Grafton

We went to Grafton yesterday to enjoy the ambiance of the Grafton Winery.  Grafton is located at the confluence of the Illinois River and the Mississippi River.  Until sometime after the flood of 1993, It was know as a quaint fishing village with fish markets, antique shops and a one or two bed and breakfast's.  It  has become quite the tourist community and development outside the floodplain has increased the population a great deal. 

The photograph shows a towboat pushing a full tow of grain barges up the Illinois River.  There are numerous barge loading terminal elevators located on the Illinois River where grain is loaded and shipped to New Orleans where it is transferred to cargo ships and exported around the world.  About half of Illinois grain reaches export markets because of the convenience of river transportation.  The river also makes higher prices available to Illinois farmers because of the inexpensive water transportation. 

I should also explain that a full tow upstream of St Louis consists of 15 barges and a towboat.  The towboat actually pushes the barges.  They are not pulled as the name implies.  Fifteen barges arranged in a 3 X 5 pattern can lock through a 1200 foot lock chamber.  There are only 2 1200 foot lock chambers on the Mississippi River.  When using the 600 foot chambers on most of the river, the tows have to be broken in half and locked through separately.  This slows the process of locking through considerably because of needing to break them apart and then re-connect them.  There are 27 locks and dams between St Louis and Minneapolis - St. Paul.  They are of huge importance to Midwestern agriculture.  At some time and point, River transportation grinds to a halt as ice blocks the River either by freezing over or by the buildup of ice flows on lock gates.  Yesterday there were a few flows, but it looks like grain is still moving.