Sept 24-27 The Key West to the Midwest—Grafton Illinois

Having to wait 4 days in Grafton let us explore the area in more detail. First, this town is about 30 miles north of St Louis, and this quaint one street town becomes the weekend hangout for thousands of St Louis people.  There are 5 wineries within one block of our marina and each winery had a band playing on Fri, Sat, and Sunday.  They call this the Key West of the Midwest (first pic) and we learned why.  Right from the marina there is a Shark water taxi that will take you for ride (second pic).   And, of course it is the headquarters of Biker Bayou (3^rd pic).    We took a 30 mile bike ride to Alton one day, and then a 20 miler to Pere Marquette State park another day.   We learned that the eagles are starting to arrive from Canada and this area is one of the most concentrated wintering grounds for eagles in the country.  We say many eagles on our way to Grafton (fourth pic).  

Sept 22-23 The passage to the Mississippi

We left the barges at Beardstown before sunrise.  It did not make us feel too bad to leave working barges, as it was not the most scenic spot to be docked.  We made way 88 miles to the mouth of the Illinois river and the confluence with the Mississippi river at Grafton, Ill.  I noticed a water leak from a water pump on the starboard engine and had a mechanic check it.  Turns out that a seal in the sea water pump went out, so it needs to be replaced.   We could move on to Green Turtle bay and try to do the next 350 miles of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers without any marine repair stops –or—get it fixed now before trying to tackle these mighty rivers.   We decided to fix it, but, we have to wait 4 days for the part to arrive.

Sept 21 A late start and an easy day to Beardstown

We toured the town of Havanna in the morning.  It has brick pavement throughout most of the town showing its historic age.  But that meant we got a late start of the passage, so we journeyed down to Beardstown, IL.  Here is the site where Abraham Lincoln defended one of his most historic cases before running for president. We docked up at Logstons Tug Service at one of their barges for the night (first pic).  Then we toured the museum and courthouse (second pic) where old Abe gave a great showing as a trial lawyer in 1858.   Then shortly after he gave an historic speech here about a nation divided (next pic).  It was a short day today, we are getting ready for a long run to the Mississippi River tomorrow

Sept 20. An early start but a late finish

We are started early today.  But, we slowed down right away.  The fog was very dense (first pic) and we had to creep along at idle speed.   Our whole attention was on the radar screen because that is the only way we could see oncoming traffic.   After 2 hours the fog started to lift and right then we encountered a tow (2^nd pic).   Instead of stopping a Peoria, we decided to keep on going to Havanna, IL., which would be about an 75 mile run for the day.  We passed a lot of the white pelicans along the Peoria Lake (third pic).  Finally, we arrived at Tall Timbers mariana, a good spot in Havanna, IL.

Sept 18 and 19 Making way to the Illinois River

It was a rough night.  We were tied to the wall at Joliet and many tow barges passed right by us and they kicked up wakes that rocked the boat.  So, the next morning, even though it was raining (first pic), we decided to make way to Ottawa, IL. We travelled with 2 other boats in order to make it easy for the lockmasters to get us through the locks all at one time.  We went through 3 locks on 9/18 and arrived at Ottawa to tie up on the city wall, but it was already full, so we made way to Starved Rock Marina for the night.  The next morning we started out for the next lock about 2 miles downriver, but they turned us back because of barge traffic and they were getting ready for some construction on the lock.  This made us a little uneasy because the next day, the Army Corp of Engineers planned to close the lock at Starved Rock for 4 days.  We needed to get through today.   We waited all morning and finally, the locktender called us on the radio and said to get there right away.  It was good having a fast boat and we got to the lock just in time to get through.  The next 2 pics show more barges, and they were getting wider and wider.  The next pic shows the white pelicans on the Illinois River.  Then a pic of water aft of the boat, where the Asian carp were jumping out of the water, but the picture did not capture it for you to see clearly.  Finally, we arrived at Henry Harbor where the first lock on the Illinois river was constructed.  It is not used anymore, except for boats like ours to dock for the night (last pic).

Sept 15-17 Down River

After spending all day travelling on 9/14 from New Mexico, we expected to be underway to Hammond, Indiana the next day.  But Lake Michigan decided it would be better for us to stay by kicking up 4 to 7 foot waves.  So we spent that day running errands.   The next day (9/16), there were still 3 foot waves but we made a dash to Hammond which was only 2 hours away.  We had supplies mailed to the marina there and took the afternoon changing the engine(s) oil and other maintenance items.  Then, on 9/17 we made way in 3 foot waves to the mouth of the Cal-Sag canal to start the river adventure (first pic).  I was quite anxious because we had 44 bridges and 2 locks in order to get through to Joliet.  However, more pressing were the gigantic tow barges throughout the narrow canal.  As soon as we entered the canal, we were boarded by the coast guard (second pic) for an inspection.  That helped to increase my anxiety as we made way for a couple miles going under low bridges with the coast guard rummaging through the boat.  But all went well.  Right after that, we encountered the Agiee C (third pic), a large tow that we followed into the first lock.  But it took the Agiee C almost 2 hours to get into the lock and secured.  So, it looked like a long day ahead.  Still, it was really neat to watch the tugs work the barges.  The tugs here operate with a telescoping cabin.  When they come to a low bridge, it is "down periscope" and then after the bridge, they raise up the cabin.   We made way to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship canal and arrived at the lowest fixed bridge on the great loop (fourth pic).  We had taken the anchor light down, and planned to celebrate going under this low bridge, but we were really busy dodging all the barge traffic.  Shortly after that, we arrived at the electric fish barrier (last pic), that was constructed to shock Asian carp in order to keep them from entering Lake Michigan.  They say, that if Asian carp were to get into the lake, the fishery there would be destroyed.  We arrived late (6 pm) at Joliet and tied up to the city wall there.  We found that every section of the loop has its own unique challenges.

Sept 7- 14 Off the boat to New Mexico

We left the boat in Chicago to travel to New Mexico to help our daughter and  son-in-law move into their new home.  They live in Dulce, New Mexico on the Indian reservation of the Jicarrilla=Apahce tribe.  There we worked unpacking boxes and moving furniture.  But it was not all work.  We also visited the hot springs in Pagosa Springs, Colorado and saw friend Steve and Deb Ruddell in Durango.  The first pic is Sonja and Riley,  the next is Hayden and Christine.  The third pic shows the springs at Pagosa, and the fourthe pic is the Steve, Sonja and Hayden.  The last pic shows Chimney Rock, where the Pueblo Indians stayed from year 950 to 1100 to study the path of the sun and the moon.

Sept 6-7 Lake Michigan gets angry

Gale force winds did not let up.  Waves were over 10 ft at the beginning of the week and still at 6 feet by mid week.  This has changed our plans as we intended to go to Hammond and get off the lake before catching a flight to Denver to visit the Emerson family.  We are stuck in Chicago.  Will we ever, ever, get off this lake. We checked out the Chicago History Museum.  They had some excellent exhibits.  Only one small exhibit about the gangs of Chicago (first pic).   Also, it is here that the first skyscraper was constructed (next pic).   Finally, check out the expressions on the boys at the Hull House, where the poor and orphaned were housed. Do you think they liked being photographed ?  We will leave the boat here and fly out west to see Steve and Sonja and grandkids for a week.   So, tune back in on Sept 14^th when we will be underway again (we hope and pray that Lake Michigan lets us do that) !!! 

Sept 5 Another crew departs BlueSkies

It was time for Jason to go back to work.  Here is a departing pic of the crew of BlueSkies overlooking Chicago.   This was day that gale force winds started up in Chiicago.   The next pic shows the fountain in Grant Park with 35 mile per hour winds blowing the water almost sideways. We had lunch at the real Pizzeria Uno, where Ike Sewell created the deep dish Chicago style pizza in 1943. Then, we saw Jason off, it was good to have him experience Chicago with us.  And hope he returns for another visit while we are underway.

Sept 4 Still touring Chicago

The crew of BlueSkies needed a jump start for a hard day ahead of touring Chicago.  So, at Christine’s request we started the touring day with French martinis (first pic).   We passed through the Jazz festival, where they were playing real jazz –not blues ! (next pic).  We cited the Chicago tribune building that has artifacts from different parts of the world that are constructed into the side of the building. (third pic is a piece of the Great Wall of China).  We toured the Navy Pier.  It is here in Chicago, at the 1893 World Fair that George Ferris created the Ferris Wheel.  The next pic shows the wheel on Navy Pier.  It goes around just one revolution per ride !   We ended the day on a boat—the architectural tour down the Chicago river, a fully guided trip about the spectacular architecture of Chicago.

Sept 3 The Cubs

Our new crewmember, Jason, arrived this morning.  We did not fool around, but went straight to Wrigley field to see the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was great to experience the 2^nd oldest ballpark in the nation.  There were no fancy electronic gimmics—just good old fashion baseball. The first pic shows bleachers built on rooftops of adjacent homes.  The next pic shows the crew of BlueSkies at the game.  It rained during the game and they covered the field.  It took about an hour for the rain to subside so they uncovered the field and used large squeegies to direct the water to a drain pipe on the field (final pic).  

More of Sept 2 Millenium Park

This is separate post about Millenium Park.  We think it is fitting to have a separate post because of the grand idea to cover a parking lot and train station with an outdoor park!  The first pic shows the parking lot before the building of the roof top park.  The story is that Mayor Daley was at the dentist, whose office was adjacent to the parking lot, and looked out over the parking lot and said that something had to be done with that awful site.  So, more than half of the park was financed by private donations. The next 2 pic shows the “bean”, which is modeled after a drop of liquid mercury.  Finally, a pic of the water towers with images of faces pouring out water.

Sept 1-2 Chicago! Chicago !

We crossed the lake, about a 60 mile run, because there were light winds and waves and arrived one day early in Chicago.   We spent the next day checking out some of the sights in town.  The first pic shows the Chicago skyline, which is one of the best in the world.   The world renowned architecture evolved after the fire of 1871 burnt down most of the city, which after it was rebuilt is now called the 2^nd city.   The next pic shows Marilyn Monroe, one of the many many sculptures in the city.  The third pic shows examples of glasswork by Tiffany, who got his start here in Chicago.

August 29-31 Bumping down Lake Michigan

We headed out early and spent most of the day underway for South Haven, which is a small resort town.  There we met up with other loopers, including Theresa and Don onboard Great Escape.  They were celebrating their anniversary and we had a good visit with them.  We spent time running errands.  Then, the next day  we made way for St. Joe’s/Benton Harbor.  We rented a car to sightsee some of the small towns that we missed along the way, such as Holland and Sagatuck.  The pic below has me wearing wooden shoes at the factory in Holland.   Then, the next pic shows a home in Sagatuck from early 1900’s that was ordered from the Sears catalog!  The final pic shows a view of Sagatuck, a mecca for artists located on a nice inland river.