After several weeks away we returned to the boat and some considerably cooler temperatures. We found everything to be pretty much in order and the next morning we departed Grafton.

Grafton’s fuel dock was not operational, so we stopped at Alton Marina to fill up and pump out. This was a quick stop and then we were on our way down the Mississippi River. Alton Lock and Dam was our first lock on the Mississippi, and we only had to wait about a half hour.

We passed by the St. Louis Arch. There was no place to dock so we just slowed down and took pictures.

Our destination for the day was Hoppies Marina. This is another stop along the rivers that is little more than a few floating barges tied together to make a dock. We paid our $40 and enjoyed all the electricity we could use. That was about the only luxury to be found at Hoppies this year. Apparently they have had a lot of damage from recent flooding.