afternoon we untied from the day dock and anchored behind Slim Island in lovely clear water where I swam and swam till I was cooled down to my bones. Actually, with the current being so strong I didn't really swim, mostly just floated around on a line tied to the boat.

Cooling down with the white cliffs of Grafton in the back ground

Josie

Jacob

Enjoying a gorgeous sunset

Our Lady of the River shrine - Grafton Il

Sun rises over Grafton cliffs

Now on the Mississippi

At day break we headed out with MV Sixteen Ton and after another hot day we got to Hoppies Marina.

A tow in dry dock 

Another pic from Gary's point of view - St Louis waterway

Bald Eagle in flight

Lewis and Clark - St Louis

The famous Arch

This is the first marina we have stayed overnight since starting our second Loop. We are very proud of the fact that we have anchored out every night, but on the Mississippi anchorages are hard to find so we decided to stay the night at Hoppies. ( Of course we also stayed at freed walls and docks , so this was the first marina we had to pay for to stay over night)

I immediately fired up the air-con and enjoyed the lovely coolness inside the boat compared to the blistering heat outside. At 4:30 pm Fern (the owner of Hoppies) gave us a rundown of where to go and what to avoid as we head down the river.

Hot at Hoppies

Hoppies Marina - Mississippi River

That night we were blissfully asleep when, at about 4am, Josie came into the forward cabin and woke us up with her “talking”. Because neither Gary or I speak cat, we thought she was saying: “Wake up sleepy heads, it is time to get going”….or “Wake up you guys, I have had a night mare….” So we ignored her of course…..Big mistake!!! Turns out what she was actually trying to tell us was: “Guys ,you should get up because there is a big raccoon getting on to the boat”

So, when we heard a big crash, I thought it was perhaps a shampoo bottle that fell off a shelf…..but when Gary got up to check he came face to face with a Raccoon, in his bathroom!! Well, for the next half an hour we tried to catch the poor thing in a net….our net was too small. So Gary went and got a bigger net he had seen earlier the day on another boat….that net was too big. At this time we had chased the animal into the bath tub but the window was closed so there was no way for it to get out. (Which is what it really wanted to do badly!! ) Eventually we got it from the bath tub back into Gary’s bathroom and it went out via the window at lightning speed.

Poor little guy was so scared, he finally left the way he came in, through Gary's bathroom window.

Nothing like a little drama at 4am!!

So after making sure everyone was ok…I had closed Jacob, the big scary cat, in my bathroom so he was ok and Josie had fled upstairs to the fly bridge to get away from all the commotion, we went back to bed.  But not before Josie came back down with a “See, I told you!!” look on her face.

The next morning we set off to Kaskaskia Lock wall where we were to stay another night before doing the LONG trip on the Mississippi to the Ohio River. Oh, and remember how I said we don’t like to run the generator long? Well, that day we ran that genny for over 12 hours to power the air conditioner just to try and get it a little more comfortable inside the boat. Being out side is not an option. The sun burns your skin after a couple of minutes and the humidity makes it tough to breathe and move around.

(I know people think I tend to exaggerate, but ask Gary, even HE found it too hot to be outside and came and sat inside where we had the air on)

The fast flowing waters of the Mississippi

This past spring the waters were up a lot, always bring debris along.

Expecting the worst for our 12 hour trip down the Mississippi, we were actually pleasantly surprised as there was a constant breeze that kept us from dying. We used our big towels to block most of the direct sun and we were quite comfortable. That evening we anchored in Angelo Towhead with MV Sixteen Ton.

Cape Girardeau as seen from the river. Notice the high flood walls to protect the town from high water in the Spring?

Now on to the Ohio.                                                                                                                                The skipper of MV Sixteen Ton is a gentleman named Lasse, who is from Finland. Last year we travelled with Canadians, Americans, Danes, Brazilians, Aussies and Kiwis – this Loop Adventure appeals to many people from all over the world. Lasse has been with us since Ottawa.

Going down the Mississippi with the flow of the river we hit speeds up to 13mph (our regular speed is 7.5mph) even with the throttles powered down. We did this knowing that as soon as we turn up the Ohio our speed was going to fall down, at one time as low as 2.9mph, even though Gary increased the RPMs. So the fuel you save going down the Ole Miss, you use going up the mighty Ohio.

And I thought we had been hot before!! As we turned north on the Ohio we lost the little breeze that we had enjoyed for the past few days and the fly bridge became a sauna. Gary I and both took breaks from being up there in the heat and coming down to the cool cabin.

The new lock 51 wasn't open, we just sailed right over the dam, and that slowed us down to 2.9mph!!

I wish you could feel how hot it was!

We had noticed that Jacob seemed very lethargic in the morning so we decided to keep the air going for him. He is an old cat and must be very warm with his heavy fur coat. And as Gary says, he didn't ask to come along on this hot trip; the least we can do is keep him cool.

Free dock at Paducah MV Sixteen Ton tied behind Time&Tide

A Mikado steam engine, the last "Iron Horse" used by the I.C.R.R., serves as a memorial to the passage of the Steam Age

Flood wall murals - Paducah

After a very long and very hot day we finally got to Paducah‘s free dock. The generator is working overtime to keep me and the cats cool. But the end is near….tomorrow is the last day of this very hot spell and next week’s forecast sounds lovely with high 80s during the days and low 60’s at night. Great swimming weather for Kentucky Lake.  See you then!

………………..to be continued