Minnesota Classic Glastron Forum
General Category => Minnesota Western Wisconsin Events / Meets => Topic started by: scott r bishop on September 22, 2010, 05:15:13 PM
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Hey everyone, Mike, Liz, and I are thinking of doing a river run this Saturday with the moms so they can take in the fall colors from the river (I know they're not the greatest yet). I read through many of the planned trip threads from this summer and think we're gonna make the Mississippi run that Jeff and Kip made on the 15th from the Wakota bridge to Hastings. A few questions, are there places in Hastings to dock the boat and eat on the river? How long did the trip take (approx)? We probably won't be WOT considering the moms have never been on the river before, but Liz has to be back for work by 4 that day so I don't want to bite off more than I can chew time-wise. Kip? Jeff? I don't know if others have timed out that trip. If anyone else is free I'd be great to meet up with some other boats, thanks!
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Pretty short trip Scott, never timed it so not sure ...
Look on Google map for distances.
There is a city dock there but never went into town.
http://www.hastingsmn.org/
Lots of places to eat in Prescott !
http://www.prescottwi.org/newcomers.html
http://www.prescottwi.com/
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Only problem Scott is that you will need to go through the lock just north of Hastings to get to hastings and if there are barges coming through you may need to wait hours. It is a really pretty ride though.
if I were you, I would lauch at the Wacota bridge, head south all the way to the lock before hastings, come back, then eat at the Harbor marina. You can pull into Hidden Harbor Marina just south of the wakota bridge in St. Paul Park. They have good food and plenty of room to tie up.
There is also the mississippi dunes golf course on grey cloud island in cottage grove. I know you can get to it by boat but I am not sure if they have a dock. http://www.mississippidunes.com/newmenu.php
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&q=newport+mn&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Newport,+Washington,+Minnesota&gl=us&ei=ZqaaTL6-CcKengeMmbToDw&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA&ll=44.791947,-92.971904&spn=0.002357,0.004823&t=h&z=18
Have fun!
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Or ...
Go down to the hastings lock, turn around and go to the boat bar in St. Paul.
They have good food !
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Scott - Jeff and I turned around at the locks that day for the same reason given by Jason. We didn't want to get stuck behind a barge coming back. We passed at least 2, maybe 3 that day on the way down and back. I would agree with the idea to go past the Wakota bridge and boat into downtown St. Paul(great backdrop) stopping at the boat bar. Never been there but it looks like fun judging by Gregg's pictures. Great run, have fun!
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Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I had not thought about the barges, thanks for the heads up Jason. The plans have been amended and it looks like we'll go down to the lock, turn around and head back north to eat somewhere. Gregg - do you know if you can tie up at/near the Boat Bar? That's a good suggestion, we may also head to the Harbor Marina. I appreciate the help, we'll try to launch from Wakota around 10:30AM if anyone else finds themselves with a morning to kill. Happy boating!
-Scott
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Yep ... You can tie up to both sides of dock, must be room for 10 + small boats.
How about joining us for the run on the upper Miss. river ?
http://forum.cgoamn.com/index.php?topic=1727.0
http://forum.cgoamn.com/index.php?topic=1737.0
Can't find picture of boat bar dock ... will post when I find one ...
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Here's one: it's a bad spot to park but was all that was left on the 4th of July. There are other much better dock spots on the dock.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t124/lincolnman1969/Boat/P1020052.jpg)
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Better picture. Boring boats.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t124/lincolnman1969/Boat/082408046.jpg)
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Thanks Jason ...
Can't find a shot of boat bar dock ...
http://www.riverboatgrill.com/Home_Page.html
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Another thought is that the barges are on a schedule. I've called the lockmaster at lock#2 and asked what the timeline is. They will tell you how long before the lock closes for barge traffic. I think that you can call 24 hours in advance for a rough schedule.
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How about joining us for the run on the upper Miss. river ?
I always want to come to the 'mini-meets' but I work just about every Sunday. Big day for bands. This weekend I have a project that will probably eat up all my time, but if I can get them to bump a day I will be there. Are the rivers really that scary during flood stages? If you all can't tell I don't get out on rivers that much unless it's with a group. Thanks again for all the help!
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Once you are in the water it's not scary... It's just like being in a river with stronger current. The problem is that the high water picks up all the debris (logs and branches) from the bank of the river and sweeps them downstream. The river can get really clogged with everything from street garbage run-off to floating trees. Seriously, I've seen whole trees floating through downtown st. paul.
The danger lies in damage to your craft more than the current, but you have to respect a fast running river no matter when you are in it. Imagine what would happen if you hit a log and puncture your hull or take out your drive! Then, imagine that happening 1 mile upstream from an approaching barge with a 10 knot current.
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Yep, High water is not that scary, it's when the water is rising that it's scary. That's when it picks up all the debris. The water was high at the meet in Red wing but it was not all that bad because it was already coming back down and most of the debris was already hung up. I remember earlier this spring with the big flood and there were so many trees coming down the river it looked like a log jam mixed with ice bergs!
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Talking about log jams on the St. Croix River at Wild River State Park, back about 100 years ago................................
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Hidden Harbor is under new ownership its no longer "Willies". I would think under the new ownership they'd have decent food, etc wanting to attract any and all business. I was just down on the water this morning above the Hastings dam the current was clipping along pretty good. Just wait until Monday or Tuesday look out :o