Aug 4- We left Joliet at 8:30 am heading down the Illinois River. We had 7 bridges and 3 locks to go through. We waited at the first lock for about an hour, then travelled down about 15 miles to the next lock. That was the start to a very long day. There were 15 pleasure boats all milling in the bay waiting on the lock, some had been there for several hours. We dropped a hook and tied up with Harmony and waited. When the tow finally left the lock all 17 of us piled into the lock. They give you a line to hold onto and then you raft to each other across the lock. We all headed down the river another 27 miles to the next lock and again we waited and waited. We pulled along side a round mooring ball (which is supposed to be used by the tows) and somehow hooked on. It was 93 degrees and no breeze. While we were waiting Dave took Koby to shore and we all showered down on the back deck (Koby as well). We finally entered the lock at 7:00 pm and by the time we locked down it was dark and we still had to find our way into the marina and our slips. We got in and tied up at 8:30 pm thus 12 hours to do 40 miles! This Heritage Harbor Marina is only a couple of years old and is beautiful. It has a restaurant and we were tired and hungry so we headed there had dinner and went back to bed.
Aug 5- We have decided to wait out this long weekend at this lovely marina with its pool, restaurant, showers and courtesy car. They had made room for us yesterday and when we asked if we could stay a few more days said they would do some jostling but would find us a spot. We used the courtesy car today as Eunice from Harmony was having a problem with her one leg. We dropped Eunice at the Clinic and we went to get supplies at Walmart and get the propane refilled. We picked up Eunice one hour later and everything was ok. It was another night at the restaurant for good food and good company.They have a great band playing outside under the tent but the heat is too much for us.
Aug 6- We are taking things slow today as the heat is getting worse. This will be a catch up kind of day. I have already done a load of laundry and cleaned the bumpers and that will probably be all I get done today outside as Dave has just told me it is 100 degrees outside here at noon. We met up with some other Loopers at 5:00 pm for docktails and had a great time.
Aug 7- We left Heritage Harbour Marina at 10:00 am as the marina was serving free omlets for breakfast. We were fortunate to call the lock and they said they would hold the lock til we got there and we motored right in. A couple of Loopers we had met the night before decided to leave at 7:30 am and they were just getting in the lock when we arrived. We decided to stay in a bay called Lower Henry Island for the night just off the river. As Harmony entered the bay we had our first glimpse of Asian Carp. They were jumping all over Harmony as she made her way into the bay. One of the carp actually launched itself into their cockpit and they had blood on the side of their boat from them. Their cat Sammy thought this was just great. Once we were tied for the night Dave took Koby ashore on the west side of the island. Big mistake because as soon as he jumped from the dingy he was stuck in the mud. Dave got him out but they were covered in mud, so they tried the other side and found it to be much better. It was such a hot evening we tried to cool off as best we could and turned in.
Aug 8- We left Henry Island at 8:00 am heading for Peoria. We were just crossing Peoria Lake when we had torrential rain hit. There were times it was hard to see the markers but it eased up just as we got to the docks at Peoria around 1:30 pm. We were just over from the highway bridge and were pretty close to downtown so there was a fair amount of noise. We had electricity and sparse wi-fi and it was easy getting Koby to shore and it was free. The rain had subsided so we walked up towards downtown and found a Catapillar museum a block away. This is were they manufacture these monster machines and it was quite interesting to walk through the displays. After dinner we took Koby for a walk and met a young couple from Peoria who were watching two racoons on the dock playing. While talking to them they told us that this area had flooded back in July (river rose 28 feet) and they built a wall with sandbags 8 feet tall to keep the water out of downtown.
Aug 9- We left at 7:30 am as we got word from the lock that they would only wait a half hour for us and then they would start loading the tows through. The other Loopers weren`t as lucky as they arrived after we had locked down and now faced a 2 or 3 hour wait at the top. We arrived at Tall Timber Marina at 1:00 am. and tied up for the day. There are very few marinas here on in and we needed to pump-out so here we are. There is a small village here so we walked up to the Dollar store to get a few things (about 2 blocks). This store had everything you could imagine in it.
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| Coming to Brandon lock (first today) |
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| A lot of pipelines over the river |
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| Local industry |
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| Casino on the river |
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| Our first tow of the day |
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| River is getting wider |
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| Tows left to rust on side of river |
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| More tows off to the side of river |
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| Many duck blinds here |
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| Floating homes |
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| Very thick vegetation in front of this home |
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| Dresden lock we meet 15 others waiting |
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| Tow that took forever to lock through |
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| All 17 of us in the lock |
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| Round bollard we attached to |
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| On to the next lock to wait again |
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| Some locals having fun in the river |
Aug 5- We have decided to wait out this long weekend at this lovely marina with its pool, restaurant, showers and courtesy car. They had made room for us yesterday and when we asked if we could stay a few more days said they would do some jostling but would find us a spot. We used the courtesy car today as Eunice from Harmony was having a problem with her one leg. We dropped Eunice at the Clinic and we went to get supplies at Walmart and get the propane refilled. We picked up Eunice one hour later and everything was ok. It was another night at the restaurant for good food and good company.They have a great band playing outside under the tent but the heat is too much for us.
Aug 6- We are taking things slow today as the heat is getting worse. This will be a catch up kind of day. I have already done a load of laundry and cleaned the bumpers and that will probably be all I get done today outside as Dave has just told me it is 100 degrees outside here at noon. We met up with some other Loopers at 5:00 pm for docktails and had a great time.
Aug 7- We left Heritage Harbour Marina at 10:00 am as the marina was serving free omlets for breakfast. We were fortunate to call the lock and they said they would hold the lock til we got there and we motored right in. A couple of Loopers we had met the night before decided to leave at 7:30 am and they were just getting in the lock when we arrived. We decided to stay in a bay called Lower Henry Island for the night just off the river. As Harmony entered the bay we had our first glimpse of Asian Carp. They were jumping all over Harmony as she made her way into the bay. One of the carp actually launched itself into their cockpit and they had blood on the side of their boat from them. Their cat Sammy thought this was just great. Once we were tied for the night Dave took Koby ashore on the west side of the island. Big mistake because as soon as he jumped from the dingy he was stuck in the mud. Dave got him out but they were covered in mud, so they tried the other side and found it to be much better. It was such a hot evening we tried to cool off as best we could and turned in.
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| The carp were really hopping going into Henry Island. This one landed in the back of Harmony |
Aug 8- We left Henry Island at 8:00 am heading for Peoria. We were just crossing Peoria Lake when we had torrential rain hit. There were times it was hard to see the markers but it eased up just as we got to the docks at Peoria around 1:30 pm. We were just over from the highway bridge and were pretty close to downtown so there was a fair amount of noise. We had electricity and sparse wi-fi and it was easy getting Koby to shore and it was free. The rain had subsided so we walked up towards downtown and found a Catapillar museum a block away. This is were they manufacture these monster machines and it was quite interesting to walk through the displays. After dinner we took Koby for a walk and met a young couple from Peoria who were watching two racoons on the dock playing. While talking to them they told us that this area had flooded back in July (river rose 28 feet) and they built a wall with sandbags 8 feet tall to keep the water out of downtown.
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| Sea to Sea |
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| This is our front yard at Peoria |
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| And this is the back |
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| These floating docks can ride up and down with the river levels. In July when the river was closed because of high water the river rose 28ft. It was over the high wall on the left. |
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| Old train station at ground level. This was flooded in July |
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| looking uptown from the water front |
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| Spirit of Peoria |
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| Go figure. We had to go to a city to find these guys |
Aug 9- We left at 7:30 am as we got word from the lock that they would only wait a half hour for us and then they would start loading the tows through. The other Loopers weren`t as lucky as they arrived after we had locked down and now faced a 2 or 3 hour wait at the top. We arrived at Tall Timber Marina at 1:00 am. and tied up for the day. There are very few marinas here on in and we needed to pump-out so here we are. There is a small village here so we walked up to the Dollar store to get a few things (about 2 blocks). This store had everything you could imagine in it.
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| River banks seems to be getting flatter |
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| Really flat |
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| Chores at Harmony |
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| Tall Timbers Marina |
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| The docks |
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