Hoppies - A Milestone and Memorable Destination

Sunrise over St. Charles

Late Date left Port Charles Marina at 630 AM Sunday and continued downstream where they met up with 4 "Looper" boats leaving Grafton and heading the same location as Late Date - Hoppies Marina. 

"Loopers"

A moment to define "Looper" = people who navigate the Great Waterways seen here in this map.  

Great Loop Cruise Routes

The guys decided to hang back with the Loopers as we navigated toward L&D 25.  The lockmaster hinted at a 2-3 hour delay.  Brett was able to convince him to let the group pass before a couple of up-bound tows.  

Late Date then lead the group to "Chain of Rocks" L&D 27.This is the FINAL lock on their journey on the Mississippi and merited a photo. 
After a short delay, Late Date lead the group through St. Louis.  

The skyline and the arch were gorgeous but the river south of St Louis was quick and filled with debris in the form of fallen trees and branches. 

Entering St. Louis, MO

The Arch

From here it was on to Hoppie's.  A moment to describe Hoppie's and its importance to all boaters (source http://www.greatloop.org ). Hoppie's Marina is located at Mile Marker 158.5 on the Mississippi River in Kimmswick, Mo. It is an important, strategic and essential stop for all recreational boaters heading South, because it is the last marina and the last consistently available fuel stop on the Upper Mississippi River. It is another 250 miles and 3 locks to Green Turtle Bay Marina, in Grand Rivers, Ky., on the Land Between the Lakes, and over 400 miles to Mud Island in Memphis, Tenn., on the Lower Mississippi. Hoppie's Marina is the last place to refuel, take on water, re-provision, do laundry, change or take on crew, do repairs, and make sure the boat and the crew are ready for a challenging section of the trip.

Three years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed several river dikes just south of Hoppie's to make navigation easier, but the Hopkins family says the changes have reduced the depth of the water around their docks. While the channel remains deep, the dredging pushes silt towards the docks, and that makes it tough for big boats to stop at Hoppie’s.

At Hoppie's, Bob, Brett and Colin were greeted by Fern, her daughter and husband -Hoppy. For the O'Neill clan, Colin said to tell you that Fern is Auntie Phyllis.  

Colin and Fern

After refilling Late Date's tanks and the ten 5 gallon gas containers they brought along for this and another long stretch of the journey, they got to listen to Fern's description and stories of the current condition along our trip to Mobile.  They concluded the evening by sharing in a pot luck dinner.

With another 630 am start on Monday, they went to bed early Sunday evening.