Some Sights on the River in Iowa

Flying our Colors in Dubuque

Groups of Pelicans Heading South --
Our Companions on the Water

We passed and old style paddle boat on the river -- we could hear a calliope playing as the passengers waved to us from the decks. The river boat was headed north as we passed them going south with the migrating birds. 

Almost all the houses near or at the river's edge are built on stilts. 

I suspect when the river rises the people abandon the lower floor of the house and move one flight or two flights if possible to save themselves and their belongings. I wonder if they can get flood insurance in a house so vulnerable to the river flooding?

Duck Blind Boat

Found this one in Lansing, Illinois

Waiting at the Lock

We had waited over an hour for the barges and tug
 to clear the lock chambers. 

Sometimes 21 barges -- requiring multiple cycles to get them all through and then reassembled and tied together for the tug to push north or southbound  down the river. The barges contain corn soybeans and wheat. It is the most efficient way to haul these commodities. I can’t imagine how many trucks would be crowding the highways.  No fees are collected for use of the locks. Paid for by the US Taxpayers. Administered by the
Army Corp of Engineers. 

Canoeing the Mississippi

We met a fellow named Charles McVie from Mobile,
Alabama, canoeing the Mississippi.

He started at Lake Itasca -- the headwaters of the Mississippi -- and is paddling to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. He made 42 Miles this day. Did I mention he is 72 years old?  I think in a previous life he was a French Canadian voyageur. He travels with his dog Scout, a Skipper key. The dog rides on top of the canvas cover. He sits on the floor or bottom of the canoe and uses a kayak paddle.

Charlie took a video of US, and texted it to us.
  Here's what we look like on the move!

Guttenberg Marina

Off the river in the Guttenberg Marina at Guttenberg, Iowa for the night.

Locking Through

Locking through at Lock and Dam #7 on the Mississippi River at
LaCrescent, Wisconsin.  The ride down was about 9 feet.

Winona, Minnesota

Winona Marina, Winona, MN

Wabasha, Minnesota

Chief Wapa hasha, or Wabasha -- his fate is similar to Chief Sealth (they mangled his name into Seattle and built the city on what was once his land).

Bridge at Wabasha, Minnesota, across the Mississippi River to Wisconsin.  

We are stopping for the night, waiting for the fuel dock to open.  Many places are closed on the weekends.  This marina -- Parkside Marina -- will cease operations on October 14th, in anticipation of winter.  

No travel lift here, but a submersible trailer lifts boats out of the water.

Submersible trailer is driven backward down the ramp into the water to pick up the boat and onto the hard for storage.

Sights on our Way from Red Wing

Dan at the helm as we left Red Wing.

Red Wing Amtrak train station and Red Wing Levee Sea Wall. 
Our condo is three blocks up the street.

Last look at the Red Wing grain elevators and empty barge waiting to be loaded and hauled down river, then on to Korea or China.

And We're OFF...

All aboard!  This ship is leaving port.

John Hesford, a friend and fellow resident of the Central Park Condos, came by to wish us well and give us a farewell hug. He was our last visitor to visit us on the good ship Gammel Dansk in Red Wing. Thanks to friends and family for stopping by to check out the little Nordic tug -- not so much to see us, but to verify that it was true we are doing the Great Loop. Finally, I might add.

Thanks for all the well wishes and the wishes of "Bon Voyage."

Boating Essentials

The fan is packed and ready to go.  

Mary is still working on the essentials for life on the river:  food, water, coffee and her St. Christopher medal (Patron Saint of Travelers). 
She might need it.

Practicing "See You Later"

At the Downtown Red Wing Crew Sea Wall: 

Gammel Dansk, Dan & Mary and Tori the Seeing Eye Dog, 
practicing our best "See you later" pose

Captain Mary

Captain Mary with a steady hand on the wheel of the
 Nordic Tug Gammel Dansk

Making Preparations at Ole Miss Marina

Bay Point Park in Red Wing, Minnesota

As we make final preparations for push-off, the Ole Miss Marina is the temporary home for the Gammel Dansk.

This sculpture in Bay Point Park is a tribute to the people who came to trade at this spot along the river.  

Mary does her tug boating in a Hawaiian style Hula dress.

Preparing for the Adventure Part 2

Our friends sent us off with a "Great Loop" pie. 

 

We have not yet determined if it is having a your pie and eating it too, or if it is a pie in the vein of humble pie.  We hope to be back on Bainbridge Island after our adventure, and provide a slice of Great Loop Celebratory Pie to all our island friends!

Dan grows a real beard.

The Gammel Dansk bow whiskers are removed.  Bow pudding, or bow whiskers, were used by old-timey tugboats to protect the ships they pushed around the harbor.  New working tugboats use tires or rubber bumpers.  All Nordic tugs pay homage to the bow whiskers with wooden strips that appear in the shape of bow whiskers.  The bow whiskers that Dan is holding are made with a kind of nautical knot tying called "marlinspike."  It is a lost art, except if you were a hippie in the 1960s and learned how to macramé and tie cords and thick yarns into a fringe.  We just extended that into bow whiskers and an old-timey tugboat look for the Nordic tug Gammel Dansk.

Mary Readying the Boat for Launch

Mary waves during the launch from the Baypoint Marina Boat Ramp into the Mississippi River at Red Wing, Minnesota.