Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Fairport, IA to Keokuk, IA)

Well, you can guess what the weather is like this morning.  Yes RAIN!! However, the forecast says that it will be clear early in the afternoon.  So let’s get going.  We want to put in a full day going south.  The river continues to be wide, however the channel can be narrow.  We have been in water that is 28 feet to 7 feet.  When we got close to Lock and Dam 17 in New Boston, IL there is a tug with 6 barges waiting to get into the chamber.  It was a split load which means that the other part of the barge (in this case, 9 additional barges) was in the lock chamber making its way out.  So once the water level returns so that the gates can open, the tug and remaining barges go through the lock.  And we sit and wait.  I learned so much from the Dock Master as I questioned how the barges exit the chamber without the tug pushing them.  Evidently the water can be controlled by the Dock Master so that the barges naturally float out of the chamber.  They are then tied down until the tug and other barges go through the lock and reconnect.  One of my pictures shows the white tug and barges waiting to get into the chamber.  The sites are still very industrial with a lot of barges sitting just waiting to be filled.  I can’t imagine how the river traffic will be once the barges get loaded and start moving on the river.  Yikes!!!!  There have been several railroad bridges that need to move so that we can continue.  Sometimes it sucks to be so tall.  LOL!!!!  The sun finally came out and was beautiful.  I fed the birds some crackers along the way.  Darin and Lisa Bohn, it reminded me of when you fed the birds on our way to Wabasha this summer.  When we got to Fort Madison, IA, there were some beautiful houses on the water.  What a view!!!  After 8 hours traveling we arrived at Keokuk, IA at the Keokuk Yacht Club.  Basically, we are tied up to the wall with electricity.  However, there is a bar and we plan to eat dinner there.  A thunderstorm is expected throughout the night, so we will see if sleeping is an option.  See you tomorrow.