Down River – Chicago to the Ohio River

Friday, September 17^th

Parked Barges

Once we left the downtown area it is all industrial. Scrap yards, train yards, and a boat yard. I am wondering where they put all of the boats in Winter. There are thousands of boats and we only saw one storage yard with a travel lift. Farther down were chemical and oil depots, coal fired power plants, and sand & stone yards. Saw a lot of barges on the sides, but not very many on the move.

We tied up on the wall in Joliet, IL with power provided. Social Hour with seven other looper boats tonight. Went to the casino for the buffet, but it was not only expensive ($26.00), it was very small. We went to a nearby pub and had a decent sandwich.

Saturday, September 18^th

Off at 7:50 to catch the nearby lock. The loopers that left 7:00 were still waiting and all seven of us locked at one time. We proceeded to lock through the next lock together also.

No room at the dock

When we arrived at Ottowa (only five of us – two continued on) we found two loopers there already and no room at the town dock. There were four 30' finger piers not shown in any of the guides so three of us tied up there. The other two rafted outside the loopers that were already there. Social Hour wasget in the Marina washed out by a rainstorm, although there were a few holdouts that were sitting in the rain with umbrellas.

Sunday, September 19^th

Squeezing out of a lock

Overcast and rainy. Another early start. Six boats arrived at Starved Rock Lock only to find a 15 (3x5)barge tow locking up. We waited 45 minutes and had to move out of the channel to let the tow out of the lock. When we exited the lock we were facing an 11 barge tow that almost blocked the whole exit. After dodging around the barges the parade proceeded onward.

We saw our first flying carp today. They were not as big nor as high flying as I expected. We are also seeing lots of Great Blue Herons, some Common Egrets, and Green Herons. One of the loopers described what are probably Snow Geese. I am not reporting on the Vultures, Canada Geese, or Seagulls all of which are ubiquitous.

Top is video of the flying Carp
Lower is Great Blue Herons along the riverbank.

At 3:00 in the afternoon we marched in to Henry Harbor Marina. Well we did not actually get in the Marina. We were tied up outside on an old lock wall. The marina inside is only 3 ½' deep. The five boats took up the entire lock wall. We came in 1 at a time to get tied up before the next boat came in. Appearance wise this is one step from Deliverance. The people however are really nice, easy going and friendly. An inexpensive bar/restaurant with only the ten of us for customers made for a fine evening.

Monday, September 20^th

Off we went just early enough to get in front of Lazy Dolphin who anchored out last night. They promptly passed us. At 7 ½ mph they are much faster than our 7 mph.

This part of the trip is on the Central Flyway and we are seeing more and more Great Blue Herons and Common Egrets. We also saw several flocks of over 100 White Pelicans.

A few Pelicans on a sandbar

Four of Harry's River Boats

We stopped for fuel at Harry's Marina. I think it may be the graveyard for Casino Riverboats. There were about ten of them. I think that Harry collects them.










We went to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club and we were barely able to get in. We were dragging mud all the way from the river. It was hot and I used the weather to give the deck a major scrubbing. The pool was closed so Happy Hour was at a cabana by the empty pool. Only four looper boats as the other three went on to Peoria.

Tuesday, September 21^st

Another warm day. We started out going 5 miles and then waiting 2 ½ hrs. for a tug and barge to get through the lock in Peoria. The tug and barge combinations that are over 600 feet have to break in to two parts to get through the locks. The first half is pushed in to the lock and is disconnected. The tug and the rest of the tow back out. After locking up or down the tow is pulled out by mechanical mules with tow cables and tied up. The lock then cycles and the tug and the rest of the barges enter and lock through. The the two halves have to be reassembled and leave before any other boats can lock through. Commercial traffic goes first. We anchored while waiting and when I brought my anchor up I got mud on my nice clean deck. Even the washdown pump was bringing up muddy water. I guess not only the Mississippi is muddy.

A view along the Illinois River

Which one is the optimist? Pessimist?
Think about the river flooding

The trees way of dealing with the flood waters

These were not trimmed by man

Another big bird day. In addition to the herons, egrets, and pelicans we saw three Bald Eagles. Two mature and one immature. Otherwise a long somewhat uneventful day looking at the levees. The river is quite pretty outside of the industrial zones.

We pulled in to Tall Timbers Marina, Havana, IL. While sitting at the Social Hour an immature Green Heron hopped by.

Lots of Thunder and Lightning tonight. Fortunately we were at dinner and not in the middle of a Barbeque.

Wednesday, September 22^nd

Left about 8:30 planning to go about 40 miles to an anchorage. It was so pleasant traveling (and we go a lot faster downstream) that we decided to go 60 miles to an anchorage just outside the channel.

We spent the day counting birds and butterflies – shows how busy we were with navigating the Illinois River. I think I forgot to tell you that after the first day on the Chicago River we were on the Illinois. Anyway, in one half hour (about 4 miles) we were able to count 26 Great Blue Herons along the banks of the river. We also saw a lot of Common Egrets, 8 Bald Eagles (4 in one tree) and 54 Monarch butterflies. The latter actually pleased Carole as she has felt that there are fewer every year due to habitat destruction.

Passing a tow

A very pleasant day. Only one lock AND we actually got to overtake and pass a tug with a 15 barge tow! At top speed (about 9 mph) it took us 5 minutes to get by.

It is going to be a warm night. Tomorrow we hope to push on to Grafton, IL at junction of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, another 60 mile trip.

Thursday, September 23^rd

Nice night at anchor last night. Sat on deck and watched the moon rise. Annie got to run on a sand/shell beach. The sides of the river are really muddy. Long mud flats up to the tree line. When I walked Annie this AM I made the mistake of thinking the mud was dry as it looked all cracked and dry. What a mistake! Annie and I got really muddy. When we got back onboard it took nearly 20 minutes to get the mud off of us, the dinghy and the boat deck.

Wind is blowing 20 – 25 knots from the south, against the current. A nice 2' chop on the river slowing us down. Nowhere near as bad as a 2' chop on Lake Michigan. It is slowing us down, but since we are with the current we are still making 8 mph. With all of this wind we are not seeing many shorebirds.

Grafton Harbor Marina is a first class facility. We have a covered slip – a first for us. The marina put our 4 boat entourage on the same dock. Party Time! The pool and hot tub (yea!) are still open so the party moved there. Grafton is small, but has lots of restaurants. The group chose the Pig Pit BBQ. We are back in reasonable price restaurant territory again. ½ rack of ribs was $10.50, sides were extra, cash only. They did have an ATM if you were short of cash. And beers were only $2.00. Bud, Bud Lite and Miller Lite were the only beers they had.

Friday, September 24^th

Serendipity, Mitch and Annie under cover

Being under cover was great last night. It rained hard, so we were told, and we heard nothing. Taking a day off the river today.

Started the day by going for a haircut. A lady barber that made getting a haircut at the Book and Barber a visual treat. And I got a good haircut too. Carole went shopping and had her haircut – at a different place.

I finished putting snaps on the screen that Carole finished last week. We now have screens all around. I was also able to put on the antivibration mounts on the generator that were sent by Leigh last month. And I removed the manual seawater pump in preparation for adding a soap dispenser. Naturally everything took longer than expected. I finished up and made it to the pool in time for a beer.

Dinner at an upscale restaurant was really good and not very expensive, although we did sit in the basement. Dungeon actually. It was the only place they could seat the ten of us. Pretty nice really.

Saturday, September 25^th

On to the Mighty Mississippi!

The requisite St. Louis Picture

½ mile from the marina we entered the Mississippi River. Making 10 mph now. Lots of Junk in the water. We are told that the river is near flood stage at St. Louis. That is 2 locks away and past where the Missouri joins the Mississippi.

Fern's River Briefing

Making about 12mph now and we arrive at Hoppe's Marina in Kimmswick, MO at 3:30. Fern, the owner, loaned me her van to go to the Walmart with two other people. When we returned she spent an hour giving all of the people docked there a briefing on the river and how to run it. Where the dangers are, where the anchorages are and how to deal with the tows. Carole now has many more things to worry about.

We learned about wing dams – they are dams that are underwater to divert the river in to the channel so that less dredging is needed. However they are also close to the surface – depending on the water level – and pose a danger if you run over them.

Also learned about underwater weir dams, tugs and how to pass them, turbulent current locations, missing buoys, and because of high water, diving or pop up buoys. River sounds like a lot of fun.

Sunday, September 26^th

A rough night for sleeping. Logs and other debris was coming downriver and banging in to the hull and tugs going by were bouncing us around. We woke up to overcast, rainy weather with the river up 2-3'since last night and still lots of debris coming down river. Carole declared today a no go. Everyone else in the entourage agreed. I spent the morning getting my Georgian Bay Blog caught up and Carole did some sewing. I then joined Tom, Dave and Joe watching football. Carole, Linda, Brenda and Sue walked to town to spend more money (I think it is called “shopping”).

Fog is predicted for tomorrow.

Monday, September 27^th

Clear and cool this morning, so off we go. Long day planned. We hope to make 110 miles today. The Mississippi current will give us 50 of those in ten hours, so we are effectively only going 60 miles. It is still a ten hour day.

Most of Fern's talk is proving useful. The turbulent spots were not exceptionally turbulent, but submerged dams, pop-up buoys (we got to calling them Jack-in-the-Box Buoys), and tugboats abound. One bonus for us is having The Old Grouch in the Group. They have and AIS on the boat. This is similar to an EPIRB on airplanes. It receives a signal transmitted by all commercial, and some pleasure boats. The signal gives the Name, location, speed and course of the vessel. The AIS unit puts this information on the chart screen. Dave would relay that information to the boat in the lead so they could contact the tug before we could even see it if it was around a corner. We could then let the tug know there were small boats ahead and ask them where they would like us to pass them. It beats radar since it gives us the tug's name and we could “see” around corners.
The biggest tow so far was a 40 barge tow – 6 wide by 7 long. In case you think I have forgotten how to multiply, there were only 4 barges on the first row.

Nothing Here

Now You See It

Now You Don't

Not as much debris today, although lots of Jack-in-the-Box Buoys, and several buoys were loose and racing downriver.
The banks are all wooded with rolling hills and cliffs, almost no houses or industry.

Cliffs on the Mississippi

The swirling water and the tugboat wakes make for an interesting day. The wakes from their propellers are huge. In the muddy water the wakes look like big muddy hills.

Muddy Hills from a Tugboat Wake

Another Tugboat Wake

Except for the tugboats I had pictured a much different Mississippi. It is not as wide as I thought and not as flat. It is prettier than I thought it would be.

Sunset in Little Diversion Creek

We pulled in off the river in to Little Diversion Channel. A very pretty quiet anchorage – out of the current and no wind. Getting in to the anchorage was very interesting. We had to turn up in to the current and go to almost full throttle to enter from downriver, then at the last second, as we left the river, I had to turn in and throttle back in order to enter safely. Of course there was a downed tree across ½ the entrance with a floating log blocking part of the other side.

There was a beautiful sunset and an easy row to shore for Annie's romp.

Taking Annie to shore at Little Diversion

Tuesday, September 28^th

Cold and clear with a bit of sea smoke on the water. Annie got in her romp and Q's End decided to make a run for the Ohio River and maybe all the way to the Cumberland. Being much slower the three of us left, Quixote, The Old Grouch, and us decided we would go to an anchorage about 8 miles short of the Ohio. Just as we were ready to leave (Q's End was already underway) Old Grouch reported 1 tug going downriver and 4 tugs waiting for it pass so they could go upriver. These huge tows do not like to pass each other around curves, so they wait. We were too slow getting going. Had we gotten in front of the downriver tow we would not catch the prop wash from the upriver tugs since they were only holding station at the side of the river. Instead we waited an hour and a half for all the traffic to clear before we could leave the Little Diversion Channel. When we finally got out we had to race ahead of another down bound tow to get clear water.

We finally got some good news from Q's End. The Ohio River is only running about 1 mph. We made good time and decided to pass the original anchorage and head up the Ohio for 15 miles to an anchorage. We may be able to make Paducah, KY tomorrow.

Carole is taking the boat on in to the Ohio. From the Big Muddy to a Blue-green river. The water at the junction looked like a Lava Lamp with swirls of brown in the blue-green. We were going 13 miles an hour (14 mph at one point) down the Mississippi when we started the turn up the Ohio we were going 4 mph and now we are doing 6.3. I am pleased since I had visions of going 3 mph up the Ohio and thought at that speed we could have a fuel problem. The next available fuel is 100 miles away.

15 miles up the Ohio we found a nice place to anchor. Close to shore and well out of the channel. The banks here are sand so Annie did not have to take a mud bath like she did on the Mississippi. I saw lots of bird tracks in the sand and also what looked like muskrat tracks. The banks are actually Levees. When I climb to the top I find farms on the other side. Climbing up is not easy, there is a lot of brush in the way, dead trees, and piles of broken branches left by the river when it floods. Annie loved it. She would jump in the river then roll in the sand. Every time I tried to wash off the sand by throwing a stick in the river, she would roll in the sand before bringing the stick back. We had sand all over the the back deck until I broke out the hose and washed her off.

Had Old Grouch and Quixote over for Social Hour and we watched a beautiful sunset with friends.

We are headed up the Ohio to the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.