This morning in Grafton, I washed R&R again. Shocker? Some of our Looper friend told me that I will get over that. We shall see.
We decided to make the 15 mile trip from Grafton to to Alton, Illinois and reserved a slip for two days at the Alton Marina, which is on the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. (The same marina where R&R refueled on her May delivery trip after nearly running empty.)
As we entered the Mississippi, we immediately noticed that the strong river current boosted our speed by 4 -5 MPH. And we noticed how WIDE the muddy Mississippi River is. It felt more like a large moving lake.
We took it easy on the way to Alton, and arrived in less than an hour. We topped off R&R’s 515 gallon diesel fuel tanks, because Alton is the last stop for diesel fuel until we navigate 200 miles of the Mississippi River and 50 miles of the Ohio River. We don’t want to repeat our St. Louis low-fuel experience from May!
The Alton Marina is at the foot of the riverside hill on which Alton is built. We crossed the levee, walked along Broadway, enjoyed a local festival, and headed back to the boat for an easy evening.
We plan to take the day off tomorrow, find a local church service, and hit the Mississippi River southbound early Monday morning.
