Cruise Ships and Snorkeling--But It's Not the Caribbean

Our travel on Tuesday, September 15, took us from Dubuque to the town of Clinton, IA. As we left the Port of Dubuque we passed the American Eagle, a brand new cruise ship that made its debut on the Mississippi River this past May. It can carry 150 passengers in luxury, but luxury doesn't come cheap--the price for a 7-night cruise on the upper Mississippi starts at $4,450 pp double occupancy.

The American Eagle docked just outside of the
Port of Dubuque

Clinton was as we remembered it from last year--nice marina, good restaurant on site, and convenient to a grocery store. The only problem with the marina was the large amount of grass and algae around the docks. Given our problems with the stuff over the past few days we were not happy to see that. 

Our orange fender above a sea
 of green grass and algae
in Clinton

Our concerns were justified this morning (September 16) when the engine temperature began to rise higher than normal soon after we left the marina at Clinton. As with every other time this has happened we pulled out of the navigation channel to anchor. There was little to no vegetation in the raw water strainer, which meant that it was likely the obstruction was at the opening in the boat hull. Not an easy thing to check, but Lon put on his snorkeling gear, hooked up a tether so he wouldn't float away, and went into the water. Happily, his efforts were worth it, as he was able to clear the blocked through-hull and get the engine operating normally again.

The Caribbean it's not--Lon "snorkels for grass" in water where the
visibility was less than a foot

While we were anchored we were passed by yet another cruise ship, the American Queen. She is the largest steamboat ever built and the only authentic overnight paddlewheel steamboat in America.

The American Queen cruises toward Clinton
as she passes CARIB II at anchor

Our final destination for today was the Isle of Capri casino marina in Bettendorf, Iowa, but we made an intermediate stop in the town of LeClaire, IA. The primary purpose of the stop was to get diesel for the boat at an absolutely unbelievable price--$2/gallon.  

This is what a "boating angel" looks like. Fred Boley
brought his tanker truck to the LeClaire courtesy dock and
filled our fuel tanks for a price that we are not likely to
 see again. Thank you Fred!!!!!!

We discovered that LeClaire had more to offer than just cheap fuel, so we stayed for lunch and a little bit of sightseeing. Anyone familiar with the History Channel's "American Pickers" program will know that one of the hosts is from LeClaire and has his business base there. We didn't have a clue about the show, but it apparently is responsible for bringing lots of tourists to town. It was a cute, clean town with some very nice old architecture--and lots of antique stores. LeClaire is also where Buffalo Bill Cody was born in 1846, so we stopped by the museum that bears his name.

LeClair streetscape

The Buffalo Bill museum. In addition
to Buffalo Bill memorabilia, the
museum has sections devoted to
general regional history

The Lone Star wooden towboat in the Buffalo Bill
Museum. Built in 1890, the Lone Star operated until
1967 and was the last operating stern wheel towboat
on the Mississippi

We have another relatively short cruise tomorrow--about 30 miles to Muscatine, IA. The trip includes 2 locks, so we'll either be in Muscatine by lunchtime if we're lucky at the locks, or for dinner if we're not.