Day 273 (still closing up the gap)

Daily Stats
Start: 7:00 AM - MM 463 Fairport, IA
Finish 1:45 PM - MM 433 New Boston, IL
Time: 6:45 hours
Daily dist: 32 miles
Lock 16: 8:00-8:30
Lock 17: 11:45-Noon
Total dist: 5400+
Companions: Joe and Joe for the last two miles to their cabin
Weather: Mostly clear, 70’s, NW wind 10+ (tailwind)
Notes: New Boston by 12:45 then paddled up to Joes’ cabin on Sturgeon Bay

There was no wind to be complained about today. Right at Muscatine, IA the river took a sharp bend to the south putting the brisk northwest wind at my back. With a helping push and temperatures low enough to almost require a jacket I hardly broke a sweat as I headed downstream toward New Boston, IL.

Along the way I passed through two locks at the first (Lock 16) I learned a bit of the lingo used by the barge industry. When I radioed the lockmaster an requested lockage he told me to hold tight on his “river wall” because a “side by one” was locking through on his way upstream. The “river wall” he automatically clarified on the radio was the lock wall closest to the main channel (which was also the furthest away from the active lock chamber where the barge would be coming out). A “side by one” I knew was some sort of tow/barge arrangement because I could see it in the lock chamber, but I had to ask the lockmaster just what that meant.

Barge pulling out of Lock 16

So while I was being lowered six feet closer to the sea level in the lock I struck up a conversation with the lock master. There I learned that a “side by one” is a tow arrangement that is small enough to lock through in ONE go but the tow boat has to break loose and lock through on the SIDE of the raft of barges. Most of the lock chambers I’ve seen so far are big enough to accommodate three barges lashed side by side, and long enough to accommodate three in a row with a tow boat behind. The size of the particular tow boat that was coming through works better if the barges are lashed only two wide. That means that in order to maximize the number of barges he can push, the captain was pushing a raft four barges long and two wide. This lock can accommodate a raft four barges long, but not with the tow boat behind it. Therefore the towboat had to push the barges in, then break loose, come in along side, tie up, lock up, nudge the raft ahead just far enough to make room for him to maneuver back behind the barges, tie back up, and finally go on his way. The whole process takes a while but it’s still faster than having to break a long raft in half and take it through in two sections.

That's it... only one foot

The next lock I came to (Lock 17) provided me with the shortest lockage I’ve done so far. After entering the giant chamber and having the equally giant lock gates groan shut behind me, the downstream valves were opened and I watched only one foot of the wet lock wall reveal itself before the downstream lock gates started to open to send me on my way.

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From Lock 17 to New Boston was only about four miles and with the current and wind pushing me I made it there in less than an hour. Waiting for me there were Joe and Jo a couple from the Quad Cities area that has a cabin on the end of Sturgeon Bay just above New Boston. They had been following along with the blog since the very beginning and when they realized I was coming through on my way to close up the gap they invited me to stay at their cabin. Through a couple e-mails and phone calls we hatched the idea to have them meet me in town and paddle up the couple of miles to their cabin together which would make them only the third and forth people to paddle with me on the river so far. As we shook hands and exchanged hellos at the boat ramp a steady stream of huge motor boats were launching into the river. Then as we made our way up the bay that stream of boats now motored their way past us on their way further up. Joe explained that up ahead was a popular beach that the boaters liked to hang out at. Sure enough, when we passed under a bridge there was a growing crowd of boats and people hauled out on the beach to the left. Just beyond the party beach on the right shore was the Joes’ cabin where we pulled our boats up on the sand beach and ended a wonderful day of paddling.

After reading the blog for so long, Jo was dialed in to my frequent mention of food and set about making sure I didn’t go hungry while I was with them. With a spread of every snack food you could imagine we enjoyed a nice chat before heading into Muscatine so I could see a bit of the city I’d paddled by earlier from land. Made from clam shells harvested from the river, Muscatine once was the largest button producing town in the world and to honor that tradition a huge statue of a clam digger has been placed by the water front. With the advent of plastic buttons that industry died out but the town also is the home of Heinz Ketsup and Hon office furniture. The statue of a bottle of ketsup on an office chair is yet to come. After dinner at Jo’s favorite local Mexican restaurant and a visit to the local ice cream parlor, we capped off the evening by stopping back down by the river front to see the highway bridge over the river light up with colored lights. Joe was disappointed that the normally choreographed changing multi colored lights seemed to be stuck on one color, but it was impressive just the same.