Sept 17 - 24 Chicago to the Rivers
The Chicago River - it is amazingly clean.
Sue and Jim in Chicago, this is part of their Riverfront
The Riverdock restaurant in Hardin, five looper boats are there and we have dinner
Barges and Bridges along the Illinois river - One whistle or two?
Water Dancer enters Chicago
Sept. 17 -24 Chicago to Hardin,Illinois
After two wonderful days in Chicago, it was time to move on. We really enjoyed the city- very clean and it has an outstandingl riverwalk. In fact we saw one of our fellow loopers, Loose Stones, cruising down the river so I took the opportunity to snap a picture and email it to them. Since Sunday, Sept 17, was windy and worst weather predicted, we decided to head out of Chicago to the safety of the river system. We easily made Hammond Harbor where we entered the Cal Sag. First thing we see is a barge coming toward us – here we go. Very industrial and lots of barge traffic, this is going to be fun! The Cal Sag joined the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and we went under the lowest fixed brige on our trip, at 19’. This area is very industrial. We stayed at a Riverside, a small marina with no electricity and during the evening our generator died just as I was ready to cook bacon and eggs. Cold tuna fish sandwiches instead. Bummer! One lock today.
Sept. 18, we are actually traveling a bit west on the Illinois River. We did two locks today which are huge as are the barges. The large locks are much easier and since we are locking down the lockmasters give us the lines and we just hold on. One lock today. Free dock in Joliet with electricity. Walked over to the casino across the River but no luck gambling tonight. A sailboat came in and is on the wall in front of us, they are from Dimondale MI – small world.
Sept 19, we called Spring Brook marina about our generator and they were very accommodating. Early afternoon we docked at the fuel dock and within minutes a mechanic was on our boat and troubleshooting the problem. Within an hour he had the generator operational. We stayed for the night at a protected slip for $1/foot. It was cold today; we put on socks and gloves and had afghans around us most of the day. Two locks today.
Wednesday, Sept 20, is better weather– sunny and warmer. We called the first lock and floated right though. The second lock was only a short wait. Came into the free dock in Hennepin and spent the night at their free dock. The river is getting less busy and more secluded in spots. Two locks today.
Came into the Peoria area on Thursday Sept 21 for fuel, this was to be an overnight stop but it was only noon and the day was nice so we proceeded to Tall Timbers Marina. Our friends on Niagara Myst and Loose Stones helped us in. Loose Stones thanked us again for the picture I emailed; we haven’t seen them since Brewerton NY. Storms predicted tonight. One lock.
A highlight of yesterday was the fishing technique of a smaller looper boat that came into the gas dock after hours. As they docked, a 3 foot Asian Carp jumped onto the dock and began to thrash about the dock. One of the guys took a net and got the fish back into the water.
On Friday September 22, more storms predicted. We all are staying here another night. Walked into town and found a grocery store. Nice town and friendly people. We missed the bad storms last night but will stay here another day as it’s still overcast and rainy. Stayed here through Sunday Sept 24 when we left and headed for Hardin IL and stayed at the dock for the Riverdock restaurant. This was a long day as we went over 100 miles. Muggins, Niagara Myst, Susan Darlene, Room with a View and Cloud Nine were also all here and we had a good dinner of brisket at the Riverdock.
Sue and Jim in Chicago, this is part of their Riverfront
The Riverdock restaurant in Hardin, five looper boats are there and we have dinner
Barges and Bridges along the Illinois river - One whistle or two?
Water Dancer enters Chicago
Sept. 17 -24 Chicago to Hardin,Illinois
After two wonderful days in Chicago, it was time to move on. We really enjoyed the city- very clean and it has an outstandingl riverwalk. In fact we saw one of our fellow loopers, Loose Stones, cruising down the river so I took the opportunity to snap a picture and email it to them. Since Sunday, Sept 17, was windy and worst weather predicted, we decided to head out of Chicago to the safety of the river system. We easily made Hammond Harbor where we entered the Cal Sag. First thing we see is a barge coming toward us – here we go. Very industrial and lots of barge traffic, this is going to be fun! The Cal Sag joined the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and we went under the lowest fixed brige on our trip, at 19’. This area is very industrial. We stayed at a Riverside, a small marina with no electricity and during the evening our generator died just as I was ready to cook bacon and eggs. Cold tuna fish sandwiches instead. Bummer! One lock today.
Sept. 18, we are actually traveling a bit west on the Illinois River. We did two locks today which are huge as are the barges. The large locks are much easier and since we are locking down the lockmasters give us the lines and we just hold on. One lock today. Free dock in Joliet with electricity. Walked over to the casino across the River but no luck gambling tonight. A sailboat came in and is on the wall in front of us, they are from Dimondale MI – small world.
Sept 19, we called Spring Brook marina about our generator and they were very accommodating. Early afternoon we docked at the fuel dock and within minutes a mechanic was on our boat and troubleshooting the problem. Within an hour he had the generator operational. We stayed for the night at a protected slip for $1/foot. It was cold today; we put on socks and gloves and had afghans around us most of the day. Two locks today.
Wednesday, Sept 20, is better weather– sunny and warmer. We called the first lock and floated right though. The second lock was only a short wait. Came into the free dock in Hennepin and spent the night at their free dock. The river is getting less busy and more secluded in spots. Two locks today.
Came into the Peoria area on Thursday Sept 21 for fuel, this was to be an overnight stop but it was only noon and the day was nice so we proceeded to Tall Timbers Marina. Our friends on Niagara Myst and Loose Stones helped us in. Loose Stones thanked us again for the picture I emailed; we haven’t seen them since Brewerton NY. Storms predicted tonight. One lock.
A highlight of yesterday was the fishing technique of a smaller looper boat that came into the gas dock after hours. As they docked, a 3 foot Asian Carp jumped onto the dock and began to thrash about the dock. One of the guys took a net and got the fish back into the water.
On Friday September 22, more storms predicted. We all are staying here another night. Walked into town and found a grocery store. Nice town and friendly people. We missed the bad storms last night but will stay here another day as it’s still overcast and rainy. Stayed here through Sunday Sept 24 when we left and headed for Hardin IL and stayed at the dock for the Riverdock restaurant. This was a long day as we went over 100 miles. Muggins, Niagara Myst, Susan Darlene, Room with a View and Cloud Nine were also all here and we had a good dinner of brisket at the Riverdock.
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11:44 AM
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