River Ramblings for Sept. 4^th and 5^th

More tales of the Illinois River from Kathryn despite very poor internet connections.  These small river towns and areas are just a bit remote.  Yesterday morning, we left bright and early again from Henry, IL.  The trip was rather routine (you can see we are already into this life J).  Biggest city we passed through was Peoria and then on to Havana, IL (NOT CUBA…we haven’t gone THAT far).  Here are a few highlights of the day:

MORE Asian Carps jumping out of the water.  I was sitting on the side of the boat when all of a sudden one jumped very close to me…yikers!

Migrating PELICANS…WHAT?  Pelicans in Illinois?  The lady at the DQ had asked us if we had seen them and we kind of shook our heads in disbelief.  Just outside of Peoria on a small island there were hundreds of them.  I may have to research where they go to from here!

My Dad use to say, “Everybody has to be somewhere doing something”.  Well, yesterday we saw a most interesting business along the riverbank.  They had a large collection of old riverboats and gambling boats that were being demolished.  I guess I never thought of where those old boats go after they are finished doing their jobs.



Boat demolition Illinois River style

Last night, we were going to anchor in a small anchorage next to Havana, IL.  Our biggest problem all along has been the LOW water in all parts of the river.  You need to make reservations to go into a marina and the next question is, “how much water do you have (I mean under our boat?)”.  That has ruled out many places for our sailboat since we have a keel that is five feet below our boat.  Anyway, we saw this little anchorage that was reported to be okay for us.  Long story short, it was shallow and we “bumped” a few times, we were surrounded by 5 barges, and it was
SO HOT!  Needless to say, it won’t go down as a favorite.  At 4 AM Steve noted a big thunderstorm headed our way, so by 5 o’clock we were back on the river headed South in the dark! 



Bill enjoying the moring storm

Nancy (you know who you are) This is my best "Bruce" impersonation

On our way south, we encountered a dredging barge that had blocked almost all the river with its equipment.  We called the dredge on the radio and were told it would be OK if we passed close by it in the only open pass.  Just as we got close to the dredge, the boat hit bottom and we stopped abruptly.  After a couple of attempts, we managed to get loose only to get stuck again.  Finally, after spinning the boat 180 degrees, we were able to get around the dredge.   Kathryn took a bit of a beating, but seems to be OK.

The good news is we made it to Beardstown, IL early and have already had a walking tour of the town.  Even had a late brunch at a highly recommended restaurant named the Old Time Café.  Another storm is passing through, so we are on the boat waiting it out.   

Tied to a barge in Beardstown just before another strom





Tomorrow we will be off to Grafton, IL., which will be where we will say good-bye to the Illinois River and enter the mighty Mississippi! The reports in our guide book and the reservation lady tell us Grafton will be a fun little town, so stay tuned.