Hoppie's Barge
Hoppes is one of a kind place. It is the only place to get boat fuel for 250
miles all the way down the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. It is
one of the very few places to tie up to for miles in either direction, and
appears to be in a time warp. The owner,
Fern is a real character. She smokes in front of her non-smoking sign, has a bunch of old couches and junk all
over the rusty barge and plays 1930-40’s radio over the loudspeakers. She has
been running it alone for 45 years, is the river expert, and gives nightly
briefings on” how to make it down the river alive”. Her briefing on what to expect scared
everyone (except Bill, he said).
Blue Owl Restaurant - awesome pie and food!
St. Louis Arch
Typical Tugboat - They Are Giant
It was a total shock to walk a mile
up the hill and find this touristy little town called Kimmswick (similar to Julian). Apparently people come in tour busses to
visit, go to the famous Blue Owl restaurant,
and take a river boat back up to St Louis.
At the Blue Owl (looks like an Amish Restaurant with incredible food), I
had the best blackberry pie I have ever eaten in my
life.
Hoppie's Barge
The tugboats and barges are huge - sometimes 1000 feet of barges (5 long and 5 wide) being pushes by one tug. You want to get anywhere close to them- and in lots of places the river is narow and it is really tight.
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