SEPTEMBER 10-16: JOLIET TO PEORIA

September 10:  After leaving Chicago, we entered the Chicago Sanitary Canal and then the Illinois River.  The Illinois River connects Chicago to the Mississippi River.  A series of 7 locks and dams enable vessels to traverse the Illinois.  The traffic and locks on this section of the waterway are very different from the ones that we have experienced in Canada and the Erie Canal.  For a start, these locks are operated by the Army Core of Engineers and are much longer and wider-single chamber ones are 110 feet wide and 600 feet long.  Double chamber locks are even larger at 110 feet by 1,200 feet.   The increased size is necessary to accommodate the principal travelers through these locks:  commercial tows and their barges.  Commercial tows have right of way over us mere "recreational" boaters.

Now, we need to pay attention to river currents and the depth (pool) of the river which can vary substantially depending on how much rain has fallen.  After passing through a permanent electric barrier which was installed to prevent the invasion of foreign fish species (Asian Carp primarily) into Lake Michigan, we entered our first lock.



Entering the Lockport Lock.  Fortunately, we did not have much of a wait.  This lock dropped us down 40 feet and took half an hour.

A heron sitting on the lock gate.

The Admiral at the helm..

Passing one of the tows.  Rather a nerve racking experience!  The tows cannot stop or turn easily, so we need to mind our Ps&Qs and give them a wide berth. 

We arrived in Joliet late in the afternoon and tied up to the wall in the Joliet Bicentennial Park.  As the Park is not in the greatest section of town, we elected to have supper on the boat.

September 11:  We have a long journey today so we were up and en route as soon as the sun was up.  We had raised our mast the night before so we are back up to 19.5 ft.  The first bridge we encountered was 16.5 feet so we had to wait for it to be opened.  Then we were onto the Brandon Rock Lock which is a 34 ft drop but as there was no commercial traffic waiting to go through, we were able to breeze right in.

We were not so fortunate at the next two locks and had to wait 40 minutes at the Dresden Lock and 2.5 hours at the Marseilles Lock.  There was a very large tow waiting to lock through.  The tow was so large that it had to be broken into two parts in order to lock through.  We had to wait for each section to clear before we could enter the lock.

This is part one of the barge:

This is part two of the barge with its tow!

We had to tie up to these round concrete mooring platforms to wait our turn to go through the lock.  This is fellow Looper, Last Chance, securing to the platform.  It is rather a tricky maneuver, the platforms are very rough and there is considerable current just before the Lock.  We have been traveling with Martin and Allison on Last Chance since we left Chicago and have enjoyed their company.  We finally made it into Ottawa, tired and very glad to reach the town dock.

September 11-12:  Ottawa:  After such an exhausting day yesterday, we elected to spend two nights in Ottawa to rest up and do boat chores.  There are always a lot of those!

Ottawa is a well kept, quaint town.  This is the city hall.

Mural on the side of one of the town's restaurants.

More murals celebrating the 50s and 60s.

Statues of Abraham Lincoln and Senator Douglas.  Ottawa was the site of the first debate between the two for the US Senate.  Douglas went on to win reelection to the Senate but lost the Presidential race two years later to Lincoln. 

September 13:  Another early start today, our destination is Henry Harbor which is about 45 miles down river with only one lock en route.  We realized that we need to budget much more time for these locks given all the commercial traffic on the river.

Old paddle boat converted into a restaurant.

We spent the night tied up to an abandoned lock wall in Henry Harbor.  This lock was the first lock established on the Illinois River in 1872.  It was last used in 1927. 

September 14:  Today we are making for the National Marina in Peoria.  Since leaving Chicago, we have noticed a high pitched whining noise when we operate the boat at low speed and switch gears.  Yesterday, it was more pronounced and we heard it at higher speeds so we decided that we should be hauled and have investigate the cause.

We arrived at the Marina at 10:30 and after plowing through some muddy, shallow water (3.5 ft in places-and we draw 4.5 ft!!) we maneuvered into the travel lift and the boat was hauled out of the water.  Close examination showed that it was extremely difficult to rotate the propeller.  Our fears regarding failed cutlass bearings were confirmed.  

The marina crew appeared competent so we elected to have the bearings replaced.  This is the last service opportunity that we will have for several hundred miles.  The senior mechanic and his assistant proceed to remove the propeller, shaft and rudder in order to remove the cutlass bearings.  What a job!  The shaft required some serious pounding as the defective cutlass bearings held it on very tightly.  Finally, after much effort they got it off and showed us the first distressed bearing.  Parts were ordered for next day delivery and we prepared to spend the night in the travel lift sling.

The two legged crew were fortunate to have a ladder to descend from the boat but we had to improvise a system to lower his majesty down for his constitutionals.  He looks happy with the arrangement!

Perhaps not happy...just resigned!

September 15:  Today the spare parts arrived but unfortunately one of the cutlass bearings is not exactly the same size as the one that was removed yesterday..so we have to wait for a new one to be ordered.  The crew here have been great.  As the marina is located in an isolated area, the owner drove us into town so that we could buy some groceries and have a meal.  

September 16:  The new part arrived today.  The shaft, prop and rudder were all reattached and the alignment was checked.  We were lowered back into the water and motored into one of their slips.  The alignment was rechecked in the water, adjustments made and the job was finally completed. 

We will spend the night here as it is too late to travel further and head out early in the morning.  We are relieved that the job is done even if it did cost a few bucks.

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 10 SOUTH HAVEN TO CHICAGO

August 30-31:  South Haven:  We left for South Haven on a perfect day.  No wind with Lake Michigan like a sheet of glass.  Great for the transit.

Entrance to South Haven.

Typical seawall protecting the entrance and harbor from the furies of Lake Michigan.

September 1-2: St. Joseph:  We left South Haven for St. Joseph hoping to find a weather window in the next few days to make the crossing to Chicago.

St. Joseph is another town that is decorated with art.  This time in the form of various fun depictions of animals.  Fortunately, this is the only bear that we have encountered on the trip so far.

Art with a sense of humor!

Vincent Van Goat!

More conventional art on the waterfront.

September 3-10:  Chicago:  After listening to the marine weather report, we learnt that today was going to be the only day in the next several days that we would be able to make the 50 plus mile crossing to the west coast of Lake Michigan to reach Chicago.  So we were up at first light and prepared to leave St. Joesph.

Leaving St. Joesph at dawn we encountered an armada of sailboats that were just completing their race from Chicago-150 boats in total.

Chicago Skyline from 3 nautical miles out.  We made the crossing to Chicago just in time.  An hour after we arrived, the wind really picked up, followed by a thunder storm.

The view of the Chicago skyline from our marina which is located in the downtown harbor district. Quite different from our more rural stops so far.

The marina is also right in front of the famous Soldiers Field Stadium: http://www.soldierfield.net/content/stadium-history .

Reunion with Maureen's family that lives in Chicago:  Pippa, Sharon and James.

Adler Planetarium

Our marina is located in the heart of the Chicago museum area which includes the Field museum, Adler planetarium and the Shedd aquarium.  We spent an interesting morning in the Field museum which is home to Sue-the most intact Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that has been discovered to date.  It is not known if the T Rex was male or female but it is named after Sue Hendrickson the paleontologist that discovered the specimen.  Sue is exhibited in the main foyer of the museum and is an amazing sight as 90% of the skeleton was found intact. 

Chicago is also the home to some outstanding architecture.  Although we will cruise down the Chicago River when we leave, we decided to take an architectural river tour to learn more about the city's past and present buildings.

For over 75 years, the Wrigley Building has been recognized as one of Chicago's most attractive buildings. Its sparkling white terra-cotta cladding is considered an example of well-proportioned architecture.  From 1920s to 1930, 150 major buildings were completed.  The Great Depression brought Chicago's building boom to an abrupt halt.  Only 15 major buildings were constructed for the period ending in 1960.

Trump Tower:  Trump announced in 2001 that the skyscraper would become the tallest building in the world  but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the building plans were scaled back, and its design underwent several revisions. When topped out in 2009 it became the second-tallest building in the United States after Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

This building that was designed to incorporate the curve in the river.  The glass exterior was also designed to reflect the other buildings along the river.

There are 40 bridges along the Chicago River in a distance of 5 miles.  Our tour gave us a preview of what we will experience when we take the Duddon Pilot down this route.

Millennium Park located on the Chicago waterfront hosts outdoor sculptures, music concerts and interactive art displays.

An example of the outdoor art is Cloud Gate.   A 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.  Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high.

Outdoor concert hall.  Might need a few blankets in the chilly Chicago winters.

We originally planned to spend about 5 days in Chicago but ended up staying for 7 as the wind howled at over 20 knots and created 6-10 foot waves for a week.  Finally, the weather improved on Saturday, September 10 so we prepared to leave.

The Navy Pier on the morning of our early departure. 


Chicago Harbor Lock.  This lock drops about 2 feet to allow boat traffic to enter the Chicago River.  The primary purpose of the Lock is to prevent the Chicago River from following into Lake Michigan.

Passing under one of the 40 bridges on the Chicago River.  Many of the bridges have only a 17 foot vertical clearing.  Our vertical draft is 19.5 feet, so we lowered our mast to achieve a 15.5 foot draft.  Even so, it was a scary experience going under some of these bridges!

Wrigley building dressed with a giant American Flag to commemorate the September 11 anniversary which is tomorrow.

A perspective of how close and low some of the bridges are-we held our breath as we passed under some of them.

Fellow Looper, Last Chance, going under one of the low bridges.