Sad and glad: We got the gold burgee

Hello fellow cruisers,
We stayed at Green Turtle Bay for 2 days, resting up after the 101 miles on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers. We then headed across the canal that connects Lakes Barkley and Kentucky, and headed down(south) and up(upriver) the Tennessee River.
The TN River(aka Kentucky Lake) is w-i-d-e here, and very calm the day we were there... a glorious day to be on the water. And, after the mud of the MS, we celebrated the clearer water.
But, there wasn't much of it: the water was already at winter pool level (ie down 5-6'), thus making entrances to marinas very shallow, and beaches all along the way. At 1:25 on Thursday, we turned into Cuba Landing Marina at Mile 115.2, 'crossing our wake' after 49 weeks and 343 days of travel. As we drove up, we could see our truck parked on shore, brought out by daughter Joy and Mike last Sunday. Good to see it, but a sign of the end of the trip.
Inside the marina office was a bag waiting for us: the key to the truck, and the package containing our AGLCA Gold Burgee... flown only by those who have completed the Loop. Besides feeling sad that the cruising was over, we were elated at the accomplishment.

Jack quickly took down the white burgee and put up the gold.
Still, our faces show how we felt as we prepared the boat to travel over the road, and as we waited for
the truck and trailer to arrive. The low water levels put the trailer wheels (4 axles) in the mud off the end of the ramp, and the water shallow at the approach. But we were able to get itsecured for the 100 mile trip back to Nashville and 4 Corners. Here's the view from the boat and trailer as we backed down the ramp and into Percy Priest Lake at 4 Corners on Friday
afternoon. Throughout the weekend folks at the marina greeted us, many who had followed us throughout the trip via this blog. We have already told many stories (which we love), and answered the question: would you do it again? Our unison response: in a heartbeat! We are already promising each other to at least get a trailerable boat and return to areas we missed or didn't visit as much as we'd like. But for now, we're connecting with family and friends and all the business of life.
We're thrilled to be able to take this Great Adventure and to have this way to share it with you. We don't know who all of you are, but would like to hear from you by name so we'll know who traveled with us. If you'd like, contact us by email: nczolr@gmail.com or jack3680@gmail.com.
Here's some of the stats:
Miles traveled: 5210 by water plus 200 by road
Days: 343 (49 weeks)
Engine Hours: +- 700
Average fuel consumption: 1 mile/gallon except on the MS (+- 1.5mpg)
Most we paid for gas: almost $5/gallon in Canada :(
Locks: +120
States: 17 plus Ontario, Canada
Nights in anchorages: 38
Nights at free docks: 15
Nights on mooring balls: 15
Nights on lock walls: 12
Mechanical issues: water pumps 2x, head 1x, tuneup 1x, plus regular maintenance
Turned back: 2x for mechanical issues, 2x for wind and waves (1 more we should have)
Off-boat trips: 2x to Tennessee, 1x to New Hampshire
Once again, Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack

The Big Mississippi

Hello Cruisers,
We headed down the Mississippi first from Grafton and then from Alton(15 miles south, where we had to stop 2 days for engine repairs) on the 22nd. With us we had 6 additional jerry cans making a total of 235 gallons of gas, specifically for the 248 miles without marinas/fuel between Kimmswick MO and Green Turtle Bay KY marina. Normally we average 1 mpg, so we were worried. But we set out hoping the current would carry us (and with encouragement from fellow cruisers who were several days ahead of us).
Here's a view of the Mississippi to the left and the Illinois to the right as we looked back. On the way we passed 2 guys on this.... a raft with a tent (?) floating on barrels with a 35hp motor.
And along the banks, the ever-present casino boats, this one not operating (we think).
At Chain of Rocks, the river runs to the right, and a canal with a lock handles the traffic... lots of industrial traffic with tugs and barges, some as large as 6x6! (That's 6 wide, 6 long!)
St Louis is the only major city along this 218 mile stretch and although the shoreline is all barges and industrial depots, seeing the Arch from a distance and at this side view, was exciting. We got lots of picts, but here's just 2.

Below St Louis and the one gas stop (Hoppies, run by the Hopkins family) the Kaskaskia River joins the Mississippi. The lockmaster allows cruisers to tie up on the lock wall. Fortunately, a short dinghy ride to the shore brought us to a nice park area where Dinah got a good run. A great night for sleeping under a full moon.
The Mississippi current was running 5-6 mph so we really had a 'boost'. We passed the channel buoys, with the reds looking like sharks swimming upstream, and the greens looking like nearly submerged submarines. Sometimes the current is so strong that the buoys are pulled underwater!
Its not called "The Big Muddy" for nothing! The Mississippi is cocoa brown, and might even be thicker (just speculation) than other river water! You can see a little of the color off our stern.
This sunset just south of Cape Girardeau shows the beauty of the anchorage just off the fast Mississippi current. We had been told that we could get more gas by going upriver here in the dinghy and we could find a place to land, where we could walk to a gas station with some jerry cans. Before we could get the dinghy down, a young man and his nephew came by in a bass boat, and after some conversation, took 5 of our cans to refill for us. And all he'd take for his efforts was a thanks and our pledge to remember "Glen from Missouri."
We were constantly passing those barges... many moving north and south, and many moored along the shore. This pict shows their size. What picts can't show is the huge and strong whirlpools and eddies which were constantly catching us-- thanks goodness for 2 strong engines. The picts also don't show the big swells for 2-3 miles after a towboat goes by.
But we finally made it to the Ohio River, where we turned away from the muddy water and into the clear water of the Ohio. After 58 miles we turned onto the Cumberland. This is the Barkley Lock, a 57' lift just before Lake Barkley and the Land Between the Lakes area.
We are now at Green Turtle Bay marina. Here's the view looking down on the Eschaton after 5000 miles.
About the gas concerns and the 9-5 gallon jerry cans? The current of the Mississippi took us up to 16 mph a few times; we averaged more than 13 mph. And we averaged 1.5 mpg for that 248 mile stretch, giving us a whopping 95 gallons of gas remaining!!!

Tomorrow we will take the connecting canal to Kentucky Lake which is the Tennessee River, and go 40 miles to Paris Landing. On Thursday we'll get to Cuba Landing and officially 'cross our wake'. And we'll transport to 4 Corners on Percy Priest Lake on Friday afternoon, completing the Eschaton Loop Adventure.
Watch for our final Loop entry, which will include the stats of the trip, but can't possibly include all the adventure, experiences, and joys we've shared.

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack

90th in NH

Hello Cruisers,
The cats and the Eschaton have been at Grafton Harbor marina while we were in NH (and traveling) from the 10th to the 20th. We were there to celebrate Nan's mother's 90th birthday... which turned out to be a week-long celebration as you can see.
The first celebration was after church on the 12th... (above)
The second was on her actual birthday, the 16th, and we had lunch at Wentworth-by-the-Sea, a restored historic hotel in Newcastle NH. Happily, Mother's sister Shirley from Ft Myers came for the week.
Celebrations continued with lunch at the favorite local seafood restaurant: Johnson's, with the neighbors from the lake.
Nan, Mother, and sister Elaine from Ohio were outside admiring the new windows. You can see it wasn't real warm.
We got time to drive to York ME to the Nubble Light, on the clearest day we've ever seen!
Lastly, we celebrated with some family, again at Johnson's. There was a spoon for everyone!
We're now back at the boat, and left Grafton on the 22nd, to go only 20 miles before turning back to Alton because of mechanical difficulties. Happily, those were fixed today and so we'll be back on the water tomorrow morning. We'll be traveling down the Mississippi River, then up the Ohio and the Tennessee. This is a long stretch without marinas/fuel, so we've bought more jerry cans and are hoping the current will give us the extra boost we need.
Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack

Down the muddy Illinois River

Ahoy Fellow Cruisers,
What changes since we left Lake Michigan, including seeing a lot more Loopers, and being able to travel without great concern about the winds and weather!! The picture above was taken on the town wall at Joliet, with the Harrah's casino in the background. You'll notice the boat in the foreground: it is a former Erie Canal boat now called Dragonfly, which has been modified and now has large solar panels on its roof. It travels at about 5.5mph, and shows the variety of boats doing the Loop.
About 30 miles below Chicago, the Sanitary Canal (so called because the water was intentionally directed to send Chicago's waste down-river instead of into Lake Michigan; now, happily, waste is treated) meets the Calumet Canal which together join the Illinois River, heading for the Mississippi. Exactly at the junction, we looked back to see our friends Jim and Cathy on Merried with Her coming down the Calumet. We couldn't have timed it better! From there we traveled the somewhat narrow channel, passing through the infamous 'fish barrier' without incident. This 'fish barrier' is an electrified area of less than a mile, through which boats have to pass one-at-a-time. The electricity is intended to kill the dreaded asian carp, who have no natural enemies in these waters, and keep them from going upstream into Lake Michigan. You may have read that several states in the area have filed repeated lawsuits (some pending now) to force Illinois to close the rivers. Of course, the barge industry and Loopers have considerable stake in keeping the river open.
Once we left the Chicago area, the scenery and the river changed to more rural, with long stretches of overgrown shorelines and few signs of people, except for the barge traffic, occasional industrial facilities, and duck blinds like this in the shallow edges of the river.
The Illinois River is a big change from Lake Michigan in several ways: The IL is 12-14' deep in the channel, and much less on either side. In addition, the water is MUDDY... so much so that it leaves mud in your bucket when you pour out the water. There's some current (1--1.5 mph?), but it only gives us a slight 'lift' as we travel downstream. What we are noticing is the muddy banks, and the low water levels at boat ramps and marinas. We had to tie up at a wall just outside this marina because the levels were so low inside it's jetty. You can see how much of the ramp is exposed. The philosophy around here is that the river exists for barge traffic, not pleasure boaters, so as long as there is sufficient water in the channels, the water is high enough.
With overnight stops at Joliet, Ottawa, and Henry, we made a daystop at Chillicothe, greeted by Dick and Mary, with whom we share granddaughter Caitlyn. Their house is within sight of the river, and we were glad to get to visit


At Peoria, getting to the marina gave us fits, with sometimes less than 2' of water from the main channel to the marina entrance! We stayed there until some high winds passed, and then went through the Peoria lock, open only on Sundays for transit because of weekday construction. If you look closely, you can see 5 pleasure boats ahead of us, circling while waiting for permission to enter.
The marinas and tie-ups along this 2nd half of the Illinois were unique: Tall Timbers above required that we enter one-at-a-time... very tight. You'll see the twin-outboard boat in the foreground: 3 men are doing the Loop (5000-6000miles) in 3 weeks, in that boat. That's 3 weeks, one week at a time, and then returning to work. You can do the math as to their miles/day, but they surely weren't experiencing the Loop-- just traveling it. We couldn't help but ask why? In the next stretch of miles, there were no marinas and the winds were strong both day and night, so we opted for a tie-up in Beardstown at Logsdon's Tug Service, where we literally tied to a tug boat (we were surrounded by 3) or a barge(see our companions' boats). That meant walking across cables, climbing ladders between barges, etc. Not the usual!
Our last night before Grafton was a beautiful, peaceful anchorage behind Willow Island. Barges went by, but we didn't hear or feel anything. Merried with Her was anchored nearby and we went over there for supper. The stars were clear and bright, and it was a great conclusion to this leg of the river travel.
As we got closer to the Mississippi, we saw a few more houses/cottages, all built high on stilts, some more than others. We couldn't help but wonder about the danger of floating logs pushed by the current... Obviously, the river is in charge!
We arrived at Grafton... with the Mississippi in sight, on Wednesday, the 8th, and were assigned a covered slip, since we'll be staying here 2 weeks. We saw at least 10 other Looper boats passing through before we left by car for NH to celebrate Nan's mother's 90th birthday on the 16th.
Many of the Loopers got together for snacks and stories... we hate to get 'left behind' as they travel on, especially those we've been with several weeks: Mas Bueno and even more, Merried with Her. Sharing travel on the Loop is a special experience!
From Grafton, we have only about 450 miles to 'cross our wake' at Cuba Landing on the Tennessee River's MM 115. From there--and with real mixed feelings-- we're arranging for our transport back to our homeport of Four Corners Marina on Percy Priest Lake. We're ready to be home in some ways, and wish we were continuing on in many other ways. We're learned so much that we'd like to use again, and we'll surely miss the friends we've made. We'll be back on the water Sept 20 and traveling soon if the weather is right. One challenge to this next stretch of miles: almost 240 miles without a place to get gas... and we only carry 205 gallons, getting at best 1.1 mpg! So we're figuring and refiguring, and buying extra 5 gal cans! More on that later.

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch!
nan and jack

Hello and Goodbye Chicago

Hello Vicarious Cruisers,
On Sunday morning we crossed the last of the big water of Lake Michigan, and through the haze saw the Chicago skyline, above at 9 miles out. The temps were in the high 90s, with a slight breeze of hot air, as we entered the Monroe Harbor with the former Sears Tower (the tall dark building) immediately ahead of us. We took our assigned mooring ball amidst 999 others, all
bobbing and rocking in the waves of boat traffic, including the water taxis that carry persons from the boats to the shore. The taxis hold about 20 persons, and really move fast! Each mooring ball is labeled (ours was SC 5, as if you have an address), so they know where to find you when you call for pickup. Jack took Nan in to the shore in our dinghy (to save the $4.50 ride
) and then called for the taxi himself. You can see him heading back to our boat amidst all the traffic and the ducks. This was a busy weekend in Chicago: the tall ships were there, as well as
the 28th running of a triathalon--all along the shoreline, so the sidewalks were filled with runners, bikers, and swimmers. We walked out on Navy Pier-- among probably over 10,000
others -- but the best serendipity of the afternoon was a museum of stained glass windows within the Navy Pier buildings. There was stained glass 'rescued' from demolished churches, all beautifully preserved and presented, many from Chicago but also some from NYC. There was also a section of secular stained glass, with garden scenes, etc. Really nice. Then, back out into the heat (the AC in that building was an extra plus)
We walked back across the LakeShore Drive bridge, looking down on the Chicago Sanitary Canal (yeah, what a name!) where we would travel the next morning. Then we went to nearby
Millenium Park, to see this structure, which, hard to believe, is an amphitheater, when you see it from another angle. Close by is what's known as 'the bean'... a large, highly polished stainless steel (?) bean-shaped thing... very reflective, giving mirror images-- some distorted-- from many angles, even from the under-side. Unique, for sure.
Lastly, we passed by (not passed out, altho the heat was incredible) Buckingham Fountain, which was right opposite our boat, out in the harbor.
The lights of the buildings from our anchorage were awesome. Unfortunately, the picture isn't.
The next morning we entered the Chicago lock, which took us only about 1-2' to the level of the canal, and into the 'water-canyon' below all the buildings, and under the many bridges of
Chicago. This is a busy waterway, with lots of tour boats and water taxis for local transportation.
Here's a pict of the (former) Sears tower from the backside... We continued on through the downtown portion, then into a more industrial area, and finally into the rural and greener area.
We are now moving down the Illinois River, some 300+ miles south and west of Chicago, where we will meet the Mississippi River. More about the Illinois River in the next blog. You can see the changing views from our bow... and we'll have more to share soon. Until then,

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack