Days 7-9

Now we move down the Mississippi River. past St. Louis and its arch, to Hoppies Landing. Hoppies consists of four flat top barges linked in a row alongside the RDB (right descending bank) of the Mississippi River, sixty miles from the Illinois. Its delightful owners run this family business which dates back to the mid-1930's.
Fern, the female half of the Hopkins' partnership, holds court at 4:30 each day to advise cruisers about what to expect downstream. For us, her advice was invaluable, especially given the current state of the river. Two days before we arrived, the river had risen 23 feet! Now it was dropping about 3 feet per day, but the current was running about 3 to 5 knots. The debris coming downstream was so heavy that it appeared at times one could walk across the river. We took several photos of the debris, but they could not do justice to what was actually out there. We stayed three nights here, taking care of business (good cell and air card reception), visiting the nearby town, and settling an issue with our marine insurance company, which decided to leave the marine business at this, for us, very inopportune time.