Illinois River Anchorages

Leaving Peoria  We are halfway down the Illinois River.  163 miles to Chicago (North) and 164 to Grafton (South).

The LaGrange Lock has been broken for a week and we decided to wait it out in Peoria. Peoria is a nice city. We stayed at the IVY Valley Yacht and Canoe Club.  It is 110 years old.  It is an old Grand Place.  It is very friendly and fun place to be at.  There isn't much to do around the Club, so we have used Uber for the first time.  That's how we got to the Caterpillar Welcome Center.

Caterpillar factory on the left and Visitor Center on the Right of the River.  Bye, Bye IVY Mascot!

Logston Tow Boat

We'd be lying if we said we weren't anxious as we left Peoria, we were facing two nights of dreaded anchoring on the Illinois river. It's something we have never done! Finding a safe area when there are barges and industrial areas all around made us nervous.  We substituted an anchorage for a tie off on a barge. Turns out, it was very uncomfortable, dirty and expensive.  We were awoken at 5.30 when the Tow boat started his engine.



Managed to find a pretty good Mexican restaurant and they had cold beer.

Found this little treasure in Beardstown.  

Looks still operational.  

Meandering down the river, the scenery is changing.  I say it looks like the hills of Kentucky, but we are still in Illinois.  It's pretty though.  Still has the barges, and the industries, but a lot more green space.

Abandoned barges on the river edge.  Intentional or wasteful?

Hunting blinds everywhere.

One different bridge.. no wait two bridges.  One brand new one.

Working on the river. 

Well we made it!  We crossed the LaGrange Lock.  What a relief!  We only waited two hours which was a lot less then we expected. 

Tying up while waiting for a lock opening!

Tow boats waiting for their loads.

The next night, we had to anchor.  Turns out it was pretty nice so we stayed two nights.  It was 93 degrees when we stopped for the night, but we wouldn't go in the water.  It flows down from Chicago, it's pretty murky and there were flying Asian Carps around us.  They are so fast, that I never caught any on camera yet.  But we've seen them hop on the dock, jump behind the boats and almost hit Yvon in the dinghy. 

We are starting to see more wildlife.  When we anchored, we saw more then we've seen so far.

Snapping turtles galore!

Turkey Vultures.  Thought maybe
 they were waiting for us.

Starting to see more wildlife

Cows grazing my the river.

It was our first dinghy ride so far.  We went to Hardin at Mel's Riverside restaurant about two miles up the river.  Food looked delicious but we just had breakfast so had to skip the homemade pies.  Cute little town on the river.

Going to town!

Photo Op!

Nite, nite Lil Hide Away!  We kept our radio on in case we needed to reach one another as we had no cell service.

Nite, nite!

Good morning!  We are still having fun.

It is our last night on the Illinois River, so thought I would publish our journey so far.

When Writing the Story of Your Life, Don't Let Anyone Else Hold the Pen.  Anonymous

Down the Illinois River!

Leaving Chicago, I thought we were in for a relaxing ride down the river.  Since leaving, we went to a NASCAR pre-rally.  A NASCAR race.  A rooftop concert and a visit at Caterpillar plant.  We relaxed at a couple of marinas.

Well there is a multitude of bridges, lock type and hazards to get down the river.

Fixed bridge

Lift Bridge

Swing Bridge

Bascule Bridge

Electric fence to stop the jumping carp
from entering the Great Lakes

Some of the obstacles on the waterway.  Luc between a moving barge and 2 fixed barges.

We arrived in Joliet, IL. The town offers a free wall for transient boaters. It includes free electricity. We had a docktail with fellow Loopers in the park.  We are starting to meet up with boaters from previous stops.

Docktail in Joliet.

Free wall

Night view of the wall.

Walking into Joliet on our way to a restaurant, we found a car show, street concert and food vendors to celebrate the NASCAR on the weekend.  We grabbed a bite and a chair and enjoyed the show. We decided to wait for the Sunday race. 

         Pre Rally Car Show and live band.







It gave us time to enjoy the city more. Joliet used to be bigger then Chicago, but then they gravitated to Lake Michigan. While waiting for Sunday, we attended a rooftop concert at the Heritage Museum.  It was a great price.  Admission to the museum, free food, and a great live band for $10. All on a covered rooftop in the heart of downtown.

Sylvie chilling with the Blues Brothers

Popular Breakfast place.  This is on the old Route 66.

We often watched NASCAR races on TV and Dave is a great fan. We waited three days as we thought is was too good of an opportunity to miss out.  What an experience!

Look at us with all these people and our bench is empty.  Was it something we said?

Before we left, we had to tackle a little problem.  You can't stay in one place too long around here.  It took a couple of hours to untangle this mess around our boat.  Lesson learned.. park your nose up stream.

Stopped for a couple of days in Ottawa.  A beautiful marina/resort community.  The town is three miles down, and we didn't explore it much.  It's not like Canada's capital.  We mostly relaxed and cleaned the boat.

Heritage Harbor Marina

We moved on to Peoria. The ride was long and the river is low, so hazards are numerous.  But, less barges as there is a delay down river. In Peoria, we visited the Caterpillar Visitor Center.  Dave works for them, so seemed important to visit.  It was a fun place, loved the antiques and sitting in a Uke. We will stay here for several days as there is a problem with one of the locks and we don't want to risk at anchor for more then a few days.

Old Caterpillar logo.

Celebrating one month in by flying our Burgee. Look at the tire.

Part of a propellor for a ship.

Worth stopping!

Big Statue or I shrunk?

They are having a heat wave here. It's hot! It will be uncomfortable. Swimming is out of question around here for us. I'll give you an update once we complete the anchorages.

Here's our map so far.

Eat, Sleep, Boat, Repeat!

Chicago, Chicago
Here's our view as we approach the Chicago harbour.  

Chicago has a beautiful waterfront.  14 miles of it.  There is room for 6000 boats in this city.  

  



Sleeping under the skyline.

We spent time at the Navy Pier.  We had lunch at Margaritaville. It's a fun place to have lunch.  
We also tried the deep dish pizza at an Italian restaurant.  We skipped on their famous hotdog.

Chicago has beautiful parks.  We enjoyed the sculptures and the green space.  Yvon was amazed at the size of the deer on the river front. 

From here we will travel the Illinois River.  It starts with the Chicago Lock to separate water from Lake Michigan. 

 The river runs thru the city center of this metropolis.  Amazing to share space with water taxis and tour boats.

Us going down the Sanitary Canal.

Water taxi.  My kind of commute!

Leaving the city with 2 feet of head clearance.

Here's our journey so far.

 Boat is nothing without water and man without his dreams!

Mehmet Murat ildan