October 19, 2016: The End of the Great Loop

After a year and two weeks we pulled into Green Turtle Bay where we "crossed our wake", completing the Great Loop, and we were congratulated all around by the numerous Loopers here.  It seemed seemed so different, in a good way, to enter a marina we had actually been to before and is somewhat familiar.  Every other stop for the last year has been a strange new place, each with it's own set of instructions as to how to enter, where are the shallow spots, where is our assigned slip, bow or stern in, port or starboard tie-up, etc.  Some were pretty easy; some were white knuckles with weird currents, winds, depths.  Amazingly, although we've been in some tight, challenging spots, our encounters with immovable objects have been benign.  Our boat remains unscathed. 

We have been through big rivers and their huge locks, small channels with tight clearances, long range cruises on the Gulf of Mexico, shallow waters of the Keys, the Atlantic Ocean and all sorts of boating and navigational challenges.  It feels great to have done it all without serious mishap.  It is a truly awesome adventure I would recommend to any boating enthusiast. 

Another shot of the St L Arch on the Mississippi

Riverside greenery

Tiny homes?

We tied to a mooring cell to wait for lockage; it had very nasty with steel boat-eaters sticking out all over.

Veritas waiting for the tow to pass before our turn

Industrial enterprises abound

Barge tows all around

Birds on watch

Chocolate Mississippi River

S/V Two Infinity

S/V Veritas

Barges galore

Car ferry on the Illinois

Re-enactors' camp and festival, Illinois R.

Fixer-upper

Might flood!

Fast River Shark

Entrance to Alton Marina, Ill., on the Miss.

Bridges across the Mississippi at St. Louis

Downtown St. Louis

Hoppie's Marine.  (Barges tied to M. River bank.)

Cliffs

Bluff, train, barge

Dangerous River Pirates.  Our cannons held them off.

Stardust, Capt. Rich and Tom

Daring rescue of  Gerald and Kit by Hamp
Little River Diversion off Miss. R.

Working late in the office

Little River Diversion anchorage  RR Bridge just off the Mississippi

Bridges everywhere on the Illinois

The bow is the front end

Paint me

Our mast was down to clear some low bridges near Chicago
That's our radar antenna laying horizontally

City of Joliet, Illinois
Jake Blues once did time here

Tied to Joliet City Wall

Another floating casino

Site of Lincoln and Douglas Debate

The Wedge Bldg.

Hard Dock Cafe with
Gerald and Barb of Ontario

Jeffery and Nolan from Two Infinity

Rich, Denise and Hamp

Barb on Hard Dock Cafe

Gerald and Tom on Hard Dock Cafe

Kaskaskia Lock Wall

Dining aboard Hard Dock Cafe

Barb and Nolan

Jeff and Gerald

Bluffs and loaded barges with train going by

Pam Standing watch at helm

Rafting at Little River Diversion 

Little River

It's fast!

Shooting Moon

Olmstead Lock

Power plant

Cumberland Towhead anchorage on the Ohio and Cumberland junction

Barkley Lock

Docked at Green Turtle Bay, 1 year, two weeks later

Back to the beginning, now with the Gold Burgee

The coveted Gold Burgee, signifying completion of America's Great Loop, 6000 miles, will replace our white "in progress" burgee.

Changing of the burgee flags.  Yahoo!!