Our day began about 7 a.m. with our boat engulfed in thick fog rolling on the river. On our morning walk, we included the 8:30 a.m. Methodist Church service where we were warmly welcomed by the elderly parishioners. The sermon was inspiring, and Methodist Church ladies eagerly invited us downstairs for coffee and pie (which was also very inspiring). We couldn’t refuse a slice of pecan and strawberry rhubarb pie!
Back at the boat, Mary prepped the soup for lunch while Steve varnished the dinghy oars and planned the route for the day. Together, we learned the fine points of dropping the bow anchor and setting the safety lines as we may be anchoring out within the next few days. At 11 a.m. with beautiful clear blue skies, we dropped the lines, leaving Hennepin behind, and headed downstream. We loved the town, but Mary was getting tired of the deboating process at Hennepin: climbing out of the boat, teetering on the edge of the barge, then climbing up and over the double guard rail while trying to avoid the dirt, pointed edges, and bird poop. She was ready to leave that behind!
We motored by the river town of Henry, IL, a hot spot for motorcyclists from Peoria and Chicago out for a scenic drive on the weekend. A pack of “hogs” roared over the highway bridge as we motored under. The bikers had probably just finished their brunch at the Landings Restaurant and were headed out. I could almost smell the restaurant’s famous sweet potato fries as we passed by the harbor.
For our lunch, we dined on hot chicken soup from the crockpot as we motored down the tree lined Illinois River. Yummy and very healthy! Hopefully, it off-set some of the calories from the pie we had earlier at church.
About 15 miles from Chillicothe, the Illinois River widened out, and we were joined by brave groups of wave runner dudes blasting up river, water skiers, and pleasure boaters enjoying the gorgeous Sunday afternoon. These people were brave or crazy because we have now seen flying carp here and there, but none have come near our boat.
The next sleepy little river town, Lacon, had the typical grain elevators that are present in almost of these river towns where cornfields stretch for miles throughout the valley. In this case, they were Cargill elevators instead of Archer Daniels Midland or Louis Dreyfus Corp.
We chose Peoria’s public dock on the edge of downtown for dockage tonight. After tying the boat lines and securing the boat, we hopped out and walked 1 block to the riverside park and joined the crowd. They were celebrating Oktoberfest with a German band, performing dance groups, German inspired tents of interest, endless German food, lots of lederhosen, and free flowing beer! Two large brats with sauerkraut and free sauerkraut balls was our answer to dinner! Ever had a sauerkraut ball? Yum!
Monday, September 23, 2013
The day began with bright sun and cloudless blue skies! Our four mile walk took us down Peoria’s Mainstreet, passed Caterpillar headquarters, and on to the 30/30 Coffee Shop. This a local gem where baristas know their coffee! We hoofed it through the historic district of big old houses-distinguished in their day. Oh, the amazing stories they could tell! Our walk continued through the housing projects, yikes!, and then along a beautiful tree lined walking path along the river which brought us back to our boat.
At 10 a.m., Dream Chaser left Peoria and headed to Beardstown, IL about 80 miles away. Downstream about three miles, we locked through at the Illinois River Peoria Lock and Dam, a federal government dam which is an unusual wicket dam. During high water, the wickets (a steel wall) are lowered and the boats pass over the submerged dam. Today, with the lower water level, the wickets were raised and boats used the lock system off to the side of the wicket dam. It was a quick ten minute process with a nine foot drop.
We are noticing large numbers of birds like the White Pelican soaring over head. Duck hunting is popular in central Illinois, and we saw duck blinds along the river for miles. Today, the Asian Carp are more prevalent, and they go airborne as they are stimulated by the engine vibration of boats. Leaping up to 15 feet out of the water along side and behind the boats, the carp average eight to ten pounds, but can be up to four feet and 70 pounds. In this area, most of the small fishing boats have protective four foot high chain link fence to encase the passengers in order to protect them from the airborne fish.
On the river again today, Dream Chaser met or passed several towboats and barges. One towboat, the Cody Boyd was pushing 15 barges upstream in a huge configuration of three across and five deep. Normally, when we have cleared the barge whether going upstream or downstream, Mary radios the captain and thanks him for his help in passing. Today, one of the captains radioed back and asked where we were headed. When he heard Florida and the Bahamas, he replied “Ya’all come back here and git me”.
Our overnight at Logsdon Tow in Beardstown was an experience! With few choices for dockage at this point in the river, we ended up tying up to the side of one of their barges. Overnighting boats is not Logsdon’s main function as they are a working towing company, but there is such a need for a place to overnight at this point in the river that Logsdon has become popular with loopers.
After tying the boat lines and climbing onto the barge, we had to weave our way over ropes, and cables, welding equipment and other treasures of a tugboat owner. One of the workers, greeted us and told us it was our lucky day because today Annie’s was making their famous BBQ ribs. After successfully passing through the obstacle course, we hiked up a 30 foot, open metal staircase to the top of the flood levee and down another 10 feet to the other side.
The quaint little river town of Beardstown was very quiet and reminded Mary of a little, old man that was just worn out and didn't have the energy to fix or change anything. Old sidewalks, uneven roads, tired old buildings, closed movie theater, and ghosts of days gone by. After grabbing groceries, we stopped at Annie's, the local bar, to check out the BBQ ribs. Sure enough, Annie's had ribs or steak dinners, but just for today, otherwise it is just a bar. The placed was packed, the bartender and waitresses friendly, and the ribs were some of the best we have ever had! Lucky us!
Mary wrote:
I awoke at bout 2:30 a.m., as the Logsdon towboat was moving out to maneuver some barges down the river. Being too awake to sleep, I made my way to the chair in the salon of the boat using just the flicker of light sent from the flood light on a pole at the end of our barge. Strange noises climbed through the boat windows and the shadows surrounded the boat as it bobbed and shifted slightly in the river. The clunking, rattling cars of a train are heard about every 7 minutes as they creak and groan from their wheels riding the rails. On the shore side of the boat, strange shadows combine with unusual insect or animal noises continue through the night. On the river side, barges with their towboats lined with lights send their beams out over the water through the pitch black night. Groaning of the tow engines becomes louder as they strain pushing their tremendous load. The quiet is brief as another tug with its barges in tow passed by causing the boat to shift lightly against the docking barge. In the distance, vehicles can be heard whizzing down the highway. Meanwhile, Steve is sound asleep and snoring in our cabin.
Tuesday, September 24
We are up before the sun, threw off the lines at sunrise, and began our long day motoring over 11 hours towards Grafton, IL. The LaGrange Lock and Dam is a wicket dam and this will be the last locking until we join the Mississippi River. Locking at the dams is a somewhat involved process.
When approaching the lock & dam, we radio ahead, to let the lock master know that we are coming. He will advise as to how and when we should proceed. When locking, you must stay back on your approach until the gates fully open and the lock master signals you by green light and horn to enter. While Steve motors into the lock, Mary’s job is to make sure the fenders are all in place.
In some locks, you wrap your line around a bollard (a large pole that floats up and down with the water level) and hold your line as the bollard goes up and down. In other locks, the dock worker throws you bow and stern lines and you hold those lines until you are at river level. Never tie the line to the boat as you are dropping (going down river) or rising (going up river)! The best part is “shooting the breeze” with the local workers as you’re holding your line. When the lock master blows the whistle and opens the lock gates, with no boat wake, you are on your way. The first locking on our trip began in the Sault Ste. Marie Canal-our technique has improved!
At mile marker 61.4, we were at the westernmost point on our Great Loop adventure.
At about 5:30 p.m., we reached the quaint, little river town of Grafton, IL which sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. This area has been flooded so many times that in 1993 the decision was made to move the town uphill from the river. From observation of all the eagles soaring overhead, we understand why the town is know as the “home of the wintering eagles”. After tying up at the Grafton Harbor Marina, we met other friendly AGLCA boaters from “5 o'clock” and “Go” both from Texas. When a thunderstorm passed through interrupting our visit, we returned to the boat and enjoyed chicken/rice soup and fresh baked pumpkin muffins.
Wednesday, September 25
Today was sunny and warm. Steve worked on boat projects while I baked apple cobbler and did laundry. Later in the morning, we walked to a few shops on the main street in Grafton. Steve found a Fred Meyer boating book at the Books, Barber, and Coffee Shop (strange combination?), and we both enjoyed ice cream cones.
As we walked back to the boat, we heard music coming from the river area and saw the Peoria, a paddle wheeler that entertains guests with views of the river from Grafton to Peoria.
We left Grafton Harbor about 12:30 p.m. and loved the 33 mile trip from Grafton to Alton. This is considered one of the most scenic areas of the Mississippi River with sand bluffs on our port side side and flood plains on the other. There is a large monument, Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine, on the west side of the river constructed out of thanks for sparing Portage Des Sioux from a flood in 1951.
When we first enter the Mississippi River from the Illinois River the Mississippi is flowing north due to a twist in the river. The Mississippi is broad and wide (perhaps a mile wide) making it seem more like a lake than a river, except for the strong current. The channel is very windy, curving back and forth. It is easy to imagine Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn on a hot summer day and catfish fries! Here, tows own the river-you simply get out of their way! We are noticing an increading number of houses high on the bluffs and the area is more populated.
Besides huge levies, wing dams and weirs have been constructed. Wingdams are stone walls perpendicular to the river to deflect river current to the center of the river
and prevent erosion. Weir dams are rock sills located in the navigational channel of a bend at angles of 20-30 degrees to the flow of water to help control water in the bend.
We are sticking to the middle of the channel!
We passed by the river town of Piasa, known for its large caves easily seen from the river. Our destination is the Alton Public Marina in Alton IL located next door to Argosy Casino. This is a beautiful, large marina with fabulous facilities and great atmosphere. Karen, the manager of the marina, was extremely helpful. Mike took the prize for dock boy of the year! AGLCA marina hosts, RIchard and Patti Mitchell, held a debriefing at 5:30 p.m. which covered information regarding the downstream trip through the next 300 miles of limited services. After a short tour of Alton, our group had a great time at Mac’s Restaurant in Alton, IL. chatting about experiences, anchors, etc.
Alton, said to be one of the most haunted towns in America, provides numerous tours of hot spots of unexplained ghostly happenings and psychic phenomenon. It is said that many confederate soldiers and southern sympathizers were held in the Alton Prison from 1833-1860, many died due to diseases, and then were buried in large trenches in the Confederate Cemetery. When the prison was torn down, the blocks from the walls of the prison were used for retaining walls, etc. in the town of Alton. Many believe that the spirits of the dead soldiers are still around. Alton is also the site of the final Lincoln-Douglas debate in October 1858.
Thursday, September 26
After calling for a dock reservation at our next stop, Hoppies, we found that they were full until Friday night, so we had another full day in the area. We motored our boat into the river and praticed anchoring as we will have several anchorages over the next 300 miles. In chatting with the Mitchells, the harbor hosts, we gained valuable information on anchoring, etc.
About noon, we hopped into our rented black fiat and drove to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, IL. This was the site of their winter camp and the push off point for their expeditions of 1804. Now with the river so heavily industrialized, it is hard to imagine the wilderness those explorers witnessed.
We drove onward to Springfield, IL, the heart of Lincoln Country. Abraham Lincoln moved to Springfield in 1837 and left as president elect in1861. We visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Library, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln Tomb State Historic Park, and the old state capitol. In the old capitol, Lincoln practiced law, and gave his house divided speech, and lay in state after his assassination. We gained personal and political insights of his growth from fledgling lawyer to president.
We visited with the Lincoln family.The Lincoln family home in
Springfield, IL
Lincoln's tomb.
Friday, September 27
Mary awoke to sounds of Steve spraying down the boat. We completed some projects, returned the rental car, and motored to Mel Price Lock and Dam. As we were motoring out of the lock, the lock manager radioed that a barge had crashed at the next lock and no pleasure boats will pass through until 5 pm tonight or 7 am in the morning. So we returned to the Alton Marina for another night. This gave us more time to work on the inverter, make soup, and out to dinner with new AGLCA friends, Jim and Meg, owners of the boat “Sanctuary”. For dinner, where else would we go but Fast Eddies, an extremely popular greasy spoon with great, inexpensive food!
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