A Day Out on the Mississippi + Dinner at Pere Marquette State Park Lodge
Monday, September 2 2019 (Labor Day)
Day 24 on the Loop – Alton, IL (24.82 miles)
A friend, Steve, came down to the boat today and we took a leisurely cruise up the Mississippi to Grafton and back. On the way we radioed a tug that we needed to overtake and they advised us to take them "on the two" so we turned to port. Good to understand what that means... but I have put a sticky note by the helm station to help remind me of it!
It was a really nice day out on the river and it was fun to spend time talking and learning more about the area from someone who knows the area. The windless day also made docking easy, which is always appreciated!
After returning to the dock I decided to check out the Great River Road, that is a national scenic byway that runs north from Alton, through Grafton and onwards. I also wanted to check out the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge, that John had mentioned he had been to as part of a parks conference.
On the way north, I saw the Piasa Bird (pronounced Pie-a-saw), is a local legend in the Alton area. Its foundings go back to 1673 when Father Jacques Marquette, in recording his famous journey down the Mississippi River with Louis Joliet, described the "Piasa" as a birdlike monster painted high on the bluffs along the Mississippi River, where the city of Alton, Illinois now stands.
According to the diary, the Piasa "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs."
The creature was given its name by the Illini Indians, "The Piasa", meaning a bird that devours men .
Since I skipped lunch I was feeling hungry and drove on to the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge.
The building is nice, with sort of an an Ahwahnee'ish appeal to it. The main room is very nice, with a large indoor chess set and lots of comfortable chairs. It would be nice in the winter, with a large fireplace. They also have a wine tasting room.
The dining room itself was not as nice. It was a bit gloomy, with too many tables for the space, and cheap plastic table clothes and dirty glasses. The menus were in plastic holders, the type of thing you expect to see at a diner. The food was OK, but nothing really special.
A friend, Steve, came down to the boat today and we took a leisurely cruise up the Mississippi to Grafton and back. On the way we radioed a tug that we needed to overtake and they advised us to take them "on the two" so we turned to port. Good to understand what that means... but I have put a sticky note by the helm station to help remind me of it!
It was a really nice day out on the river and it was fun to spend time talking and learning more about the area from someone who knows the area. The windless day also made docking easy, which is always appreciated!
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| Steve Perry at the helm! |
After returning to the dock I decided to check out the Great River Road, that is a national scenic byway that runs north from Alton, through Grafton and onwards. I also wanted to check out the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge, that John had mentioned he had been to as part of a parks conference.
On the way north, I saw the Piasa Bird (pronounced Pie-a-saw), is a local legend in the Alton area. Its foundings go back to 1673 when Father Jacques Marquette, in recording his famous journey down the Mississippi River with Louis Joliet, described the "Piasa" as a birdlike monster painted high on the bluffs along the Mississippi River, where the city of Alton, Illinois now stands.
According to the diary, the Piasa "was as large as a calf with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face like a man, the body covered with green, red and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head and between the legs."
The creature was given its name by the Illini Indians, "The Piasa", meaning a bird that devours men .
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| Piasa drawn on the limestone cliffs |
Since I skipped lunch I was feeling hungry and drove on to the Pere Marquette State Park Lodge.
The building is nice, with sort of an an Ahwahnee'ish appeal to it. The main room is very nice, with a large indoor chess set and lots of comfortable chairs. It would be nice in the winter, with a large fireplace. They also have a wine tasting room.
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| Entrance to Pere Marquette Lodge |
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| The Main Room of the Pere Marguette Lodge |
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| Comfy chairs - This would be nice place to read a book on a cold winter day |
The dining room itself was not as nice. It was a bit gloomy, with too many tables for the space, and cheap plastic table clothes and dirty glasses. The menus were in plastic holders, the type of thing you expect to see at a diner. The food was OK, but nothing really special.
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