JULY 4th

Frontier Park in St. Charles was as an active area with a carnival, food vendors and music. The parade on main street held the crowds attention with many different floats and entertaining characters. The old buildings and brick steet are representive of early times. Lewis and Clark met here and used Saint Charles as the starting and return point when they explored the Missouri River in 1804-1806. There was a sense of excitement at the marina in Alton as the water level is dropping about 7" per day. Parties were held on several of the boats even though the river is still closed to pleasure craft. The parking lot is partially exposed and after a good cleaning is back in use.



Keith & Maryann's son (James) drove in from Chicago just in time for the cookout held around the pool at the Alton Marina. He became our first overnight guest. After dark we watched the horizon as there were many fire works being shot up in the clear sky. Most of them were several miles away, but it was still fun to watch from the fly bridge of the boat. As I worked on the blog this morning James made a real hit with his mother by washing the dishes!