In this blog, we finally escape from Lake Michigan and enter the river system with our flotilla to go through the locks. We navigate 300 miles down the Illinois River, reach the Mighty Mississippi, and reward ourselves with a visit to Fast Eddie’s in Alton, Illinois. This is a near-real-time update as we are in Alton as of this posting!
Day 140 – Thu, 10/12 – In Chicago, IL
Our Chicago visit was extended by a few days today. There is rough weather predicted for the weekend, so all groups going through the locks were pushed back an additional three days.
It was raining in the morning, so we worked on boat projects. I installed a new switch for one of our windshield wipers and replaced our smoke and CO2 detectors, which had gone out of date and started beeping.
Our slip is right behind the Chicago Police and Fire Department docks. They come and go pretty regularly. This morning, the waves were in the 2-3 foot range just beyond the seawall next to the boat and crashing over the outer breakwall with the spray going up 20 feet! At about 9:00, we heard the engines start up at the police dock, and two jet skis with rescue boards roared past the boat, followed by two small RIB-style boats and one of the police boats. They were gone for about an hour, but we never heard what happened.
We pulled our wagon to the local grocery store in the afternoon and picked up water, soda, and a few miscellaneous items. I worked on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
In the evening, we were getting boat fever (similar to cabin fever but on a boat), so we walked to the Navy Pier again and had dinner at Art Smith’s Reunion restaurant. I had the fried chicken dinner, which was excellent, and Brenda had Salmon, also quite good.
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Day 141 – Fri, 10/13 – In Chicago, IL
Overnight, the wind picked up, and by morning it was a steady 20-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. The wind was coming from the east, which pushed our boat up against the dock. The whole dock was pushing on the mooring posts and the wood dock surface was rubbing on the posts all night, making a loud creaking sound.
We spent the entire day on the boat. I worked on the blog and caught up on some videos. Brenda worked on her kit and napped. Fortunately, the boat wasn’t moving too much with the double seawalls. We did have a good time watching the waves break over the seawalls. The buoy in the lake just outside the entrance to Chicago showed 6-8-foot waves!
We had the leftovers from the other night for dinner and turned in early.
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Day 142 – Sat, 10/14 – In Chicago, IL
Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday. The wind shifted in the late evening last night, and at least it stopped the dock from creaking so loudly. It was cold (52°) and it rained pretty hard for most of the morning. I continued to work on the blog, and we watched a pretty interesting movie “The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes (1970 version).
In the late afternoon, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. We didn’t want to go far, so we returned to the Navy Pier and had dinner at “Harry Carry’s.” Harry Carry was a famous baseball sports broadcaster in the Chicago area who started a restaurant when he retired.
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Day 143 – Sun, 10/15 – In Chicago, IL
Sunday morning was still rainy, but the wind had decreased quite a bit. By 11:00, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it warmed up to the upper 50s with a light wind. Having been cooped up in the boat for two days, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take a walk through downtown Chicago.
When Chicago was being rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1871, Montgomery Ward (of the old department store fame) lobbied the city to keep the entire lakefront on the water side of Lakeshore Drive free from development and open for the public to enjoy. Also, Chicago mandates that any development along the south side of the Chicago River allow for a public walking path. So, all along the lakefront in Chicago is a walking path and beaches. Along the Chicago River is a walking path and string of parks called the “Riverwalk” that connects to the lakefront path right next to the marina.
We decided to walk the Riverwalk to the junction of the North and South branches of the Chicago River, then cross over and walk back on the other side, which is about a 4-mile round trip. Along the walk, we got another view of the beautiful architecture we had seen on our Architecture Tour Boat ride.
As we were walking down the path, we saw the “Bridge House & Chicago River Museum”. This museum is in the mechanical and control tower of one of the many lift bridges (we walked under 11). The museum gave a neat view of the gearing used to lift the bridge and an overview of the history of the Chicago River.
One of the most interesting facts was that historically, the Chicago River ran into Lake Michigan, draining the watershed around Chicago. In the late 1800s, it had become VERY polluted, so much so that people could walk on the fat from the slaughterhouses that lined the banks. To get fresh water, the city built tunnels out into the lake and large intake structures as much as 4 miles off-shore. Still, over time, the pollution reached these intakes. So, to fix the problem and to provide a path for shipping to reach from Chicago to the Illinois River (and then on to the Mississippi), they built the “Chicago Industrial and Sanitary Canal.” This canal reversed the flow of the Chicago River through the city so that it now flows FROM Lake Michigan through the City and then on to the Illinois River, effectively flushing out the river.
As part of the project, they also installed sewer lines and treatment facilities, but the primary solution was to drain all of the pollution into the Illinois River rather than into Lake Michigan.
After reaching the end of the Riverwalk, we crossed over to the north side of the river and started back toward the lake. We walked down “The Magnificent Mile,” also known as North Michigan Avenue. This one of the major shopping streets in Chicago with all of the high-end stores, Neiman Marcus, Sacks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany, Burberry, a 5-story Starbucks, and lots of other name-brand chain stores!
Also on Michigan Avenue is the Historic Watertower. This is a stone water tower built before the great fire and was one of the only structures left standing in the area when it burned.
At the corner of Michigan Avenue is the beautiful gothic-style Chicago Tribune Tower. One of our favorite buildings in the city. All along the facade, there are small chunks of stone sticking out with labels. These are stones taken from famous structures around the world. The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Parthenon, The Berlin Wall, Solomon’s Temple, and Mt Rushmore, to name but a few.
Also, down a scary set of stairs, in the lower section of the area (Chicago has one or two levels of streets and parking garages underground around most of the downtown) is the famous “Billy Goat Tavern”. The Billy Goat was a favorite spot for the reporters from the Chicago Tribune. It started as just a bar, and then they started serving “Cheezborger”s. These are tasty, simple burgers. Cooked on a flat top, with or without cheese, fresh plain hamburger buns, you put on your own condiments (Pickles, onions, catchup, mustard). The signs say “No Pepsi. Coke.” (no commie cola, a restaurant after my own heart, only good ol’ Coca-Cola!) They also have a sign that says “No Fries, Chips.” Only potato chips! It was lunchtime, so we each had a double “Cheezborger” and a bag of chips. Delicious!
We finished our tour of the north side of the river at a dead-end. The riverwalk on that side is being renovated, so we had to back-track one bridge to cross back over and walk back to the marina.
When we got to the marina, we decided to go to the end, where the Columbia Yacht Club has their “Club Ship” as there was a Geocache there. We found the Geocache, which was right outside the gangway into the Club Boat, and were invited in to see the inside for their open house! It was quite the ship, but no, we didn’t join.
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When we were walking on the North Side of the river, we saw a local Irish Pub called “Lizzie McNeill’s” that had a pretty good menu. In the evening, we walked back along the riverwalk and across the Columbus Drive Bridge for dinner. This also gave us a chance to see some of the buildings lit up at night.
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Day 144 – Mon, 10/16 – In Chicago, IL
On Monday, the wind was light again, but it was an overcast grey day. The only glimpse of the sun that we got was at sunrise.
One of our larger fenders didn’t survive the heavy winds of the past few days. It was squashed. I tried to refill it with air, but it just deflated. We use these for the 6×6 beam docks common in Michigan and for rafting up with other boats. In the next section, where we are locking through with 10-16 other boats, we will be rafting up (boats going side-by-side) quite a bit. These fenders are excellent for rafting as they provide a lot of protection. I checked online and the local West Marine in Chicago had three in stock, so I ordered one, and we took an Uber to the Goose Island section of Chicago, where West Marine was to pick it up. We stopped at a Target store first and walked around to kill some time. The only thing we bought was some Halloween Candy. Then we walked to the West Marine, picked up the fender ($200!) and some Spider Poop Remover spray, then Ubered back to the marina.
In the afternoon, we took a walk to the grocery store, not because we needed anything, but it was something to do. On the way back, we saw an albino chickadee. Very unique!
In the evening, we walked to the Navy Pier again and went to Giordano’s Pizza there (much smaller than the main location in the city). They quoted 90 minutes for a deep-dish pizza, so we opted for a grinder and some pasta instead.
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Day 145 – Tue, 10/17 – In Chicago, IL
When we heard that we would have to wait another three days before we entered the rivers, we decided that we would move to Hammond, Indiana, to wait. Hammond is the staging point for most loopers. There is a route from Chicago down the Chicago River, but the Amtrack Bridge has been an issue, and we’ve pretty much done all that we want to do in Chicago. We had paid for dockage in Chicago until the 18th, so even though today (Tuesday) was the “good weather day,” we decided to stay and move to Hammond tomorrow (Wednesday). As this was our last day in Chicago, we opted to walk the Lakeshore Path south toward the Museums.
We walked a couple of miles along the lakeshore to the Museum District. This area has the Shedd Aquarium, the Alder Planetarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History (oh, and Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, is right next door). We decided to visit the Field Museum of Natural History. We thought it would be an hour, maybe two, but we ended up spending most of the day there. It is a combination of the Smithsonian Museum and the British Museum in London. Like many older museums, they are struggling to stay relevant in the age of computers and YouTube. Some of the exhibits, like the Mammal, Bird, and Plant exhibits, were straight out of the 1950’s. Static displays of stuffed or preserved specimens in glass cases with stick-on labels. Interesting, but the kids were pulling out their iPhones to stay entertained. Other areas have been updated and were quite engaging.
We spent almost 5 hours at the museum and probably would have spent more, but they closed the middle floor to set up for a mega-wedding under the dinosaur skeleton.
We walked the 2 miles back to the boat and crashed for the rest of the night.
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Day 146 – Wed, 10/18 – From Chicago, IL to Hammond, IN – 16 miles, Travel Time: 1hr 40min
It was time to move to Hammond, Indiana, the gateway to the River System. We SHOULD have moved yesterday when the weather was very good, but we’ve changed our reservations at both Chicago and Hammond at least five times, and we didn’t want to make another change.
The weather was okay. Winds were 18-25 mph from the south, so we were heading directly into the wind and waves. It was a bit bumpy, and we could only do about nine mph, but overall it was not a bad ride. It only took us just over 90 minutes and we were tied up in Hammond. There were a LOT of Looper boats in Hammond, at least 50 Looper boats. Many have been here for several weeks, so any new arrival is an event and has a welcoming committee!
We checked into the marina and got settled in. Brenda did a load of laundry and I worked on the blog a bit.
At 5:00, there was a “Fleet 14” meeting and docktails on “Brand New Day,” our fleet leader, to discuss the plans for our transit of the locks on the Illinois River. After the meeting, we ordered delivery from a local restaurant for dinner. All in all, it was a quiet day.
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We get some sad news
While we were in our meeting, I got a text from Craig, a friend in New Hampshire. Our long-time friend, and frequent visitor to South Carolina and Florida, Rob Rosenbaum, passed away today. Rob has been battling kidney disease for several years.
Rob was a gifted machinist and made many special parts for our boat. He was a unique individual and a good friend. When we visited New Hampshire back in June, we had a chance to visit with him, which we are glad we had the time to do. We will truly miss him.
Day 147 – Thu, 10/19 – In Hammond, IN
On Thursday, we did a quick run to the local Walmart in the morning. We walked the mile or so to the Walmart, which is on the other side of a big rail line. We did some provisioning for the river run as there are not a lot of marinas or facilities for the next week or so. We took an Uber back to the marina and got back just as the rain was starting. I did a few boat maintenance projects, and other than that we just hung out on the boat for the rest of the day.
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Day 148 – Fri, 10/20 – In Hammond, IN
We are pretty much in wait mode due to the weather delays going down the rivers. We were scheduled to leave on Saturday morning, but the winds for Saturday afternoon are predicted to be very strong, and the group decided that we didn’t want to be rafted up (boats tied together side-by-side) on the Joliet, IL wall with strong winds. The group decided that we would wait another day and leave Sunday with another fleet.
During the day, Brenda did a few Geocaches and I worked on some accounting and the blog. On our next leg of the trip, we will go under the “Lowest Bridge on the Great Loop.” This is a railroad bridge with a vertical clearance of 19 feet, 6 inches. We have had reports that it is really almost 21 feet right now due to the low water levels, but our mast is 24 feet, so we still need to lower it to make it through. I broke out our winch and cradle and dropped the mast. We will go under the bridge on our first day out of Hammond, so I can put it back up when we get to Joliet, Illinois, on our first night. There are a few lift bridges with 20-foot clearance, so I’ll probably leave it down until we get to the Mississippi River to avoid waiting for them to open. The only thing we can’t use is our forward-facing camera and radar. It’s nice to have the camera to get video of our travels, but we’ll make do with still pictures. The radar doesn’t do much good in rivers; it’s more for open water, so we probably won’t use it until we cross the Gulf of Mexico.
In the evening, Sammy Hagar (of Montrose and Van Halen fame) was playing at “The Venue” in the Casino. We got tickets and went for dinner in the casino. The casino is actually a large barge, 350,000 sq/ft! They call it a “Riverboat” but it couldn’t leave the dock if it wanted to! It’s only “floating” so that they can get their casino license. The Venue is a very nice, 3-level theatre that seats 2,800 people. Our seats were on the upper balcony and were very good.
The casino is typical of the small casinos. They allow smoking, and it stinks. As with the Golden Nugget, the main clientele seems to be older people and those who can’t afford to lose any money, wasting their lives sitting in front of slot machines and gambling tables, hoping to strike it rich. There is only one true restaurant at the casino, a self-proclaimed high-end steak house, “Jack Binion’s.” The other two eating options are a buffet style, which serves burgers and pizza, and a Chinese noodle bar. We tried to get into the steak house but didn’t have reservations, and they were full. The Buffet didn’t look appetizing and was right next to the gaming floor, so it was thick with smoke. We opted for the Noodle Bar, which was okay. However, they had just expanded and no one working there seemed to know what table was what, so service was a bit chaotic. The food was okay, and we finished just in time for the concert.
Sammy Hagar’s music is not really our style, but we remembered several songs. “I Can’t Drive 55”, “Three Lock Box,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” and “There’s Only One Way to Rock.” He just turned 76 and does not show his age! The concert was over 90 minutes of continuous high-energy music. He is an excellent showman and must have autographed over 200 items people brought up to the stage. Very gracious! There was also a guest appearance by Bill Corgan of “The Smashing Pumpkins,” who played “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love.” Quick trivia: Billy Corgan now runs a “Tea Room” here in Chicago!
We’ve been to a few “revival” concerts, and we’ve noticed that they tend to turn up the volume to make up for the diminished vocal abilities of the old rockers. We brought our “wave-slap-ear-plugs” and were glad that we did! The concert finished around 10:00, and we walked back to the boat.
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Day 149 – Sat, 10/21 – In Hammond, IN
All in all, it was a nice day. It was warm, 65°, and sunny. The winds were light until about 1:00 when they shifted to the North and got up to 20 mph. Brenda did a load of laundry and I did some computer work and accounting to prepare for year end. I had planned to wash the boat, but the warm temps brought out little gnats that swarmed the marina!
I got out the drone to take a few photos. The wind at the boat was only reading 3-4 mph from the west. The casino building blocks the west wind from the marina. When I got up 100 feet, the drone started giving me strong wind warnings. I did manage to get a few photos before I brought it back. When I went to land, the drone got hit by a gust of wind and ended up hitting the side of the boat, crashing, and disappearing between the dock and the boat! Luckily, it landed on one of the fenders and didn’t go into the water! No more flying today!
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Day 150 – Sun, 10/22 – From Hammond, IN to Joliet, IL – 48 miles, Travel Time: 10hrs 0min, Locks:2
Sunday morning, we had some pretty good-sized waves in the 3-4 foot range right outside of the marina. It was only about 2 miles to the entrance of the Cal-Sag Canal and halfway there is a break-wall that shields you from the waves. We all decided to give it a go, not because it was a good idea, but because we were all sick of standing still! We left right as the sun was rising and headed into our last little bit of Lake Michigan.
It was a rocky 15 minutes, but once we got to the break wall, it was not too bad, and all 12 boats entered the Cal-Sag (Calumet River) safely.
The Calumet-Saganashkee Channel, usually shortened to the Cal-Sag Channel, is a 16-mile-long drainage and shipping canal in southern Cook County, Illinois, operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. It runs from Hammond, Indiana, to the junction of the Chicago River and the Chicago Shipping & Sanitary Canal, where they join the Illinois River. It’s as scenic as the names suggest. Most of the route is lined with large bulk facilities and many barges. Fuel Depots, Salt Piles, Sulfur, Coal, Scrap Metal, Power Plants, none of it is very scenic. But it’s part of the trip.
From Hammond, the next stop is Joliet, Illinois (of Blues Brothers fame). Here, we tie up to a wall along the river next to a park. The town has provided some facilities, bathrooms (open to the public, so not very sanitary), and power hookups. When we were here in 2019, only two power points were working. The town has repaired and upgraded the service and all 16 boats could get power, which was important as the temps were dropping into the low 50s overnight.
In between Hammond and Joliet, there are about 30 bridges; the lowest one that does not open is 19 ft, 6 in. Because all of the boats had to be able to make it under that bridge (we dropped our mast), we were able to make it under most of the others. Still, we had to have 6 of them opened for us. There are also two locks on the route. Neither of these was affected by the recent closure, and we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes to get in.
The Cal-Sag is a major shipping channel. We encountered hundreds of barges tied up along the canal’s edges, making it very narrow. We also met several tows heading opposite us. The tow boat captains were all very helpful and pulled way over to the side of the channel to allow us to pass. In a few cases, they were scraping the walls of the canal. There was one case where there just was not room for both the barge and our boats, and the captain asked us to pull off the canal into a holding basin until they passed. The barges here are two wide and three long, making them about 100 ft wide x 700 ft long with the tow boat. Once they are moving, it can take them a half-mile to come to a stop, so if they ask you to pull over, you do!
When we got to the junction with the Chicago River, we met up with two more of our group who had taken the Chicago River route, and this made us 14!
Another interesting hazard on the Cal-Sag is the Electric Fish Barrier. The State of Michigan is trying to keep the invasive species “Asian Carp” out of the Great Lakes. The Cal-Sag is the only route from the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers into the Great Lakes. What they have done is take a 1000-foot section and introduce electrical pulses into the water to deter the fish. The problem is that the electrical pulses are enough to damage the electronics on boats as you go through. When it was first installed, they made you shut off our engines and electronics, and then you paid to have your boat towed through the barrier area.
Now, you can go through under your own power. However, it is recommended that you turn off everything you can while passing. On our last trip, we didn’t unplug Brenda’s iPad, which got scrambled. This year, two boats with electronic steering systems lost control of their boats while in the barrier. One was able to be pulled out of the area and then restarted. The other had to be towed to a repair facility.
This time, we turned off and unplugged everything, and we (and everyone in our flotilla) made it through without any issues.
When we reached the Lockport Lock, they had us “raft up” in three groups. Lockport is a short drop, and there was no wind, so it was a pretty easy passage.
We got to the Wall in Joliet just before 5:00. There were already two boats from our group there, and a non-looper heading to Peoria, IL, to store their boat for the winter had also joined us, making our group on the wall for the evening, 17 boats! We had to double up a couple of boats in order to fit, but everyone got a spot, and a power hookup to keep the heat on!
Joliet is only a couple of miles from the Brandon Lock, which is the first one affected by the closures over the summer. The groups before us had good luck calling the lock at 6:00 a.m. and getting through around 7:00. That was our plan, so everyone turned in early as we had to leave the wall no later than 6:45 a.m. just as it was getting light.
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Day 151 – Mon, 10/23 – From Joliet, IL to Ottawa, IL – 46 miles, Travel Time: 12hrs 0min, Locks:3
When our fleet leader called the lock at 6:00 a.m., there was one tow in the lock heading upbound, and they said to come on down and they would lock us down once they cleared. Excellent news! We all got off the wall by 6:45 and to the Joliet highway bridge by 7:15. Between the wall and the lock, there are two bridges, both of which we need to have lifted for most of us to fit under. First is a railroad bridge, which closes anytime a train is approaching. This happens very frequently. The second is a highway bridge, which is a major route for school buses, so they do not open between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. We got lucky and there were no trains, and we all got to the highway bridge before the cut-off. We passed the upbound tow as we were heading toward the lock, and when we arrived, they were ready for us and we were able to just cruise right in.
Once we got out of Dresden Lock, we had a 15-mile run to Dresden Island Lock. Dresden Island is another of the three locks that had major work done over the summer, and it is the last to be completed. When we got close to the lock, they told us to pull over and tie up to the mooring structures. We got to the entrance to the lock around 9:30 a.m. and had to wait until 11:00 to get into the lock. Once in, it was a pretty quick drop-down 34 feet.
From Dresden to Marseilles Lock is 27 miles. We arrived at 2:30 and had to wait until 5:00 to get into the lock as there was a large upbound tow that had to be split. Splitting a Tow involves pulling the first 4 to 6 barges into the lock, disconnecting them from the rest of the Tow, and then lifting them up. When they get to the top, they use winches to pull them out of the lock, and then they drop the water and load the next section of the Tow. On a large tow, it takes three cycles of the lock to get all the barges and the Towboat through. Each cycle can take up to an hour.
We finally got into the lock at 5:00, and by the time we were settled and dropped down, it was 6:10, and the sun had set. We had 4 1/2 miles to Heritage Harbor, our marina for the night. By the time we left the lock, it was pretty dark. We were the second to last boat out of the lock. About halfway to the marina, we had a solid BUMP to the bottom of the boat. We don’t know what we hit, but think that it was either a log, or a submerged channel marker. Fortunately, there was no damage!
Docking 17 boats in the dark is a chore. Heritage Harbor did a fantastic job. They had someone up in an aerial lift watching us come into the marina and directing us to our slips. They also had plenty of dock hands available to help us into our slips with flashlights. An EXCELLENT JOB! We were all in and settled by 6:45! An amazing job!
After checking in, we all went to the “Red Dog” restaurant at the marina. They had put together a “Looper Menu” with great options that they could make quite quickly. While we were all eating, Jeremy, the harbor master, gave us a very detailed briefing on what to expect for the next 300 miles to Green Turtle Bay. Heritage is easily the most coordinated and well-run marinas we’ve experienced on our trip.
While it has been a bit of a hassle, the coordination by Kim and the Home Port Crew of our association, the AGLCA, has made getting through the problem locks pretty easy. In 2019, this same section of the trip from Joliet to Heritage Harbor took us three days, and we got it done in one!
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Day 152 – Tue, 10/24 – From Ottawa, IL to Peoria, IL – 75 miles, Travel Time: 8hrs 40min, Locks:1
Our group split up leaving Heritage Harbor. One group of slower boats went about 40 miles to a marina called Henry Harbor, and the other group of faster boats headed 75 miles to Peoria, IL. We joined the fast group, and we all pulled out at 6:55, just as it was getting light.
In general, the rivers are pretty boring to cruise. Most of the river banks are floodplain, so there are few towns and houses. You see the occasional fishing camps set up on stilts and some barge loading operations for grain or sand, but not much else.
Our goal for the day was Peoria, Illinois, which has a few marinas. We had a reservation at the IVY Club (Illinois Valley Yacht Club), which is just north of downtown Peoria. We only had one lock to do today, which was “Starved Rock Lock.” This was not one that was closed, although they were doing quite a bit of work on the lock.
Next to the lock is a high rock bluff and overhang. There are many legends surrounding it. In the most popular legend, around 1769, the Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illiniwek had starved, and the butte became known as “Starved Rock.” In the late 19th century, parkland around ‘Starved Rock’ was developed as a vacation resort.
There were no delays at the lock, the doors were open when we arrived, and we were in and out in 30 minutes with an 18-foot drop.
The rest of the trip was just mile after mile of trees. The water level in the Illinois River is about 4 feet below normal levels, so there are many sandbars and wide, sandy banks along the river. You can see the roots of the trees that have been washed clean of soil holding on!
The other thing that there were lots of was Bald and Golden Eagles. The Illinois and Mississippi rivers are primary migration routes and this is the time of year that they head south. We saw at least 15 on the way down, including a group of four cruising near the river.
After almost 9 hours of cruising, we finally pulled into IVY Club. We were four boats now, and there were four other Loopers already there. In the evening, we all met on the porch for Docktails.
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