The Great Loop

After a few weeks of prep work we are finally under way and on our adventure. This should be a year long experience up the Atlantic Coast, over the Great Lakes, and down the inland rivers. Les mer

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The Great Loop Reisende
Frankfort
9. september 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
We came into Frankfort late and left very early the next morning. Thus I didn’t take many photos. I did manage to get some ice cream, visit the bookstore, a rock shop, and saw a theater.
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Ludington
10. september 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
We came into Ludington and had some time to explore. It’s a Midwest town with most stores closed due to it being a Sunday. We did find a bookstore and admired the murals on the buildings.
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Muskegon
11. september 2023, Forente stater ⋅ 🌧 63 °F
We spent a few days in Muskegon with the first day on anchor. The next couple of days we stayed in the Safe Harbor marina. Nearby was the submarine museum and town.
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South Haven
14. september 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
South Haven was a delightful resort town. The marina was located right in town. Town included cute boutique shops, wineries, breweries, a farmers market, and jazz festival.
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Michigan City
17. september 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
This town is a Midwest town with a lighthouse museum, outlet mall, restaurants, and sculptures. We stayed on the free dock and enjoyed dinner together next to the park. Annette also got some needed shopping in at the outlet mall.Les mer
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Six Flags
8. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Matt, the kids, and I went to six flags for the day. They were hosting a Boofest and Oktoberfest so it was the perfect time to
Go. Kids got a little trick or treating in and we hit the rides. The park was well decorated for Halloween.Les mer
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Chicago
10. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
We spent nearly 2 weeks in Chicago and saw many things including the museum of Science and Industry, planetarium, and Field Museum. We also stayed at the Chicago Yacht Club which was located downtown in the heart of the city allowing us an easy walk to most of the sights. We also visited the navy Pier and took a photo with the anchor from the ship my dad served on.

The food was also delicious including Croatian food, pizza, and Chinese hot pot,Les mer
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Marine Services
11. oktober 2023, Forente stater
We left Chicago a little early and headed into the rivers. Lake Michigan is about to get rough and we want to get off of her. Luckily Marine Services had space for us so we made our way up the Illinois River, under a few bridges, and through a lock. We stayed for two nights as we waited for our flotilla to arrive.Les mer
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Marine Services
11. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
We’ve left Chicago and headed into the river system. The next leg of our journey has begun. We are positioning ourselves for easy locking down the river with many other Loopers. There wasn’t much at this marina. We had to pass through numerous bridges and one very large lock.Les mer
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Joliet
13. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ 🌧 55 °F
Half of our flotilla left Marine Services early in the morning while the second half left Hammond. We passed through many more bridges and one lock. Arriving in Joliet, we waited for the rest of the Flotilla and got situated. There wasn’t much in Joliet and the weather was rainy so we just stayed on the boat.

To get here, we had to pass over an electric fish barrier. We heard of a few other boats encountering electrical issues after passing. Thankfully we were fine, but we did turn off our inverter just in case. The giant Asian carp are an invasive species so this helps keep them out of entering the Great Lakes.Les mer
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Heritage Harbor and the locks
14. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
We arrived in Heritage Harbor for the night and prepared for our river adventure. We had a long day of locks with half of our flotilla. The weather predicted high winds so many people were worried about leaving. We’re fine with winds, but thankfully, we didn’t experience anything major.Les mer
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Peoria
15. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
We stayed at the public docks in Peoria. The town has a sculpture walk which we enjoyed. The docks were small but worked well for the evening. Walmart was close by and delivered.
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Quiver Island
16. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ 🌙 55 °F
It was a very long day of boating around tugs, barges, and bridges. We encounter jumping Asian Carp with one landing in our boat!

There were 9 boats total and we anchored next to Quiver Island for a nice evening.Les mer
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Beardstown
17. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
There’s a barge you can tie up to for the night in Beardstown. We all came in and started exploring. First objective was to get a tour of the tug boat. Then we all went out for ice cream and $2 margaritas. The town is small and has a lot of old buildings and remnants of the past. A dog park is near by which the kids enjoyed. But the real fun for the kids was the barge.Les mer
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Anchoring next to Willow Island
18. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
We cruised all day and found a little spot to drop anchor. There was just enough room for all of us.
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Grafton
19. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
We stayed in Grafton one night. It’s known as the Key West of the Midwest. There were a few wineries, a pool with hot tub at the marina, good restaurants, but our favorite was the alpine sled. We headed up the hillside on the gondola for a great view of the Mississippi and then enjoyed the sled a couple of times.Les mer
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The Hodaks
20. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
In the 1960s, Boris’ great uncle moved from Europe to St Louis and started a restaurant. It has been known as the best fried chicken in St Louis. The decor was awesome and the shirts funny. The food was also incredible!Les mer
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Budweiser Brewery Tour
21. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
We took a trip to St Louis to visit the brewery. Starting with lunch, we had some tasty food and I enjoyed the mango cart beer. Then we left for a 1.5 hour tour that showed us the horses, barn, bottling station, and tanks. Throughout the tour we had tastings and ended the tour with a fresh bottle of beer to take home and a cup of beer to enjoy.Les mer
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Purina Farms
22. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
We took the kids along with two other families to the Purina Farms. They had animals to pet, a huge cat habitat, and a dog show. The kids were even able to milk a cow!
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St Louis and thr Arch
22. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
We drove into town to explore the area of St Louis with the primary focus being the arch. The entire family went up the round elevator to the top and enjoyed the sights. It’s quite a view and interesting history. Nearby we also stopped for dinner by the ballpark and headed to Union Station for the light show.Les mer
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Alton
23. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
Alton is as close to St Louis for us to put the boat while we explored the surrounding areas. The town it self is fascinating with a bit of history.

It’s considered haunted so we went on a ghost walk to the old prison. All that remains of the prison is the wall. We also passed the grain silos where there were markers of the water height from previous floods.

There was a nice museum and tour of the lock nearby that had a tug simulator. Boris and Michael really enjoyed that one.Les mer
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Hoppies Marina
24. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
In an effort to not boat for over 10 hours, we made reservations to stay at Hoppies. Hoppies is a couple of barges strapped together for people to tie up and stay. About half a mile up the road is the town with many cute boutique shops all decorated for Halloween. The highlight, however, was the candy store and bakery. The bakery had the levee high apple pie which included 18 apples baked inside the dome pie crust.Les mer
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Anchoring in the Mississipi
25. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
We are traveling great distances with limited places to stop as we make our way south. The usually anchorage in this area is closed due to dredging. We found a spot to tuck in that was off the main channel that provided some protection. The river current is strong so we have to make two attempts at anchoring, we we managed and rafted three boats together.

The excitement happened when Tonia noticed a huge log stuck on their anchor. We tried everything to dislodge it but it refused to budge. Finally, we took down the dinghy, used a line to pull it off the chain, and walked it down between the boats.

That was enough excitement for one day.Les mer
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Little Diversion Channel
26. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F
We traveled for 6 hours along the Mississippi finally arriving at Little Diversion Channel which offered a perfect spot to anchor. It was calm with minimal current. There were a few other boats rafted up in this location. We settled in for the night and took the kayak out for a little paddling.

The trip here was pleasant with the shoreline full of fall colored trees.Les mer
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Anchoring near the lock
28. oktober 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
It was a slow day going against the current. We arrived near the Olmstead Lock and prepared to drop anchor. There were other boats in the area but they didn’t raft up. The beach to the side is sandy an nice. The current was a bit strong so we just stayed put.Les mer
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