We Arrive at the Mississippi

New nun and can buoys for the Illinois

Lesbian nun buoys!

Negotiating with a small tow

Speedboats on the river

We left Havana and Tall Timbers Marina on Labor Day. We had 120 miles to go to Grafton, IL and the Mississippi River, so we decided to do this in two days. Trouble is, there really aren't any marinas to pull into on this lower stretch of the Illinois River. This meant we would be anchoring on the river somewhere for one evening, then moving on the next day to Grafton. We figured we would split the distance in half, so we headed out fairly early to cover the 60 odd miles plus a lock to our anchorage. We had great weather with temperatures in the low 70's, but it was fairly breezy. Since this was Labor Day, we encountered a lot of fishermen and campers along the river and had to slow down several times so we didn't wake them. We came to our last lock, the LaGrange Lock, on the Illinois. We had to wait approximately 20 minutes for a tow to finish locking through before we could enter. The lockmaster called us and told us to just float in the middle of the lock which only went down 10 feet. The problem was we had a really stiff wind on our tail and it was all Capt. Larry could do to keep her centered. We no sooner exited the lock when the starboard engine temperature alarm went off. Deju vu all over again! We shut the engine and Jane took over the helm  while Capt. Larry went below to see what was going on. Same as before, the raw water strainer was emptied. We proceeded on one engine and tried a couple of times to restart the starboard engine which always overheated. We would have to wait until we stopped to find out what was going on. The lower Illinois River is very different and much more scenic that the upper part. The terrain next to the river becomes hilly with limestone hills and buttes all along the way. We me a group of speed boaters that we thought might be racing, but after they passed us we figured they were just out for a fast holiday ride. On this leg we passed two tows which is always interesting. The channel is relatively narrow and the captains instruct you how to pass. But it seems to take forever to get around them.

Going into our anchorage

Limestone cliffs along the river

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With a relatively stiff northerly breeze, Capt. Larry passed up two recommended anchorages, because of their exposure and his recall is a similar situation in the Little Alligator River in North Carolina. The second anchorage was at a dual highway bridge that was the western most point of the loop at W 098 38.7652. On the third anchorage, Jane was all go, but Capt. Larry didn't think it provided enough swing room. Two miles later, we found our spot. We were able to get well out of the main channel and would be somewhat protected with decent depths at Buckthorn Island. We dropped the hook and Capt. Larry went below to assess the overheating problem. When he pulled the raw water pump apart, he found the impeller was shot. He is so good at changing out impellers that he would probably win a NASCAR pit competition for impeller changing, if they had one. With a spare impeller he was able to fix the problem in about one-half hour, but why this happens still is a mystery, but we are starting to associate it with turbulence from prop wash or heavy seas that causes air to enter the raw water system. Why it only occurs on the starboard engine, however, is puzzling. We had cooked some red beans and rice while we were in the marina, so all we had to do was reheat them for our dinner. We started up the genset and watched another of Todd's movies, then turned in early. We were well away from any city lights and the night sky was exceptionally starry and clear. It was magnificent! During the night two tows came by our anchorage and shone their light on us and the shoreline. It was sort of eerie to watch the tow's lights light up the river.

High, and hopefully, dry!

Ready for duck season

Car ferry near Grafton

 We got up early the next morning and almost immediately got underway. It was another beautiful, but breezy, day. As we got near Grafton, the river started to take on characteristics of the Mississippi. It became broader, deeper, and the houses built along the shore were significantly elevated to avoid springtime flooding. The river was also lined with limestone cliffs that are characteristic of the upper Mississippi. As we approached the Mississippi the Illinois River also became more meandering with large bends and turns. We had reserved a slip at Grafton Harbor which is a new marina built in 2006. The facilities are nice and the marina staff was very helpful. We also found John and Mary Leatherman on Mary Fraces IV in the slip next to us. Small world!

Runnin' the Illinois Rivers

Bye, bye, Chicago

Big ships in the CalSag Canal

Cruising the CalSag Canal

We got a late start leaving Chicago. The plan was to take the Chicago River through downtown Chicago to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, then into the Des Plaines River. Our friends on P-dock had been talking about a certain railroad bridge on this route that didn't open during rush hour traffic, because of the commuter trains. Some reported waiting up to two hours at this bridge. This really presented a dilemma for us, because we needed to get an early start to reach our intended destination just beyond Joliet. We also had two locks we had to transit and the commercial traffic could present delays at the locks. We had morning coffee with the "P-dockers" thinking we would arrive at the bridge after rush hour traffic, but an experienced captain informed us, just as we were thinking of leaving, that we could still experience up to an hour's wait at the bridge. Capt. Larry decided at the last minute to alter our route and go to Calumet Harbor and take the Calumet River and Calumet Sag Channel to the Des Plaines River. We wouldn't get to experience the thrill of cruising through downtown Chicago and would have to contend with lots of commercial traffic through a heavily industrial area, but we hopefully wouldn't have any major delays. When you have to travel at basically no-wake speed, any delay can add considerable time to the itinerary.

Busy fleeting area

Barges from exotic places

Tight squeeze at lowest bridge on loop

A really shocking place we passed!

Boy, do we LOVE floating bollards!

Down 40 feet at Lockport Lock

Ready to leave the Lockport Lock

We worked our way through the CalSag Channel until we came to the junction with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at the Des Plaines River. Then the fun part began. We entered a towboat and barge fleeting area that stretched for the next five miles. The channel is narrow and barges are parked to one side or the other of the channel. If we encountered any commercial traffic, we would have to duck between parked barges and wait for the traffic to pass. We were fortunate in that this only happened to us one time, but it seemed to take forever to run this section at idle speed or slower. While we were in this area we went under the lowest fixed bridge (actually it's a swing bridge that no longer opens) on the loop at 19.1'. If you can't clear this bridge you cannot do the loop. You can travel to here and turn around and travel back around to the other side and call that your loop, but you have to be able to clear this bridge to do a continuous route. We made it through this area only to face the one-half mile long electrical barrier designed to prevent the entry of the invasive Asian carp into the Great Lakes. We radioed the Coast Guard as instructed, but received no reply, so through the barrier we proceeded. The electric current had been recently increased and we weren't sure what to expect. Jokingly, Capt. Larry wanted Jane to handle the metal helm wheel through the barrier, but she would absolutely not touch anything metal. With an eye on all of the gauges for signs of something going awry, we made it through the barrier. Five miles further downstream we encountered our second lock, the Lockport Lock and Dam. We had to wait about an hour for an upbound tow to lock through, before we could do our thing. With this delay and the added distance from altering our route, it was obvious that the additional two hours to the recommended marina was going to be too much for one day. We decided instead to tie up on the free wall in Joliet. This turned out to be a good decision, because we were there with three other looper boats. We had met a lady named Carol while we were on P-dock who lived near the marina (and Joliet) we had planned on going to. After we were tied up we got a call from her wondering where we were. When we told her that we had to alter our plans, she showed up at the boat in Joliet with friends who had done the loop a few years ago. We sat on the park wall and had drinks until well into the evening.

Carol waving on her dock

Barges tied to trees

Rafted to Mary Frances IV in Ottawa

The next morning we left with two other looper boats and made our way downstream. We passed Carol's place on the river and she was out on her dock screaming at us and cheering us on. The two other boats we were running with decided to pull into a marina to fuel up. We didn't need fuel, so we proceeded on by ourselves and locked through the Dresden Lock and Dam. Further on we were passed by a boat, Mary Frances IV, that we had met when we were in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, MI. We made our way to Ottawa, IL and intended on tying up at the Ottawa free dock for the evening. When we got there, there was no space available, but Mary Frances IV was tied up and John and Mary Leatherman invited us to raft up to their boat. This was our first experience in rafting, but something we will probably be doing more of as we run the inland rivers. We got off the boat and walked to town. We found a grocery that would give us a ride back to the boat, so we did a major reprovisioning of the stores. We invited John and Mary aboard Bavarian Cream for happy hour, then turned in for an early start the next morning.

Starved Rock State Park

Starved Rock butte and lock

Starved Rock

Jumping Asian carp

Leaving Ottawa, we went through a beautiful section of the Illinois River around the Starved Rock State Park and the Starved Rock Lock and Dam. According to a native legend, a group of Illini Indians were pursued by Ottawa and Potawatomi enemies and fled to a butte overlooking the Illinois River in the late 18th century. The Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illini had starved, and the butte became known as Starved Rock. The butte is now a national historic landmark. We quickly locked through the lock and pressed on to the Henry Harbor Marina in Henry, IL. During this leg we saw our first Asian carp that would leap from the water when boats approached. Some of the smaller boats would purposely rev their engines to stir the carp up. We weren't sure if they were using some type of fishing method to catch them, or if they were just having fun. These fish are just thick and it is easy to understand why they are such a concern. We joked that they needed to import some Cajun fishermen from Louisiana and tell them how good the carp are or how much money they could make selling them to the Chinese. Problem solved! We cleaned up and had happy hour in the marina's bar/restaurant with our favorite northern appetizer, fried green beans. We went back to the boat, had supper, then watched another of Todd's movies.

Duck blind on the Illinois River

Navy ship with escort

The scenic Illinois River

The next morning we left for Peoria. The trip was uneventful until we almost got to our destination. We encountered a large navy ship and escort in the channel just as we arrived at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club. The ship was huge and seemingly out of place on the river. We pulled over to the side of the channel to give her plenty of room when the escort boat pulled up between us and the ship. Totally unnecessary assholes! All that maneuver did was reduce the amount of space the boats had in the channel. Sometimes this security crap gets a little out of hand. We also have a radio and a call to us we would advise you of our intentions. We heard that this ship was on its way to Henry where we had started the day from. Anyway, we got into the yacht club and got secured. This club has absolutely fine facilities and when Jane checked us in she made reservations for dinner. It was hot, so we enjoyed the club's swimming pool while the boat cooled. We cleaned up and had happy hour in the club's bar, met the commodore who bought us a round of drinks, then we went to the restaurant for a wonderful meal. We had wanted to stay an extra day here, but a major front was predicted to come through the area on Saturday, so we thought it best to move to our next destination ahead of the storm and wait the weather out there.

Kamikaze carp on the dock

Lynette catches a nice largemouth

More jumping carp

Jane catches a crappie

Jane with her largemouth

Jane and Lynette knocking 'em dead

All in an afternoon on the Illinois River

We left early the next morning to avoid running in the hottest part of the day. The area was experiencing unseasonably hot conditions with heat indices approaching 105 degrees. We were delayed about an hour at the Peoria Lock and Dam, because the lockmaster was having difficulty getting the upstream lock gate to open to let us in. After filling and emptying the chamber three times, the gate finally opened and we locked down. With the exception of passing a couple of really large tows, we had an uneventful run to our marina in Havana, IL. However, getting into the marina was really something. The entrance channel was only about 20 feet wide and when we got into the basin the depth sounder was showing 0.0 feet! We did get into our slip, but not before stirring up the Asian carp which were leaping all around us. One carp leaped onto the dock and just laid there, unable to get back into the water. Stupid fish! We noticed several of the boats that were moored in the marina had dead carp on their decks. Must be a mess to clean up. This is really a nice place with the downtown area a short walk away and the Tall Timbers Marina having really nice accommodations. Immediately after docking, Jane took off to do some shopping and scout the town out. When she returned to the boat we grilled some pork chops and corn-on-the-cob, had dinner, watched another of Todd's movies, and turned in for the evening. The next day we did some boat chores, Jane went shopping again, and looked for a bar/restaurant that would have the LSU vs. Oregon game on. We found a bar with a TV that would have the game on. We ate at Babe's which everyone from Chicago on down had recommended, then went to the Stag Tap a few doors down to watch the game. The bar was loud and by half-time it was time to head back to the boat. We listened to the second half on the satellite radio then turned in for the evening. The next morning the marina had coffee and cake for us. We chatted with Lynette who served as dockmaster in the owner's absence. She was catching some nice fish right at the dock. Jane jumped in and also started to catch some really nice fish. Jane went shopping one more time and Capt. Larry chilled out on the boat and worked on the blog. In the evening we bought pizza to share with Lynette and had a nice time.

Eagle along the river

White  pelicans in the river

Turkeys along the river

Sightseeting Chicago

A giant crawfish at the field museum

Our first full day in Chicago, we decided to take in some of the more famous attractions. We chose to stay at Burnham Harbor, Chicago's largest marina, partly because of its proximity to the city's more famous attractions, and also because Capt. Larry was more familiar with the area and transportation system on the south side. While Burnham Harbor is a good choice for these reasons, it is also rather short on the amenities. The marina has over 1100 slips, but only one men's and ladies' restrooms and with a couple of showers and toilets each, and these facilities are sorely in need of upgrading. For the marina fee that is charged, one would expect better accommodations.



The major attractions that we wanted to see while we were here were the famous Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and possibly a ride to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). We also wanted to take in a major league baseball game at one of the city's two teams. Admittance to these attractions are not cheap, but Chicago has a package deal called City Pass that allows you admission to 5 of the city's top attractions for $76. We purchased two of these packages and started with the Field Museum on day one. The museum was about a one-half mile walk from the boat.

Jane and the pachyderms

A T. Rex named SUE

Capt. Larry and Bushman

We arrived at the museum but had no idea where to start. The number of exhibits was overwhelming and we only had a day to do this. We sat down with a pamphlet and planned the day's activities. First up would be the "Underground Adventure." This exhibit dramatically enlarges the tiny to microscopic features of soil and gives the viewer the impression that you are passing through living soil that relates to your "shrunken" size. The exhibit covered all aspects of soil ecology and the important role it plays in things we take for granted. While Jane was not too fond of the bugs and worms that were "living" in the soil, she did enjoy the educational aspects of the exhibit. She gave it a thumbs up and thought the grandkids would love it.


The next exhibit was "Inside Ancient Egypt." This is a permanent exhibit at the museum and one that is supported by Egyptian artifacts that were brought to the museum years ago. There were collections that dealt with all aspects of everyday Egyptian life which were represented over a several periods of Egyptian history.

Who's your mummy?

When we got to the Egyptian funeral and burial customs, and saw exhibits of mummies and mummification, we got an unsettling feeling that years ago representatives of the museum were robbing Egyptian graves of their treasures and bringing them to this country. Of course, this was probably no different than that done by a number of other respected institutions, but still there was a nagging question of propriety as we viewed the exhibit. The mummies made us hungry, so we broke for lunch!


Next up was "Traveling the Pacific." This exhibit detailed how the Pacific islands were inhabited and settled and the conditions that were faced by the initial inhabitants. Since many of these islands were the last places on Earth to be inhabited, it was interesting to learn of their navigational skills and obstacles these explorer/settlers had to encounter. After a segment on Papua New Guinea and a description of their foods and how they prepared them, we started to get hungry again! So many delicacies.....so little time......


We finished up our day by touring the exhibits on "The Ancient Americas," the "Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples," and the "North American Indians." "The Ancient Americas" exhibit chronicled Indian cultures that inhabited North and South America, their rise and fall, and contributions.

Northwest totems

Titles of the other two exhibits are self-explanatory and all three were excellent, although the "North American Indian" exhibit could have been improved if the collection were attributed to specific tribes rather than generalized regions they represented. While these were the major exhibits we visited, we also briefly wandered through other museum offerings. Overall, we thought the Field Museum was excellent and would recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago. Just be sure to give yourself as much time as possible.

The dolphins perform at the Shedd

Jellies!

Beluga whales

Penguins on display

Coral reef fish

With the Klassers for dinner and jazz

Happy birthday, Jane!

The next day, Jane's birthday, we headed to the Shedd Aquarium. Like the Field Museum, the aquarium has a number of varying exhibits that covers oceans, local and major foreign rivers, coral reefs. One of the exhibits focused on the Amazon and all of the weird fish and animals associated with it. The Carribbean Reef was a huge tank that displayed all types of tropical fish and rays. Most mesmerizing was a display of jellyfish, but the most beautiful was all of the brightly colored or oddly adapted fish in the coral reef exhibit. We also watched a dolphin show and went to a 4-D movie, "Happy Feet." Around closing time we noticed that the staff were setting up dining and serving tables. Turns out we were there when they were having "The Shedd and Jazz" night. Capt. Larry was going to take Jane out for dinner, but we decided to stay and have dinner at the aquarium. Various vendors had a variety of menu items and it was great. While we were waiting for the event to begin we me Allan and Tanya Klasser. We had such nice conversation that we all decided to dine together, and we ate, talked, and listened to a jazz group for a couple of hours. It was a delightful evening. Allan and Tanya offered to take us anywhere we needed to go, but there was no place pressing that we needed to go. We returned to the boat and watched fireworks from the cockpit of the boat. Capt. Larry told Jane that he had arranged this for her birthday, but she didn't buy it.

Going to Wrigley Field

NASCAR's Jimmy Johnson throws a pitch

The Cubs looking valiant

Jane with Cubby Bear

The next day Capt. Larry took Jane to her first MLB game. Unfortunately this was a Cubs game. There's a story in Chicago that Jesus said to the Cubs, "...don't do anything until I get back." And the Cubs apparently embrace this request. Today they were playing the Atlanta Braves. We left the marina early and caught the subway that dropped us off right at the Wrigley Field entrance. We walked around the neighborhood for a while then went into Cubby Bear's sports bar. Jane had an Italian beef and Capt. Larry had a Cubby Burger and we split an order of elotes (a Greek dish of grilled corn, mayonnaise, lime, and chili powder- it's good!). We left the bar and went into Wrigley Field and found our seats. It wasn't long into the game (1st inning) when things were getting out of hand. And yes, the Cubs remained behind and lost the game. We returned to the boat and had dinner aboard.

Hey Madison, that's your street!

Mmmmmm, Chicago-style deep dish

On Friday we caught a bus and rode it downtown to the area where many of the large retailers are located so Jane could do some shopping. We went to the former Marshall Field nine-story (now a Macy's) main store on State and Washington. Jane was really impressed with how big it was and the huge inventory it had. She bought as pair of shoes there that she said was the most expensive shoes she had ever purchased. We left and went to a couple of other retailers where she got some perfume and a leather jacket. Then we hopped a bus and rode a few blocks for lunch at a Chicago institution- Lou Malnati's which features Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was delicious and different, but not necessarily better than Capt. Larry's deep dish pizza. We left the restaurant and went to a hardware store, then returned to the boat. We had happy hour out on the dock with our new found boat neighbors.

Brunch with Joann and Hadiye

In the Clark historic district

Starry-eyed at the planetarium

On Saturday two of our new dock buddies Joann Murphy and Hadyie Steward invited us to a brunch in a nearby historic district. It was delicious and a really interesting area that has been restored. We finished our brunch and walked around the neighborhood. Hadyie walked with us over the the Adler Planetarium. We viewed several space and celestial exhibits at the planetarium and a couple of 3-D movies about space imaging. The planetarium was nice, but not nearly as interesting as the field museum or the aquarium. We left the planetarium and made our way back to the boat. We had dinner on the boat and were invited for a nightcap aboard Joann's boat Midnight Fox. We viewed some more fireworks around 9:30 p.m. and visited with her and another dock buddy, Frankie Quartullo until almost midnight! What a day!

P-dock going for brunch

Brunch at the yacht club

Joann, Jane, and Hadiye

Well it's Sunday, the day before we leave. But things are really just getting cooking! The group from P-dock (the dock we are moored on) decides to go to a brunch at the Burnham Park Harbor Yacht Club. The yacht club tender picked us up at P-dock and took us to the club. The brunch was delicious and the blood marys and mimosas were great. After a tender ride back to the dock everyone sat out on the dock and whiled away the afternoon. P-dock is a great close-knit group that has a lot of fun and is known by the entire Burnham Harbor marina. We had supper on the boat and said goodbye to some of the P-dock boaters that were returning home after the weekend.


The people we met and the things we did made our Chicago visit absolutely awesome! It couldn't have been better.

Chicago skyline over Burnham Harbor at night