The Kaskaskia Lock and Dam

This was our exercise area! We couldn't go any further. We were able to get off the boat but unable to get off the dam wall (or is that damn wall?) What does a group of Loopers do when they are confined with one another. They gather together and laugh a lot!

Just a side note. Temperatures were in the mid 80's. Every one of our boats had the air conditioners going and here we sit together and happy to be sharing the trip with one another.

Meet Fern

For 47 years, she told us, Fern has been keeping boaters informed. She and her husband own a marina called Hoppies, on the Mississippi. One of the very FEW marina's available. From this point on, it's anchorage and long distances between those anchorages. Yesterday we did 100 miles! Fern conducts seminars each evening for her "guests" telling them what to expect on the Mississippi and other rivers downbound. She is in constant contact with tugs, commercial traffic and other boaters before her establishment and after. And they report back with various changes. This lady was a powerful asset to the downbound trip. She was so on target with mile markers, changes, and tug friendly procedures. We were very grateful we stopped at Hoppies on the Mississippi.

Assuming the Shopping Position!!!

I couldn't resist! Sue, Tonia and I couldn't wait to get to this little town. Each shop was more exciting than the last and the town was absolutely charming! There's just no other word for it. So off we went and the guys??? This was it but hay ... it's our Great Loop TOO ya know! The good news is that all of us are living on a boat! There's no space to purchase a lot of things and hay -- there's no "house" to send it home to either! No wonder they were peacefully sleeping!

A Russian Wolf Hound

Gilligan was alone all day yesterday while we toured St. Louis. Today we decided to bring him with us and we went to an Irish Festival in St. Charles. This was a beautiful quaint little town and I could have spent a few days in these shops.

Go West Young Man

We went to a Western Expansion Museum. The history of settling the west. You remember -- Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expedition, etc. All the fun things from that history class we all loved so well. Ahhha!

The Arch of St. Louis

If one should choose to go up in the arch, this is the iddy biddy basket one would be in to do so! Five seats, crammed very tight (the picture does not do it justice) and you will notice who's taking the picture! That would be the one missing from the basket! The one you couldn't Pay Enough to do this one!!!

The Third Guy!

Yep! The kids were still waiting!

The Simulator

See this small child to the right? He and a younger brother continued to return to the simulator room to try a hand at piloting the barges down the Mississippi River! But you see the guys with their hands on the control? There were three of these! And the little guys just didn't have a chance! I'm hoping they returned after we'd gone in to see the movie! We all enjoyed the museum.

Mel Price Lock and Dam 26

We'll be passing through this lock on Monday (9-23). Today we are at the Grafton Marina. We rented a car to tour the area. You cannot get near the St. Louis Arch, which was one of the things we wanted to see. This was a tour of the Mel Price Lock. To the right is just a sample of the debris found INSIDE the lock!

Who's birthday?

So ... that afternoon the couple to the left happen to mention it was BOTH their birthdays! Yes, husband and wife and they share the same special day. Out here on the Loop, the Loopers are sort of a substitute family for a time and we just had to do Something ;-) The Mexican restaurant did not do "the song" routine but coming in the front door, we passed by a very large and very loud group of young woman. The waitress told me they were two volley ball teams and the evening game had been cancelled! Well!! Ron and I went for a walk --- had a little talk --- and the next thing we knew, the table was surrounded with willing participants to make the birthday a memory to behold.

Friday's Travel Gulp!

We started out in clear visibility. Around the bend, quite literally, around the first bend -- this was there to wish us a good morning. Anybody want to guess what I did with the helm?

Thank you Coast Guard

Ron said anything that fell out of the bowl was his! Hummm. I don't remember all these "falling" out!

More shots of our Host

If ever we were grateful to be members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, now would be the time. Always we had a high regard for the regulars and always we felt we were "Team Coast Guard" as we worked alongside one another. But today, we truly felt a part of the entire operation. And with gratitude, we had to find a way to say Thank You.

A port of refuge

We were underway about an hour when one of the Loopers ahead of us called back to tell everyone the Peoria Lock was "closed for repairs" until 2000! For those of you who haven't heard, the entire area has suffered a tremendous drop in water level. Many of the marina's are inaccessible because there's not enough water! Anyone on the river began ducking in and by the time we reached an area that could accommodate our draft requirements, every slip was taken. There was a Coast Guard Station across from the Peoria town dock and we called. They graciously extended an invitation but when we attempted to come alongside the dock, we were seeing mud stirring from the prop. We thanked them and said we just couldn't' take the chance. Then they offered us a spot alongside their buoy tender. This is a 65' buoy tender and a 99' buoy barge. Sangamon is our "Mother Ship" for the evening. After all, isn't that where a "tug boat" belongs? Alongside a barge??

Marv and Wife

We had more fun with this guy and his wife. They own a house boat at Hamm's marina. Four loopers stopped for the night at Hamms and the drain from every bodies air conditioners tripped the breaker (a couple of times). He was not a happy camper. But then ... I asked him if he knew who he looked like, and a large smile acknowledged that this was not the first time he'd heard he looked like Kenny Rodgers! They went to Las Vegas and a group of six young women surrounded them by an elevator and wouldn't let them leave as they kept insisting he was indeed Kenny. The breaker situation finally got corrected, and we all left as friends. Of course, I had to get a picture of "Kenny" before we left!

Gilligan meets some friends

We stopped at Hamm's Holiday Marina in Chillicothe, Ill. Four other loopers had the same idea. The "Jolly Tolly" had some playmates for Gilligan.

Our First Paddle Boat

I'm sure this won't be our last, as we head toward the Mississippi! But it was exciting to see this one today.

Overtaking the Barge

Of course, as the six of us watched, we knew we'd be seeing these folks again! A few miles down the river, we caught up them and asked for permission to pass. They requested we wait until they had cleared two bridges that were relatively close together and then proceed on two whistles.

The Bow Rider

We got the opportunity to talk to this gentleman while they were doing the drop. He and another bow rider are stationed on the front barge for safety reasons. To the right he is tossing the line to secure the barge. I wish I could capture just how huge these things are and how far ahead of the pilot these men are stationed.

Starved Rock Lock

The six of us were again in a waiting situation and we had anchored by some large bollards. We got off the boats and walked up to the lock to watch this process. This one tug to the left will push and navigate with 12 - 15 barges. The picture to the right shows the first set of 6 barges that have already been locked through. The tug goes back up and gets the remainder of his cargo and then couples them together as the lock opens. Not one of us were upset by the delay. It was quite a process to watch.

A Bald Eagle

How I wish I had a telescopic camera for this one. Today was Ron's day to pilot. I found he turns a weird color of ghoastly yellow when his wife jumps off the riders seat screaming: "O my God, O my God." That's just my way of thanking "the boss" for the priviledge. The bird was truly magnificant. He stood at the shore eating a fish. I later learned that the practice is killing them! The Bald Eagles are eating dead fish washed up on the banks. The pesticides in the fish and interferring with their calcium metabolism which is creating thin shells or infertile eggs. The population is dropping rapidly. Makes ya' wonder what it will take before we begin to listen.

Rafting up to Wait for Lock Opening

Because of much barge traffic in the Illinois River, there can be hours of wait time to lock through. Pleasure boating is NOT a value item in this part of the river and there are few places to secure your boat. When one boat finds a secure mooring, other boaters will raft up. It's a nice way to meet people and helps to pass the time. This is a couple from Restless Spirit. We've been with this couple and one other on Sue Sea Q4 for almost a week now -- at various ports. The six of us when to probably the worse movie any of us had ever seen yesterday. It was a movie entitled Balls of Fury -- a comedy (they said) about a ping pong player! Of course that's merely our opinion. Then we found a nice Thai restaurant and shared a great meal together. We came back to the docks and sat out under the stars, in lawn chairs, until late that night! All in all, this waiting at locks thing is not half bad.

Unexpected Acquaintances

When we realized we had sustained some damage, Ron called the lock master, who had the vessel in his chamber and we got all the information necessary to pursue damages. These are two of the three competant and courteous officiers who responded to make out the report necessary.

We've had a lot of exposure to the Joliet Police Department while in Joliet. First we met the Captain last night when we docked in an area NOT designated :-) for pleasure craft (the travel guide gave a designation that had later been changed by the city). The Captain was very congenial and helped us find the area now designated for pleasure craft. Today were the three officers helping us with the report and not an hour after they left, a small child ran up to our boat screaming for us to call somebody because there was a man who fell by the stern of our boat and was bleeding all over the side walk. Sure enough, we went back and there was a very large man, out cold and bleeding profusely. Again we called 911 and met more of the Joliet police and a few of the EMS service ta boot! Ahhh, ya know, if I'd have been up a half hour or so sooner this morning, we'd have been at our next destination right now!! I'm getting up early tomorrow morning folks!

Wake Damage

While the mast was in the down position to enable us to get under the bridges in Chicago, and beyond ... it was not "on the deck." At 1445 a 32' Sea Ray came barreling through! The looper ahead of us blew his horn, the looper behind us screamed at him to slow down and yet ... no response was had! Moments later with the resounding wake off the two sided cement walls, we shook, rattled and rolled for 20 full minutes. In the process of all that movement, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Safety Light was smashed.

Michael and Rebecca

At Joliet, Illinos we docked at one of the free docks along the cement wall between two bridges. From this location, you need to call the lock master prior to your departure to establish an ETA of lock opening. There is no place to "wait" by the lock itself. When we called this morning, we were told we had at least an hour and a half wait. There is a certain protocol to locking through. Priority is Government vessels, Barge traffic, followed by commercial traffic and then the lowly recreational vessel. It's understandable. But the delay would have placed us in a position of having to "make time" to get to our next destination, which is Ottowa, which is 47 miles from here. We decided to wait until tomorrow morning and leave at dawn. So ... what to do with the downtime! Laundry is always a good idea. These are two of the locals who helped us navigate around Joliet. Michael even took his bike and went to the bus terminal to get us a schedule if we wanted to see other sights in the area. Rebecca was equally helpful. She comes to the docks each day to talk to the boaters and see how she can direct them. She just likes to meet people, she said, and one day she hopes to be a boater herself. We were grateful for their input.

As close as we want to come!

If you look closely, you will see that you are looking at the plexiglass on the fly bridge. And yes, the lowest bridge in the city of Chicago. We have an air draft of 13.6. The bridge was supposed to be 17 feet clearance. What do you think?

Just one of the "neighbors"

This was my day to pilot but I abdicated. We were going through Chicago and down the Canal with these kinds of playmates. Ron's a much better boat handler and I just wasn't comfortable being at the wheel today. Maybe tomorrow :-)

The Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal

Today was a day of industry! Not very pretty and if I could somehow transmit smells through cyberspace, you would have a more accurate representation of our "today." There were times we closed all portholes and doors and other times where we thought a mask might be a good idea. The large barges were courteous however and the workman helped pass the long trip. For instance, we got hailed by one of the barges who snapped into the transmitter: "37 footer, THIS IS A NO WAKE ZONE." Well, it had no sign to designate that and he sped away with such force, we were rocked quite extensively. Moments later, he got back on and said: "Well, what can I say, we're working -- you're not."

Is He looking older to You?

Gilligan enjoys riding outside once in a while. He'll even endure his life jacket to do so.

Leaving our favorite city

We've always loved Chicago. It's a very clean city. When Ron worked for Standard Oil, we spent a lot of time in the city. It was fun to visit her again, this time from a boat.

Lockmaster said to do WHAT?

Well, this one took the cake! Here in Chicago, we again begin a series of locks. We have done 68 locks to date. This one was, believe it or not, a two foot lock. Yes, I said two FEET! And ... the lock master would not permit boats to lock through without their life jackets donned! It took us a minute to stop laughing and I'm not offering the peace symbol here -- I'm telling you the life jacket got us through a two FOOT drop!

Billy Goat Tavern

The original! And yes, we did indeed have the world famous cheeseburgers. Tonight we're heading our for Deep Dish Pizza like you only find in Chicago!

Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois