We are leaving Lake Michigan and entering the River Canal system of Illinois.  The problem is that it runs through the heart of South Chicago – a heavy commercial, industrial, railroad and highway bridge area.  Unfortunately, many of these bridges are too low for our boat and require a lift, swing or draw-bridge opening.  Today we traveled 60+ miles and in the first 30 miles we encountered 43 of these bridges!

    

    

Because Lake Michigan is several feet higher than normal this season, we had to be concerned with the reported bridge heights.  So – Karen stood on the dashboard of the helm with a measuring stick as Ron slowly approached.  Some we cleared by inches, one our antennas tapped.  Too close for comfort!  After the antenna would be our navigational equipment!

    

Some bridges didn’t have to be lifted – but it was close…..this is Kara Mia sliding under one of these….

    

We had big massive railroad bridges..the word “rust bucket” comes to mind..

       

we had pretty gray bridges and pretty blue bridges…..

    

we had railroad bridges…..

    

and highway bridges…..

    

and double bridges…..

    

and many times we could see three to four bridges lined up……

    

The most important bridge is the “19.1” (a fixed railroad bridge).  The 19.1 bridge is the controlling height bridge on the AGLCA Loop (America’s Great Loop) – if your boat is taller than 19’1″ – you don’t to the loop!  We thankfully got under it because the Illinois Water System was down by a foot (we checked it on the app) – and because we filled our fuel tanks, our fresh water tanks, and bought extra cases of wine……to lower our height………we got under it!  This added about 5,000 pounds to our boat, making it sit low enough in the water for us to clear the fixed bridge.

    

At this point you may want to skip to the next posting……it’s just more bridges!

                                

Along with the bridges, this was our scenery for the day – a heavy commercial and industrial waterway that moves a lot of product.

                

Here is an abandoned marina sporting sunken boats and the waterfall is a water filtering system called SEPAS (Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration Station).  There are several of these along the canal.

    

This barge seems to be lost?  I think we saw him in Houston…..

    

So – this area is supposed to stop all of the Asian Flying Carp from getting into the Great Lakes?  Hope it works!

        

The locks on the Illinois waterway start out small and get deeper as we work our way down the river.  Our first lock, The Thomas O’Brien, was an easy (and appreciated) two-foot drop.

    

Our last lock of the day was the Brandon Street Lock, with its depth of 34 feet.

    

We had to wait an hour and a half for a barge to lock upstream through the Brandon Lock.  You can see our track as we treaded water waiting on clearance to enter the lock – sometimes we anchor, sometimes we float.

    

Always remember, these are wet and slimy walled locks.  Be prepared and wear gloves!  We keep our PFD’s (personal flotation devises) readily available.  It is required in most locks to wear them.  We also keep our serrated knife ready in case we have to cut a line.

    

After a grueling day we arrived at Harborside Marina in Wilmington.  The river setting was a pleasant change from the industrial area we had just left.  The marina was surrounded by acres of blooming lily pads and the floating houses were unique on the river.

    

    

We had a gourmet dinner at “Big Fish”…..

    

….and walked around the marina properties….

               

RANDOM STUFF:

    

The highlight of today – “Pops” let Bryson have his cell phone for the day!  Pops is our grandson, Bryson’s, other grandfather.  Bryson began calling in the morning and several (over 15) calls later was still calling… WE LOVED IT!

Two locks today and we quit counting bridges!  Pulled in to Heritage Harbor Marina….

    

The sunset today was an impressive large orange ball – and the sunrise the next morning was a big beautiful orange ball as well.

    

Heritage Harbor will be our one hundred and twenty-second marina to dock since we started this journey.   Each marina has its own uniqueness.

    

Heritage had its own tiki bar – and what is it about Karen and the big chairs?

    

Saturday night brought live music and dancing which fortunately for us was not too loud from the distance of our boat……

    

Our second day we borrowed the courtesy car from the marina.  We toured Ottawa, seeing their parks and historic buildings and even found a Kroger where we picked up a few provisions for Kara Mia.    

It was back to the marina where we were anxious to visit “The Red Dog”.  The taco pizza there was awesome!

    

….another sunset in Ottawa and we will be off and running tomorrow….

    

After watching the sunset we prepared for the upcoming meteor shower.  We were in the perfect location in the country to have good visibility.  We got our seats, waited for just the perfect hour…and watched the skies above, and watched the skies above, and watched the skies above.  NOTHING!  Next morning, after checking emails and news, we determined we had miscalculated the meteor show.  It was the night before!  You see, it is really difficult to keep up with current events and calendars when traveling on a boat!  We borrowed a couple of photos from the internet and it looks like we missed quite a show!

    

After giving up on the meteor show, we played a little card bingo..

   and called it a day….

Ron was intrigued by the condos on the hillside and thinks we need to develop the same setting on The Cumberland…..

   NOT…….

RANDOM STUFF:  

Shadow while we were dropping anchor….. and our Conch Republic flag from Allen and Sharon…..flying proud…..

    

Our kids also announced that they would be in a new home when we arrived home.  They tried to keep it a secret – but Bryson let the cat out of the bag!

and……

Our friends Allen and Sharon bought a boat today….not a boat, but a Carver Yacht!  We are excited for them and can’t wait to see it.  As soon as Alan convinces Sharon that she can actually work from the boat (or retire), they plan to do America’s Great Loop as well.  They bought the boat, they got the flag!

Today it will be Ottawa to Peoria on the Illinois River – and to The IVY Club (The Illinois Valley Yacht Club).

   

       

The river was abundant with white pelicans, ducks, geese and gulls.

    

After our experience at Starved Rock Marina in 2016 (shallow and rustic), we decided to boat right on by it this time.  But we had to stop at Starved Rock Lock.  The lock master was kind enough to let us lock through and tie off to “River Eagle”.

    

We were asked to tie off to a rusty old mooring cell and allow the tow to enter the lock first.  While waiting, an eagle swooped down in front of our boat to catch a fish and a blue heron was fishing on the shoreline.

    

We were able to pull in to his port and tie off.

    

Santa was not happy about the close proximity to the barge and tow boat!

    

   

We pass many little towns and communities on the riverbanks.

    

The flying Asian carp were very active, just as in our last journey through this part of the river.  Only this time a very large one jumped aboard – to his chagrin!  The commotion in the cockpit scared the bejeebers out of Karen and Ron!

    

    

    

    

Dinner?

 

 

…..photo credit to brother, Ronnie!

There were four other looper boats at IVY, “Coconuts”, “Miss Daisy”, “Michigan Girl”, and one we didn’t get to meet.  Karen and Sandy got docktails started.

    

We joined Sandy and Bru for a scenic tour of Peoria Heights in their rental car.  We toured downtown and ran some errands.  Peoria is the international headquarters of Caterpillar which brings an upscale community to Grandview Drive on the  river.

        

…and had dinner in a historic Presbyterian church – turned restaurant and micro-brewery – “Obed & Isaac’s”.

    

    

The interior architecture was majestic.

    

…..including the restrooms with grandiose marble archways and statues!

Back at home (The IVY Club), we enjoyed the all you can eat taco bar, the free candy jar in the bar, and our last dinner in the club.

    

And Steve, the bartender, made us go-cups of Brandy Alexanders frozen with ice cream – for us to enjoy our next night “on anchor”.  We had to hide them from Bru!

     

….and the sun set over Peoria…..

Leaving The IVY was rather mystical in the dense fog.  We were traveling with “Coconuts” to spend the night on the hook.

    

The fog got progressively worse on the river……

    

    

It was gray and dismal passing through Peoria…..and we saw several barges on the side waiting for the water to get deeper – the river was down.

    

While Karen was at the wheel today she learned the importance of a tug’s backwash (turbulence).  When approaching one tug, the thrust in its backwash nearly turned her around.  Hang on!

Maintenance on this bridge appeared more like a circus tent to me.  They were painting the bridge.

    

We did have eagle sightings today – but it is so hard to capture the photo!

    

We arrived at LaGrange Lock and determined it would be our anchorage for the evening.  The lock master assured us it would be calm and serene beyond the dam – IT WAS NOT.  As we watched to be sure our anchors were holding, we were rocking and rolling, the wind was blowing us in the opposite direction of the current, and the carp were circling and jumping around us like sharks – hungry sharks.

At some point in the evening our cell phones went off with weather alerts.  After tuning our VHF radios to channel 6 for weather, it announced a tornado had been spotted north of us – and it was heading south.  Karen began searching for our “safe place”, just in case!

They had also opened the dam to release water, which caused an abundance of turbulence, so much so that we were not comfortable rafting the boats together.  So rather than having dinner together, we texted back and forth, took some photos, and promised Bru we would not eat his dessert.  The turbulence from the dam kept our boats swinging on the hook in all directions throughout the night – Ron was up at least 5 times.  Bru slept in his pilothouse.

    

    

The American Duchess arrived before sunset but it took until 9:00 p.m. for them to lock through.

    

And this is proof positive that our anchor held over night!

Grafton Harbor – “The Key West of the Midwest”

We liked Grafton Harbor because of its vibe.  This is at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  It really does have a tropical feel from the restaurant (The Oyster Bar), to the ship store, to the pool and facilities.  It even has its own winery and tasting bar.

    

    

    

Docking was a little intense, squeezing a 14′ beam into a 15′ wide slip in the wind!

    

After the infamous carp incident in the cockpit, it was necessary to wash the boat & rugs.

And the bachelorette party two slips over was our entertainment for the afternoon…….

Helicopter and float plane traffic, as well as commercial barge traffic, increased and made for a busy river.  Keep in mind, we are less than 20 miles from St. Louis.

    

After anchoring out last night with Coconuts and getting very little sleep, we had an early dinner at The Oyster Bar, followed by a wine tasting in the ship store.  Afterwards, we retired to Kara Mia for our frozen Brandy Alexander desserts.  We had trouble keeping Bru awake – but the ice cream helped.

    

Karen made breakfast tacos the next morning…..

Excitement around the marina was when a back-hoe fell off of its trailer while crossing on the Grafton Ferry.  It made the local news!

    

As we moved into the river systems we noticed a dramatic increase in insect population.  Bugs and spiders were prolific at each stop.  They reached their all-time high with the mayflies in Grafton.

        

Leaving Grafton Harbor….

It was a long trip across the Illinois River to the Mississippi River.  Actually our travel today was only 5.5 miles from Grafton Harbor to Port Charles Harbor, where we had scheduled some maintenance.  We said goodbye to Bru and Sandy (and Coconuts) and headed across.  Grafton Harbor Marina was in Illinois on the Illinois River and Port Charles Harbor Marina was in Missouri on the Mississippi River.

    

    

After docking and settling in, we walked around the marina and a nearby campground.

        

We walked to the Duck Club Yacht Club for dinner.  The Duck Club next door, and the marina have a reciprocal agreement with guests which allowed us the use of their restaurant and facility.  We watched the sun go down over the Mississippi while we dined on gourmet pizza and beef kabobs.  Then a short walk back to Kara Mia where we would batten down for upcoming thunderstorms.

    

This little guy joined us in St. Charles and actually traveled with us for about a week.  I think we left him in Kentucky at Buzzard Rock.

    

We were awakened by thunderstorms at 4:00 this morning and more at 5:30, but the weather cleared and even cooled off a bit – a welcomed surprise!  Paul Sr, Paul Jr, Dustin, Preston and Taylor got busy early on our maintenance work.  Port Charles Harbor is family owned and operated and the best Volvo techs ever! They impressed us with their work two years prior when we were bringing Kara Mia home to Nashville.  After discovering “gunk” in our fuel filters, it was determined we had taken on bad fuel.  We already knew this because ever since a fill-up in Canada we had noticed a change in performance that gradually deteriorated – thus our maintenance work here.  Because our fuel lines were working against nature, they had to pull Kara Mia out of the water to drain the tanks and lines.  UGH….”it’s a boat”……(we use the term frequently).

        

With an oil, fuel and filter change, they had us up and running in no time, and as you see on the map – back to our optimum 39 mph!  We were ready to roll!

Not only do they have excellent technicians, but Port Charles also has very talented body work and fiberglass specialists who are able to turn a wreck into something creative.  The dragons and pirate ships and sharks are actual boats created here and are used in boat parades and for parties.

    

    

    

RANDOM STUFF:  “Linda” is a good friend of ours….and our other friends Allen and Sharon are joking about naming their new boat “He Didn’t Ask”…..so we thought “She Said Yes” might be inspiring.

    

We waited at Port Charles for the UPS driver to deliver our last fuel filter (for the generator) while Paul, Dustin and Preston finished up in the engine room.  We were anxious to get on down the river!  It was a drizzly morning and we managed to get out around noon.  Alton was just about 20 miles down the Mississippi.  As we rounded the corner at the mouth of the Illinois, we could see Grafton in our rear view.

    

Palisades is the word used to describe a line of lofty, steep cliffs and interesting rock formations usually seen along a river – these majestic Mississippi Palisades live up to their name!

    

    

The number of barges being pushed by tows increased from 3 x 5’s (15 barges) to 6 x 7’s (42 barges), and as we boated down the river, water slides and churches lined the hillsides.

    

Along the way was the historical river landmark, “Our Lady of the Rivers”.  Our Lady of the Rivers is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The 25 foot statue of Mary, mounted on a 20 foot concrete pedestal, sits at the water’s edge looking across the Mississippi to the bluffs above Alton, Illinois.  This tall white statue gets its name from the fact that three major rivers:  Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi, intersect within a few miles of the site – and is used for navigation, historical remembrance, and is the site of the annual Blessing of the Fleet.  The Blessing of the Fleet Parade is a big boating event that we were fortunate to witness while we were in Grafton.  For this annual tradition, hundreds of decorated boats gather from miles around to receive a blessing from the town priest, asking for Mary’s intercession to protect their vessels from harm.  After the blessing – the boats parade up the river to the nearby town of Grafton.

    

    

and now on to “The Alton Marina”…

We pass under The Clark Bridge (named after explorer William Clark – of The Lewis & Clark Expedition) to enter Alton Marina.  The $85 million dollar bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River and is sometimes referred to as the Super Bridge.  We had many views of the impressive bridge from our boat – buy sunlight and moonlight, with the moon above and with clouds and boats.

    

    

Alton Marina is a great facility.  Among other amenities, they furnish big white fluffy towels and private baths for transients.

    

        

Alton was preparing for their anniversary celebration and party the coming weekend – but no boats had arrived yet.  With the exception of one transient sailboat, we had the whole dock to ourselves.  What a difference a day makes!

    

Wednesday…………………………………………..Friday…………………………………………………….

    

It was a short walk over the pedestrian bridge to town and to the Bluff City Restaurant for an early dinner.  Ron had chicken livers, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans and a salad.  Karen had “fried guacamole” (I don’t recommend fried guacamole).

       

After dinner we walked around to take in some sights of Alton.  Alton is another small quaint town of around 25,000.  The amphitheater was next to the marina, the old tire store is now an antique shop, and the Argosy Casino was nearby.  We didn’t let Santa out to play this time!

    

    

        

….and the sun set over Alton…..

    

RANDOM STUFF:   ? ? ?

Tomorrow – down the Mighty Mississippi!

Our first lock out of Alton (The Melvin Price Lock) was within sight of the marina so we called the lock master to see if the lock would be accessible on our arrival.  They said “come on”.  As we approached, we were joined by looper boat, “Miss Daisy”.  Once inside the lock there were issues with the rear door not securing.  They opened it – and closed it – and opened it – and closed it – and opened it – well, you get the picture.  We were in the lock for over an hour until it finally secured and we were allowed to lock through.

    

We would pass through the last two locks on the Mississippi today.  They are the largest – with two chambers each – one for commercial boats and one for recreational boaters.

We followed Miss Daisy further down to the “Chain of Rocks” canal entrance, where the Missouri River meets the Mississippi River.  The Chain of Rocks canal is not very scenic, although we did have eagle sightings, and the lock is at the end of the nearly 10 mile canal and commercial mooring ground.

    

As we exited the lock and approached the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, we knew we were very close to St. Louis.  One must appreciate the beauty of the architect of the Stan Musial Bridge.

    

St. Louis’ waterfront is not a compliment to the city, with its rugged bridges and industrial rust on the river’s banks.  The river around St. Louis was congested with barge traffic which kept our pace down a bit.  In the distance we could see the “Gateway to the West”.  The Gateway Arch is another architectural wonder and an amazing sight from the water’s perspective.

        

    

    

We were soon past St. Louis and its commercial activity and into the fury and the current and the flotsam of the raw uncontrolled river.  The swift current of the Mississippi gave us several extra miles per hour and great fuel economy!  Too bad we didn’t have that the first 6,000 miles!  After the final two locks on the Mississippi, without the control of the locks, it turns into a wild and raging river!  There are no more locks (on the Mississippi) from here to the Gulf of Mexico.

    

Hoppies is a must stop for loopers as it is the last stop for fuel for the next 200 miles.  It also provides all you need – fuel, electric, water, a safe tie-up, and nearby Kimmswick for shopping and dining.  Hoppies is not actually a dock, but rather several old rusty barges tied together – with a rather eclectic collection of junk and stuff all over the place.  It has been described as “rustic docking conditions”, but is an iconic slice of Americana!

Hoppies is half the size as it was when we were through here a couple of years ago due to sunken barges – that are still underwater about a hundred yards down river.  They are still uncertain as to why they sank and unfortunately, much of that neat junk is now at the bottom of the Mississippi.

                

It was a scenic quarter-mile walk to Kimmswick….            

    

Our first stop was at “The Blue Owl”.  You must have lunch at The Blue Owl, a restaurant and bakery – best known for their homemade desserts!  And check out their display!  We ordered white chili, hamburger soup, a tossed salad, shrimp and asparagus quiche, a reuben sandwich and a smoked turkey sandwich (each person gets to pick three items).  We left with full tummies for a walk around the fun little town of Kimmswick.

    

    

The roads in town are not paved and it was another walk back in time.  With lots of unique boutiques and stores, we did a bit of shopping.

    

The Anheuser Estate, of the Budweiser, Anheuser-Bush fame in St. Louis, was right here in Kimmswick.  It was the weekend home of Fred and Mabel.  From the water’s view, the Anheuser Estate, now a museum, was magnificent, but from the street side on Windsor Harbor Lane, it was even more so with its abounding landscape and horses and stables.

        

Last stop was at Smokee Robinson’s for some take-out barbecue – didn’t want to go hungry today!

        

The knowledge and legend of Fern and Hoppie is another looper must.  At the end of each day Fern and Hoppie (and their family) hold a briefing on the dock, sharing with us loopers all of the river and weather  information needed for the next few travel days.  When we got back to the dock four more looper boats had arrived.  There’s only room for five boats at Hoppies so you have to make reservations early!  We huddled around the homemade bar table and listened and took notes.

    

RANDOM:  Yes, I have a side by side washer and dryer on the boat, and yes I did use them numerous time on our trip!  And our headsets are often commented on.  Otherwise called “Marriage Savers”, they allow us to communicate with each other when not in sight and without a lot of screaming!

    

We are marina hopping for a few days now, a night here, a night there…..and it is with mixed emotions that we enter the final few weeks of our trip.  We miss the kids and grand-kids but are not quite ready to end this adventure…

The fog was thick when we awoke at Hoppies, but by the time we checked our options, charted our maps, looked at the weather apps and had our oatmeal and juice – the fog lifted and we had a beautiful sunrise for our departure.

    

Today we had many options…

• Travel 41 miles and tie up to the Kaskaskia River Lock wall – no electricity, no internet, no water
• Travel 109 miles to the Little River Diversion Channel and anchor – no power, no internet, no water
• Travel 137 miles to Brown’s Chute and anchor out – no amenities while on anchor
• Travel 157 miles to anchor out at Cairo, where the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers converge at Angelo Tow-head
• Reminder – The Mississippi trash was abundant!
• Or if all goes well, continue on……

We made such good time we decided to go all the way to Paducah, Kentucky – we could make it there by 4:00 “if all goes well”.  At Cairo we made a hard port turn (left) and into the Ohio River and against the current – which slowed us down by at least 3-4 mph.

    

It would ultimately be a long travel day……

    

We tracked our travels on “Nebo”….

   

….told the grand-kids we got run over by a train….

The first lock let us right through without even securing a line. The current was pushing us around but we managed thorough.

    

The second lock was only 4 miles from where we would dock in Paducah.  The lock master had us go to the “Kentucky side” of the river and anchor while he let several tows and barges go down.  Each barge takes about 45 minutes to an hour.  We anchored, made barbecue sandwiches and potato salad, and made the best of it.

Here we sat – anchored out – just yards from the lock and a few miles from our dock for the night in Paducah, Kentucky.  And here we sat for over three hours.  It was beginning to get dark and we were starting to get nervous when the lock master finally hailed us on the radio that we could enter the lock – “Pleasure boat Kara Mia, this is Lock 52, please proceed to the locking chamber – pull around barge Miss Lucy on your starboard and enter slowly”.  We locked through and ultimately arrived at the the Paducah City Docks before dark.

    

Today we traveled 206 miles and 12.5 hours.  On an average day we travel 40-50 miles.  We left Hoppies in Missouri at 7:30 am and arrived in Paducah, Kentucky at 8:00 pm.  It was our longest travel day of our 7,000+ mile trip so far!