Chicago – Bridges and locks

Tuesday morning we entered the river system in downtown Chicago near Navy Pier. Seeing Chicago from the water with the sun just rising was extraordinary. All the business and noise of a big city was non-existent and the waters were calm. I was looking forward to getting off of Lake Michigan so Tuesday was the BIG day for me. We entered the first lock in Chicago without much fanfare and were lowered 5 feet.

We continued thru downtown Chicago with its many bridges. By this time the city was in full-swing. Soon we were in the industrial side of Chicago. I was surprised to see so many barges & tugboats in the Illinois River. Apparently barges & tugboats move a lot of our resources up and down river. I am told that the Mississippi handles even more barge/tugboat traffic which is more economic than using trucks for these big loads. I think the biggest load we saw was 3 barges wide/5 deep or 15 barges total plus the tug. Apparently the Mississippi loads are even bigger due to the width of the river. At one point in our trip down the Illinois River we could see trucks/cars going over a bridge, a train moving parallel to the river, and a barge coming upriver–our transportation system at WORK.

Lockport Lock was our first big lock with 7 pleasure crafts (PC’s) as we are called. We had to wait 2 hours for a barge to clear the lock before we could be locked through. We rafted up to another boat in the lock while we waiting for the water to drop. It is very strange as the water drops and you end up in a deep hole with sky overhead. We finally arrived in Joliet and tied up to the free wall with the 6 other boats. We ended up staying in Joliet for 2 nights as the next lock was closed for one day. We enjoyed an overnight visit from our daughter and son-in-law while in Joliet and shared part of our new lifestyle with them.

The next day we continued our journey to Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, Illinois. This included 3 locks, 3hr wait for one lock, waiting for barges to pass (it is good to wait as they are much bigger than we are), but all-in-all a good, but long travel day. In the last lock I learned how to work the bollard in a lock. I was very happy to arrive at Heritage Harbor and relax after a busy day on the river.

Saturday we borrowed the Marina’s loaner van and went into town to do laundry and buy groceries at Aldi’s. The afternoon was spent napping or hanging out at the pool. We even watched a wedding on the hill next to the pool. The temp’s that day were very toasty unlike Sunday which is cold and rainy. Good day to stay inside!!

In preparation for the continuation of our journey, we changed the oil on our Diesel engine. This was the first time I’ve climbed down into the engine room. Needless to say I have more appreciation for all the Tim’s done to maintain that area of the boat….I think Tim called it “boat yoga”. Just use your imagination what that might look like.

Tonight the harbor master gave a “looper school” talk about the travels ahead of us. It is intimidating when you hear about everything, but I think as we plan our trip things will be just fine. Just like I wrote about the character of Lake Michigan, the rivers have their own unique characteristics which need to be studied.