Day on the Cruise: 147
From: Tall Timbers Marina, Havana, IL
To: Logsdon Tug Service, Beardstown, IL
Statute Miles: 32.3 SM
Time: 3.5 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 3,576.8 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
We are tied up to a work barge at Logsdon Tug Service in Beardstown, IL tonight. We are 88 miles from the Mississippi.
 |
| Only 88 miles from the Mississippi River |
 |
| Logsdon's |
Not as bad as I thought it would be. The barge is about as high as our boat, so it is not hard to get on and off. There is a high flood wall around the town, so there are steel stairs from the top of the wall down to the barge.
 |
| Blue Moon tied up to the barge at Logsdon's in front of "Elco" and "Pin Oak" |
 |
| Ramp and Stairs to the top of the Flood Wall |
 |
| The ":Elco" |
 |
| The "Pin Oak" |
We are running our generator as there is no power or water on the barge. The Logsdon folks are very nice. All four of our flotilla are tied up here along the barge. "Blue Moon", "Entree' ", "Always Five O'Clock", and "Reunion". A towboat captain and his deckhand helped us tie up to the barge. We are all snug and secure for the night.
 |
| "Entree' " moored behind us |
The Captain said that Logsdon is a 24-7 operation and is on call to move barges at any time. We could see them get going here overnight. Logsdon is a local operator that moves barges around to and from the grain elevators. The harvest has not started yet, so there might not be a whole lot going on here tonight. Here's hoping!
We left Tall Timbers late this morning because we only had 30 miles to travel. No locks today or tow boats, just winding river, mile after mile. Levees and trees on both sides of the river.
 |
| Leaving Tall Timbers. The Entrance is Shallow and Narrow. |
 |
| Flotilla Leaving Tall Timbers |
 |
| Flotilla Leaving Tall Timbers |
 |
| View Out the Front Door Today |
 |
| Levees along the farmland |
We saw quite a few white pelicans. They were flying in formation as they migrate South for the winter. We had seen some earlier in the week, and we even saw them in the water. It is hard to get a good picture of them.
 |
| Empty Barges Staged for Grain Loading at Havana |
 |
| Empties at Havana |
We walked around the town of Beardstown late this afternoon and evening. We stopped into a local watering hole with our friend Al from "Always Five O'Clock" and got a couple of cool ones while we talked to the two gals who own the place. They were both very nice. They have been open since August and are hoping for more business. They both worked at the Cargill Pork Plant that processes hogs. It employees 2,200 people and is the biggest employer in the area. We traded war stories about processing and rendering from my experiences with building poultry processing plants. It is not a subject that is fit for this blog!!!
 |
| Park in Beardstown |
 |
| Downtown Beardstown |
We ate dinner with Al and his wife Charlie at a Spanish restaurant in town. It was OK. With the Cargill plant, there is a big hispanic population in town, so there were several of these restaurants, which, by the way, were the only restaurants open!
There was a beautiful sunset when we returned to the top of the flood wall to walk down the stairs to the boats. We got Maggie off the boat and coerced her up the ramp from the barge to the stairs, then one by one, up the stairs to the top of the flood wall.
 |
| Beautiful sunset at the barge |
 |
| Blue Moon, Pin Oak, and Elco at sunset |
The ramp and stair treads are made of expanded metal which is open and very rough. It is not good for dog paws, but gives great traction for people paws. The stair treads are also open so a dog and a non-dog can see right through them to what is below. This makes it intimidating to use the stairs because they are high and steep.
Maggie was a trooper and slowly climbed off the barge. Same thing coming back down. One by one very slowly. I had to back down the stairs in front of her and Susan pulled her down by the leash. Back on the barge and success!
|
| The infamous ramp and stairs that our Golden Retriever Maggie had to negotiate |
We ran the generator tonight for the A/C because it is soooo very hot. Tomorrow we have decided to make the 88 mile run to the end of the Illinois River at Grafton, IL. There is a great marina there. There is also one lock that we have to transit. The last one of 8 on the Illinois River. It will be a long day!
Thanks for Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment