We made the decision to stay in the Quiver Island anchorage for a couple of days following the warm weather and the long days of travel. Martini's were called for that day. It's unfortunate the water is so muddy that one does not want to swim in them despite the water being 26C.
Today we arrived in Peoria where we have taken the municipal free docks for the night. The docks are small so docking was creative. The Peoria locks have been closed on Monday/Tuesdays and Thursday/Fridays from 7 AM to 3 PM for fish studies. So our arrival on Saturday was timed to make the lock first thing Sunday morning. There were about another 14 Loopers in the area with the same idea and it took an hour to finally get everyone caught up and into the lock the next morning.
Departing Ottawa we headed towards Henry Island for an anchorage. Continue seeing the Pelicans and Bald Eagles. We are also noticing how high the waters can get on the rivers. Many trees with there roots washed bare and the level posts on the bridges indicating that clearance can vary from 60 feet to 20.
Upon departure this became our most despised anchorage. It was a beautiful location, but our anchor must have hooked a tree or something very large. After many attempts to pull, even with Serenity trying a back pull we eventually had to call BoatUS. They arrived a few hours later but were both ill equipped to solve and lacked any proper rigging to solve our problem. The only option was to cut the chain and lose the anchor. So a nice Rocna Vulcan and 20 feet of chain sit on the bottom of Henry Island Anchorage.
Another early start and we made for Sugar Island, or first anchorage on the river Still coming up on the Tows. They are quite tolerant of us Pleasure Craft, and give us plenty of warning if they want us to be on the 1 or 2 whistle when approaching or overtaking. The 1 is a move to starboard the 2 is a move to port if you recall you whistle signals.
Weather was a little foggy after a day of rain, but good enough for our start down the Chicago River to the Illinois River. It was an early morning start to avoid the downtown river traffic and it was going to be a long day to Joliet. Chicago city lock is our first lock this season, and was only a 5 foot drop and very easy. Chicago is where we encounter the lowest fix bridge at 17 feet. With our Radar removed we are 16'3" and squeezed under easily. The Illinois River is a migratory route for the Bald Eagle, and we are seeing Egrets, Pelicans and Herons as well. We are also encountering our first of many Tows, which is a tug and barge combination. These can be anywhere from a single barge to up to 3 wide by 5 long. We give them plenty of room on the river. We also have to transit the river section that is electrified to prevent the Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes. Our stop for the night was the Joliet free wall after the last lock of the day. The locks are very easy with bollards to tie to.
Sept 9th was our day to travel to Chicago. The weather was calm and we docked in Belmont Harbor just north of the city in the Lincoln Park area. Our dinner out was for Chicago Deep Dish pizza at Lou Malnatis. The next day we Ubered into Chicago for the River Architectural tour, Navy Pier and the Cloud in Millenium Park. It was a fun and exhausting. The next day we walked to Wrigley Field. Chicago was by far our favorite stop so far.
