What an amazing day! Although the weather was cold and rainy, we were once again snuggled into our cozy pilot house enjoying the scenery along the way and not bothered by the weather. We left Joliet this morning around 7:30 a.m. and managed to get through 2 of the locks quite quickly...compared to previous days. There were 3 of us Loopers traveling together and keeping contact throughout the day. Once we got to the Marseilles Lock we were told we'd have a 2.5 hour wait because they were bringing a tow with several barges that had to lock through before we could enter. The scenery had changed to farm country and pristine scenery along the river, rather than the not-so-pretty landscape we had encountered the previous day. We have now anchored for the night just off Sheehan Island, with Buffalo Rock State Park and its sandstone cliffs just outside our windows. In answer to questions about Asian Carp, we have not seen ONE along the way. Very much expected to see at least a few, but thankfully nothing so far. We had our hammer ready! :)
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| Very pretty landscape along this stretch of the Illinois River |
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| Campground along the river with cornfields in the background. Feels like home! |
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| Water is a bit brown, but very natural landscape along the river |
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| The bullard we tied up to, waiting for the Marseilles Lock to allow us entrance |
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| Our view of the lock from the bullard. If weather had been nicer, we would have set our chairs up on top...plenty of room |
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| The barge we were waiting for at Marseilles Lock |
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| Tug pushing 15 barges, all at once...3 across and 5 long. Quite a sight! |
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| This is the tug pushing those 15 barges. Amazing! |
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| Upscale area along the river, near the area where we are anchored for the night |
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| This is IT!!! A BEAUTIFUL spot to anchor for the night. We are the only boat here. |
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| We really never expected to encounter this along the river in Illinois. Great surprise! |
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| Looks like a miniature Pictured Rocks. Beautiful and peaceful. |
I sat this morning with my cup of coffee and caught up on your week! We had been wondering how you were doing with the weather we knew was in that area. We are so excited to be able to follow you on your blog. Chicago looked awesome! Even though we have been past or through there so many times over the years, we have never taken longer than the time necessary to go up the Sears Tower! Looks like an amazing city to visit. Aren't those big barges something? You are seeing them from a different perspective but we have seen some mighty big ones passing up and down the river here in Baton Rouge! And regarding your 'wordiness': I kept a blog for awhile when Ron first retired. I became a bit self-conscious because it DID seem a little narcissistic...BUT, speaking as one of your fans, DON'T STOP TALKING! I love all the details! Makes me feel like we are there with you! Take care and give each other a big hug from us!
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