FUEL

7/18/08---Our first fueling experience. Having made a gauge stick by marking 1" increments on a 1/2" x 4' dowel, dipping tanks & record keeping proved to be quite accurate. We expected to take on 422 gals of diesel & sure enough it took that just much to fill both tanks.
At $4.59/gals,WOW.
Thinking things were going well, we proceded to change oil & filters. While working on the engines, we noticed water showing in the sediment bowl on the starboard side. There had not been any water before. We drained the bowl several times & water kept coming. About 11:00 p.m. we gave up for the night. The next day we had the dock crew color cut the fuel tank & found 4 1/2" of water in the bottom. That amounts to 45 gals of water. They dipped their supply tank and found 6" of water in the 6000 gal storage tank. Of all the "blankity blankilty blank blank" they had not pumped the water out after the flood. Naturally we were the first to buy diesel. After using a dip tube & suction line on a small pump to pull the water out of our tank, the problem has still not gone away. What a mess.

WOODLAND

7/16/08---We decided to move back to Woodland Marina near Saint Charles, MO.
The Mississippi River level has gone down 15 1/2 feet since the crest on June 30th. The rock wall in Alton had appeared to rise to the point the view of the river was about gone. Notice the island that appeared looking East from the boat. Everything looks a lot different now. It is rather good to be back at Woodland where the slip is large enough to have the boat under cover. The temperature is getting into the 90's and the shade is appreciated.

LOCAL BOATING

7/13-14/08---Time has a way of quietly slipping by. It has been rather uneventful on the Dream Manor. I (Allen) don't wear a watch much anymore and generally am not very aware of time or date. A few days have apparently passed since the last blog entry. Some time is spent watching the "May Flies". Isn't this July? The pesky things cover the boats and are just a mess to clean up.

We finally decided to burn some diesel and made a trip to Polestar. Getting tied up against one of the Wahool Marine boats in the fleet proved to be a challenge in the wind. But Keith manuvered the boat like a pro and put it in place for the crew to secure lines. Wahoo had some customers who wanted to view the boat. After showing the boat, Scott Bachman (Wahoo Marine) rode up river with us to the Winfield lock. There was a barge in line to pass through the lock and we had a 2 1/2 hour wait. This provided an opportunity to practice with the windless. That is the device which lowers and raises the anchor. This was the first time we had operated the unit. It is powered with a 12 volt motor and worked quite well. The plow anchor dug in securely and held the boat with no problem. The horn blew at the lock and it was our time to enter. It was just a lessen in procedure as this was our first time in a lock. The lock crew was patient and very helpful in throwing lines to us for practice. We thanked them and headed back down river. The day had slipped away and we got another lesson. What I am telling you is that it got dark! We were sure glad to have Scott with us to help get us back to Polestar. The radar and GPS worked well, but lack of experience and trust creates a sensation of doubt and concern. Upon arrival we tied up against the dock there and spent the night.

The next day was full of sunshine and we decided to make a run up the Illinois River to Hardin before going back downstream to Alton. Enroute we noticed fish jumping out of the water. Carol patiently waited with her camera held in position to capture a shot of one in the air. Learning the name of the fish is "Asian Carp", it became clear the food is being developed in advance of a possible invasion. HaHa. Upon arrival it was quickly noticed the walkway from the dock was under water from flood damage. We sure wanted to have lunch at Mel's River dock Restaurant. With some commotion we hailed a local fisherman with a small boat who gave us a ride to firm land. He said he was going fishing and would be back later. The local favorite is Mel's well known brisket. After a large brisket sandwich and a fine piece of pie it was time to return to the houseboat. What a stroke of good luck! The same fisherman was in sight and came to give us a ride back to the boat. With full stomachs we were content to have a leisurely ride back to our base dock in the Alton Marina. We put 10.7 hours on the engines in these two days.

On a driving trip it became so clear that we have been here most of the growing season. This corn was only a small seedling back in April. Keith was excited as it brought back memories of youth when we were rasied on a farm in Wyoming.

HAIRCUT---CATSUP

7/10/08---Cutting hair on the dock attracted some attention. Maryann cut Keith's and vise versa. They don't have enough left to comb!! The new ducklings came by for a quick look at the operation.

After the haircutting we took a drive to Collinsville to view the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. The tower is 170 feet tall and located on Route 159. Seems like every town has something of interest. Also there is a good picture of the arch and the horizon of downtown Saint Louis taken from I-70 heading West.

7/8/08 ---A note of information. We finally got all the electronics installed! Amazing it works---radar, GPS, XM radio w/weather, VHF radio.

Parking Lot

7/9/07---The Alton Fire Department is again washing the parking lot. This should be the last day of their cleanup effort. Notice the picture with the white tower. You sure can see how much the water has gone down. Another view is Carol walking up to the parking lot. When the water was high the ramp was downhill to the parking lot and not useable. Look at the high water marks on the fence. Remember the rock rip rap wall with the side of our boat in the picture? The water was coming over the top of the rocks in places -- now it looks huge and it is like we are down in a hole. The water level has dropped 9 feet! The swimming pool is very nice and it sure looks quiet after all the splashers that enjoyed it over the past weekend. Found a Black-crowned Night-Heron sitting quietly on the dock watching for someting in the water for a fine crustacean to eat.

FIREWORKS

James enjoyed his short stay. We took him to lunch, showed him the world's tallest man and said our goodbys as he headed to Chicago about 3 p.m.. There were still festivities at Frontier Park in Saint Charles. A pole vaulting competition was fun to watch. At 15' high, not all the jumpers cleared the bar. The 4mcgees spent the remainder of the day in the park, among the the crowd of people, enjoying the various bands that played until after the fireworks. What a spectacular sight. The two barges tied end to end, were towed into position in the middle of the Missouri River, positioned paralell to the bank and anchored to stay. The Fire fighting boat demonstrated its pumping capability in case of problems during the show. As the sun set, the crowd grew more anxious waiting for the show to start. The mayor gave a short welcome and everyone stood as the band played "The National Anthem". What a great evening. The sky was clear and there was barely a breath of air moving over the water. We had never seen such a terrific fireworks show! It was breath taking as the huge, colorful flashes apeared to be coming ever so close. Looking almost directly overhead there was an occasional twinge in the neck from looking upward.

6/6/08 was spent doing chores on and about the boat.

6/7/08--A little word on the Mississippi River--the boaters are getting excited as the water level has dropped 5' in the past week. It went down 20" in the last 24 hrs! It is like somebody in Louisiana pulled out the stops to let the big tub drain!

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!