Day 135 Off to Alton

Didn't hurry to leave Grafton since we only had to go 15 miles to Alton. Frank and Carol's first experience on the Loop didn't last too long. We cruised by some immense rock cliffs. At Portage des Sioux, we passed the Lady of the Rivers statue, which was erected after the flood of 1951. The towns people prayed to the Virgin Mary to save them after the levees of St. Charles gave way during a heavy rain. A huge wall of water was headed for the village, but miraculously, it split right before town and followed two arms of the river going around the city. To show their appreciation to their savior, the statue was erected in 1957. Right before Alton, there were three massive caves with an image of the Piasa bird painted in the middle. Legend says that this dragon type bird would swoop down and eat humans - wiping out whole villages. He was eventually destroyed, and a large image was painted on the limestone by prehistoric Indians. Father Marquette discovered it in 1673. However, the original depiction was quarried away in the 1870's. The painting that is there now - look in the center of pic two above the train - is a re-creation touched up every couple years. We tied up in the Alton Marina then went to the city to get provisions. We are a little out of town right under the $118,000,000 Clark Bridge that was built in 1994. Kind of reminded us of the Sunshine Skyway. The casino shuttle took us to downtown then we walked for a few blocks - uphill, of course. Asked a nice guy for directions to a restaurant and he gave us a lift to Riverbend Billiards where we got half pound burgers for $2.70. We took a cab to the local grocery then the store gave us a lift back to the marina. It's tough to get around without your own car. By this time, we were ready for docktails. Another Looper, Joe, traveling on Chesapeake, stopped by to talk about the upcoming locks. We have to pass through 2 tomorrow so getting an early start so we can make it to the famous Hoppies Marina.