Joe & Isaac's Adventure: Episode 2 - Chapter 3

The Mississippi used to rush past Keokuk in a torrent of rapids that dropped nearly 30 feet. That made Keokuk the head of navigation on the upper Mississippi. The rapids were impassable. Any cargo headed further up river had to be unloaded at Keokuk, carried around the rapids and then loaded onto another boat above the rapids. Building a lock or set of locks to by-pass the Keokuk rapids was a high priority. In 1867 work began on the Des Moines canal. It included three locks and was completed a decade later in 1877. The canal carried smaller boats around the rapids, but not the big steamboats, and so with the canal finished, they began work to dam the rapids and build a single huge lock. What is now Lock and Dam 19 was completed in 1913. The lift on the lock is 38 feet. Isaac and I were notably impressed as we locked-through.

On the upriver side of the lock at Keokuk the river's character changed dramatically. It was far less muddy and the current was subdued. Isaac and I were both relieved and pleased. We had been expecting the river would clear up as we traveled further north. The dam pool at Keokuk is immense. It's really a huge lake with Keokuk at one end and Fort Madison at the other. Halfway up this lake a bluff slopes down from the Illinois side and juts forward forcing the lake to bend around to the northeast. There on the bluff is Nauvoo. Nauvoo is one of our favorite towns on the Mississippi and we had to stop. We tied the boat to a tree near the boat launch at the base of Water Street and headed into town. Isaac wanted some cheese and although I suspected they would already be closed, he hiked me all the way to the top of the bluff to Baxter's Winery where we knew we could purchase a half-wheel of cheese. They were closed. Fortunately we found one of the shops back in town open and with a supply of cheese on hand. We were able to buy about two pounds of cheese and so the day wasn't ruined. The cheese was worth the hike. Founded during Prohibition, The Nauvoo Blue Cheese Company still makes the very best blue cheese, and I don't mean the best blue cheese in Illinois or the best blue cheese in the Midwest; I mean the very best blue cheese. Apart from traveling to Nauvoo to get some (which I highly recommend) you can order Nauvoo Blue Cheese from Baxter's Winery (click on the Winery photo). If you like blue cheese and you haven't had Nauvoo Blue Cheese, then your life is incomplete. Baxter's claims their heritage reaches back to the Icarian settlers who moved into Nauvoo after the Mormons left. This certainly makes good sense given their primary product and the Mormon's predilection to avoid the same. They sell a decent dry red wine they call Icarian Red along with a collection of sweeter table wines that well address the current consumer palate. The Icarian Museum in Nauvoo is just a block down the road.

Nauvoo is a delightful place to visit. When the Mormons were driven out of Missouri in 1839 they settled in Nauvoo. This region of west-central Illinois has seen more than its fair share of religious communities and utopian communes seeking to build a life for themselves. There are Amish in the region. One of the largest and most successful such communities of all time, Bishop Hill, is just up the river from Nauvoo. The Icarians settled in Nauvoo. It's not a coincidence. If you and a group of like minded people, armed with a religious conviction and belief that together you could make a better life for yourselves, went off in search of Eden, you'd know you found it when you got to Nauvoo. The Mormons prospered here until religious persecution again forced them to migrate. Their great journey west began at Nauvoo. In the fifteen years they were here they built not only a successful community but a great temple at the top of the bluff overlooking the river bend. The temple was burned in 1846 after they left. This year (2002) it was rebuilt; a replica of the original. Its front facade faces the setting sun, and as the sun sets the temple's silver dome and gold statue of the Angel Maroni ignite in a blaze of flame. It is once again the most splendid sight on the banks of the Mississippi.

The new temple was to be dedicated in two more weeks and so Isaac and I found Nauvoo somewhat more crowded than usual. It was in fact overrun with visitors. By the time we got back to the boat it was getting late. A huge crowd was gathering in an open field adjacent to the boat launch and preparing for a ceremony to commemorate the Mormons' journey west. We had apparently parked our boat at the very spot whence they had departed. We chatted a few minutes with some of the people there who were interested in what we doing and then shoved off to find a place to spend the night. There were no sloughs or islands in the river to provide shelter so we decided to very slowly make our way into the stump field just below the river bend. I figured if a tow heading down lost control it would end up on the opposite shore and if a tow heading up lost control it would ground in the stump field long before reaching us. In any case we were well outside the channel. It was an interesting night because we could see as well as hear the tows as they passed by. In the morning we awoke to a fog so thick that we couldn't dare move the boat. We had to wait till nearly noon for it to burn off.

We were anxious then to recover lost time when we finally got underway. I would have loved to stop in Niota, Illinois and pick up some smoked fish, but we pushed on. We passed Burlington and Lock 18 with an easy gas stop and were planning to make Muscatine before the end of the day. As we drove past Keithsburg we noticed what looked like a campground on the riverbank with restrooms and potentially showers and decided to make a quick stop. The sandy beach was ideal for landing the boat. It was a city park and campground and they did indeed have nice hot showers. After we got cleaned up we discovered that our engine would not start. It sounded as though the starter wasn't engaging the motor at all. We asked the campground host if he knew of a mechanic in town and he told us there was a boat shop of some type there. We walked into town and found the shop but no one was there. At the gas station we asked again and were directed back to the same shop. There was nothing to do then except wait for morning. We ate dinner in town and spent the night in the campground.

The next morning we called the number for Kruidenier Kreations and explained our predicament to Mike Kruidenier. He apologized that he couldn't fix our engine; his business customizes the outside of boats, but he said he knew who could help us and that he would make the call for us. A few minutes later Mike showed up at the park. He told us that he had called a mechanic who would attend to us shortly and he wanted to make sure we were OK. I found this gesture most gracious as we were not engaging his professional services in any way. Within the hour an older gentleman whose name I have forgotten showed up and within minutes fixed our engine. The bendix had stuck. He freed it and lubricated it so that it wouldn't happen again. Then he showed us what had happened and showed us how to fix it ourselves in the future. I asked him what we owed him for his efforts and he said nothing. It seems he didn't think he had done anything of consequence. He had driven to our location; I don't know how far. He had used his valuable time on our behalf. He applied his expertise to our problem and he took the time to instruct us how to remedy the problem should it happen again. I had to force money on this man. Try and imagine if you live in a big city as we do, your local car dealership service department treating you in the same way. And their walls are covered with posters and plaques proclaiming what great service they provide. How fortunate we were to break down in tiny Keithsburg, Illinois.