Keokuk, IA to Quincy, IL

We said goodbye to Iowa in grand style this morning. We woke up early to leave Keokuk at first light, to beat the worst of today’s expected wind.

Two miles downstream is Lock & Dam 19, which is special in several ways. It has the highest drop on the Mississippi, at 38 feet. It is one of the few dams on the river that has a hydro-electric plant associated with it, and the original lock was privately funded by the power company. The modern lock that we went through today is 1,200 feet long, twice the normal length. It utilizes floating bollards, which move up and down the lock walls with the changing water level. To control your boat, you loop a line around the bollard and ride it to the next pool level. In the other 18 locks that we’ve passed through, the drop has only been 8-10 feet, and you simply hold onto a line that is dropped down by the lock master (second photo).

The river is still mostly wild, but industrial areas are more common here and there are barges lining the riverbanks in every town. We’re seeing a lot of cormorants on the water and in the air, along with pelicans, and we still spot bald eagles every day, and never tire of them. Something else we’ve noticed is a lot of houses on stilts.

We traveled 40 miles today, to Quincy, IL, named after President John Quincy Adams. By late morning, the winds were brisk, as expected, and kicked up quite a nasty chop on our journey south. We never felt unsafe, but got bounced around and took a fair bit of spray over and around the dodger and into the cockpit. We are docked at the municipal marina on Quinsippi Island, and our dear readers will be pleased to know that it is quiet and peaceful here, far away from any trains. Rain showers and thunderstorms are rolling through as I write this, while Kathleen knits in the cockpit under our canvas and vinyl enclosure. We plan to provision in Quincy tomorrow and do some sightseeing.