We are anchored at a wildlife refuge off Henry Island. We saw our first white pelicans on the way down. There was a short wait at Starved Rock Lock which was a great relief.
As soon as we were anchored, an Asian carp flew up on the boat and made a bloody mess on the back deck. It is his last time making a mess.
we will stay here for the night and carry on to Peoria tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Cool Ottawa
The weather sure has dropped. From a steamy humid 100 degrees to 66 degrees and windy. I am glad of the change since we are travelling on a river with locks.
Two looper boats joined us at the town dock last night. We joined them for happy hour to trade tales of the journey. They breezed through the locks with minimal wait time. They are both carrying on this morning.
We stayed to get our propane refilled. The BP station uptown offered to pick up our tanks, fill them and deliver them. What great service! Some boaters from the yacht club came over to offer us a drive to the laundry mat but we declined. We rode our bikes over and got some exercise in the process. The town is clean and level not too many hills, I like that. We found a great Chinese food restaurant with a $6.00 buffet for lunch so we ate there yesterday. Great value for the price. Tonight we will go to the show to see a sci-fi, Apollo 8, the Captain's favourite.
We managed to refill our water tanks here at the dock so we are ready to head out tomorrow.
Two looper boats joined us at the town dock last night. We joined them for happy hour to trade tales of the journey. They breezed through the locks with minimal wait time. They are both carrying on this morning.
We stayed to get our propane refilled. The BP station uptown offered to pick up our tanks, fill them and deliver them. What great service! Some boaters from the yacht club came over to offer us a drive to the laundry mat but we declined. We rode our bikes over and got some exercise in the process. The town is clean and level not too many hills, I like that. We found a great Chinese food restaurant with a $6.00 buffet for lunch so we ate there yesterday. Great value for the price. Tonight we will go to the show to see a sci-fi, Apollo 8, the Captain's favourite.
We managed to refill our water tanks here at the dock so we are ready to head out tomorrow.
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| Ottawa Complimentary Dock |
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| Interesting building in Ottawa |
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| This town has neat hats |
Monday, September 5, 2011
Ottawa Illinois
We arrived at the complimentary dock in Ottawa at 11:00 last night. We left early enough but the locks give priority to barges and they are very slow locking through. We waited at Dresden for 4.5 hours which gave time to do some chores, read and have lunch. It was a pleasant anchorage so the wait was not tedious.
We arrived at the Marseilles Lock at 6:00 after dodging all the week end cottage traffic only to be told that there was a 3 hour wait for this lock. We went back up river to try and find an anchorage but the river is quite shallow outside the channel so we went back to the lock to wait it out. We barely had enough room to anchor while we waited. The channel is 12 feet deep and it quickly turns to 2 feet outside the markers. We anchored with one other looper and waited it out. We finally locked through at 9:00 with a small barge. We had 4 miles to go to get to this dock but it was a challenge finding it in the dark.
We will explore the town and possibly stay here a day or two.
We arrived at the Marseilles Lock at 6:00 after dodging all the week end cottage traffic only to be told that there was a 3 hour wait for this lock. We went back up river to try and find an anchorage but the river is quite shallow outside the channel so we went back to the lock to wait it out. We barely had enough room to anchor while we waited. The channel is 12 feet deep and it quickly turns to 2 feet outside the markers. We anchored with one other looper and waited it out. We finally locked through at 9:00 with a small barge. We had 4 miles to go to get to this dock but it was a challenge finding it in the dark.
We will explore the town and possibly stay here a day or two.
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| Week enders near Ottawa |
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Juliet Cooled
It was really hot again yesterday but the temperature cooled down after heavy rain and thunder showers. It is a cool 72 degrees today and what a relief it is.
We are anchored at Dresden Island Lock waiting for the barges to lock through. It looks like we will be here for several hours.
We are trying to get to Ottawa Illinois but we will see how far we get since we have one more lock after this one.
We are seeing some Egrets and lots of duck blinds. It appears Canada Goose season is open judging by the decoys we see at the blinds. The scenery is less industrial now and more houses and marinas. There are 5 go fast boats waiting to lock through as well as an other looper.
We may be here for the night
.
We are anchored at Dresden Island Lock waiting for the barges to lock through. It looks like we will be here for several hours.
We are trying to get to Ottawa Illinois but we will see how far we get since we have one more lock after this one.
We are seeing some Egrets and lots of duck blinds. It appears Canada Goose season is open judging by the decoys we see at the blinds. The scenery is less industrial now and more houses and marinas. There are 5 go fast boats waiting to lock through as well as an other looper.
We may be here for the night
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| Waiting at Dresden Island Lock |
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| Duck blind on the Illinois river |
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Melting in Joliet
The temperature was 99 degrees yesterday with the humidity it definitely felt hotter than that. We are supposed to get thunderstorms today and then the temperature will return to the high 70s and low 80s. We are not going to struggle with locks today so we will stay here one more day.
We rode our bikes to Wall Mart about 5 miles up the hill to find air conditioning yesterday. On the way back we found a bar and stayed there for a few hours to beat the heat, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
We will finish provisioning today and try to beat the heat again, life is tough.
We rode our bikes to Wall Mart about 5 miles up the hill to find air conditioning yesterday. On the way back we found a bar and stayed there for a few hours to beat the heat, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
We will finish provisioning today and try to beat the heat again, life is tough.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Joliet, Illinois
We left Chicago under sunny skies and calm winds and the day soon became a very hot one. It was still 35 degrees at 8:00 pm. Our new challenge on the river is the locks and barge traffic. We prefer it to the waves and rollers of Lake Michigan.
The locks are quite large with floating bollards to which you tie your boat with a line midship. We do have to give way to commercial traffic but we did not have to wait long yesterday. We only had to contact two tow boat Captains to ask for instructions. They tell us what side to pass them on or where to wait while they maneuver the barges around.
The Illinois river runs through the heart of Chicago with a great view of the ornate buildings. You then go through an industrial area that is less picturesque. We only had to have one Amtrak railway bridge lifted since we can clear all the rest of the many bridges. We could not raise the bridge master on the VHF radio so we asked a passing Chicago Police boat to call them for us. It turns out we were calling them Conrail bridge instead of Amtrak which is what the cruising guide had the name listed as.
The rest of the Illinois river which turns into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal winds through forest with low crumbelling granite walls. It looks a lot like the Erie Canal with the same brownish colour water. It does not look like a river you would swim in.
We went over the electric fence that is in place to keep the Asian carp from getting into the Great Lakes. It is in the Chicago Sanitary Canal before Joliet. There is a large sign advising boaters to call the Coast Guard on VHF 16 when you approach the under water fence. They tell you that it is a no wake zone, no passing other boats, no going through when there is an other boat in the area. The area is maked by an arch and the end is at a bridge where there is a sign telling you hat you are leaving the fence zone. We were not told to turn off our electronics but we did anyway. A fellow looper was told that they are not allowed to pull a dinghy but they let them do it this time.
We are tied to a free wall in Joliet with access to power but no water or showers. The Harbour master and his wife came to welcome us as we arrived and offered to take us to the grocery store. Our fellow loopers declined but I accepted this gracious offer and went off with Brenda to the supermarket. Thank you so much Brenda and Dale.
It is really hot and humid again today so we will stay put and tackle the locks when the weather cools a bit.
The locks are quite large with floating bollards to which you tie your boat with a line midship. We do have to give way to commercial traffic but we did not have to wait long yesterday. We only had to contact two tow boat Captains to ask for instructions. They tell us what side to pass them on or where to wait while they maneuver the barges around.
The Illinois river runs through the heart of Chicago with a great view of the ornate buildings. You then go through an industrial area that is less picturesque. We only had to have one Amtrak railway bridge lifted since we can clear all the rest of the many bridges. We could not raise the bridge master on the VHF radio so we asked a passing Chicago Police boat to call them for us. It turns out we were calling them Conrail bridge instead of Amtrak which is what the cruising guide had the name listed as.
The rest of the Illinois river which turns into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal winds through forest with low crumbelling granite walls. It looks a lot like the Erie Canal with the same brownish colour water. It does not look like a river you would swim in.
We went over the electric fence that is in place to keep the Asian carp from getting into the Great Lakes. It is in the Chicago Sanitary Canal before Joliet. There is a large sign advising boaters to call the Coast Guard on VHF 16 when you approach the under water fence. They tell you that it is a no wake zone, no passing other boats, no going through when there is an other boat in the area. The area is maked by an arch and the end is at a bridge where there is a sign telling you hat you are leaving the fence zone. We were not told to turn off our electronics but we did anyway. A fellow looper was told that they are not allowed to pull a dinghy but they let them do it this time.
We are tied to a free wall in Joliet with access to power but no water or showers. The Harbour master and his wife came to welcome us as we arrived and offered to take us to the grocery store. Our fellow loopers declined but I accepted this gracious offer and went off with Brenda to the supermarket. Thank you so much Brenda and Dale.
It is really hot and humid again today so we will stay put and tackle the locks when the weather cools a bit.
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| Leaving Chicago |
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| The Illinois River |
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| Barge traffic on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal |
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| Hope this will keep the Asian Carp out |
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| Joliet Complimentary wall |
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Chicago Heat
It was 34 degrees here in the windy city and the it was not so windy. We cycled a little less and sat around talking to the local boaters. We went for lunch at the Wind Mark pub which is used as a club house by the Monroe Yatch Club folks. The place definitely has a nautical theme. We took in some of the parks and fountains and completed the day with a night life sampling at Navy Pier. They have fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer.
We are leaving today to embark on our river segment of the loop.
We are leaving today to embark on our river segment of the loop.
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| Buckingham fountain |
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| The North Star crew |
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| Navy Pier at night |
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