Lock 17

At 3pm in the blazing sun we hit Lock 17...perfect timing! One can wait up to 2hrs to lock-through with heavy river traffic. We cruised to a filling dock in Muscatine on the Iowa side. In the shop perched high above us we were relieved to find a fuel line. Ours did a wheels-up about 6miles upstream and Bobby jimmied it to get us down. The shop had a large walk-in fridge. As though rehearsed, the four of us stepped into the blissful coolness. "Let's have a meeting" James piped up. It is over 90 degrees F outside today.

Our total distance from La Crosse is currently at 244 miles (we need to be on 300 by nightfall and it is already 4:37pm)...