September 28-30, 2026
Hennepin marina was a quick stop. We stayed on their fuel dock and just left the boat to walk Bella. It was in a really remote spot and we wanted to continue on early the next morning.
This is a picture from the marina website, so we aren’t in it. We stayed on the far right where the large boat is docked.
It was only about 30 miles to Hamm’s Holiday Harbor marina and no locks to deal with, so a nice enjoyable drive. We had a boat go past in the last couple of miles prior to Hamm’s and they went right to the fuel dock, which is where we wanted to go. It took them over 30 minutes to get fuel which meant we were having to battle the current as we waited. It is somewhat exasperating to continually deal with other loopers in either the locks, marinas or on anchorage. You will be leaving a marina and someone (who is decidedly slower) will be pulling out right in front of you and you have to slow to a crawl for 20 minutes until there is a spot to do a slow pass. Oh well, such as life.
Once we got fuel, “Dick” the owner, walked the docks to show us where to go. We believe Dick to be in his 80’s, though he moved quickly and had all of his wits about him. Getting to the dock was like driving through a ferry boat graveyard. There were rusting boats all around. It is difficult to imagine how that many boats got stuck, pushed or towed into this space.
Ferry graveyard as we drove to our dock for the evening. Very eerie.
The other very “weird” part of this marina was the Asian Carp. They didn’t seem to like our boat motor vibration and started jumping out of the water. When I was walking out with one of the dock hands, one of the carp bounced onto the deck. He pushed it back into the water, but it left a bloody trail as they are very thinned-skinned fish. It was a bit eerie.
To cap off the unusual afternoon, I took Bella to a park near the marina called Three Sisters. They were setting up the park for a Halloween “scary” trail. The pictures show how creepy this place was. I can’t imagine going through there at night. I would have probably peed my pants.
They had a walking trail through the park that passed through outdoor exhibits, but also indoor spaces that were claustrophobic and downright spine-tingling.
By the end of the evening, a mist was settling on the marina. It almost felt like there was a presence (not evil, but somewhat menacing (?) surrounding the boats. Let’s just say, I was glad to get out of there.
Thankfully, we had an uneventful night and headed out the next morning for Quiver Island anchorage.