The Chicago Harbor Lock is right around the corner from Monroe Harbor. Note the large metallic structure on the right. Designed to resemble a Great Lakes ship, it serves as the Lockmasters Building.
After the Lock, we passed under the Lake Shore Drive Bridge. We will go under 40 bridges in the next five miles.
We are now in the Chicago River with both banks lined with sky scrapers and a river walk running along side. This was our view to port ...
... and this was our view straight ahead.
Tucked among the sky scrapers are older brick buildings and many restaurants overlooking the River.
About two miles inland the River forks into the South Branch and the North Branch. We turned into the South Branch which looked like this.
After this bridge the River takes a turn to the southwest, and the industry begins. Here's a sample of one ... a power plant.
The Chicago River is linked to the Illinois River via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. In the early 1900's the good people of Chicago realized that taking their drinking water out of Lake Michigan and also sending their sewage that way via the River was not such a good idea. So the Chicago River was reversed via locks and canals, and eventually routed into the southern flowing Illinois River (and then the Mississippi). At the same time, the shipping canal was created and Loopers now have a way to return to the Rivers from the Great Lakes. The old canal walls are kinda neat, but there are signs all along this section that caution against swimming, jet skiing, wading, tubing or any human contact with this water .... hmmmm ...
We stopped for the night at Joliet, where the city has a free wall, with electric. There is alot of barge traffic and they passed quite close to us here.
It's a bit of a relief to get off Lake Michigan's big waves, although we miss the beautiful water and Steve really enjoyed the planning necessary for "big water" cruising. We've been staying in marinas because they are reasonably priced and we need the AC once we stop for the night. We've been traveling for a few days with Woody and Judy, from Maine. Woody is a retired lobsterman who bought the hull for their boat and built the rest himself.
Most of the tows are three long with one towboat, so they put the three barges in the lock and unhook the towboat and put it into the lock beside the barges. We've had to wait an hour or more at almost every lock. At one they told us to tie up to one of the "dolphins" above the lock to wait. Lucy had to get out and eat a little grass that was growing in the cracks. 
Captain Steve is back in his element passing tow boats.
Our next lock is Peoria where the lock is under repair and boats are only being locked through from 5 pm until 7 am. With the amount of barge traffic, they are busy with barges all night and we don't want to run at night anyway. On Sundays, however, they lock boats through all day, so we are spending Friday and Saturday night at the Eastport Marina and taking a little break from our long days of travel. Tonight we had free tacos at the bar and a swim in the pool, so it's not a bad place to wait it out. Here's a 13 second video of the Chicago River skyscrapers, a definite highlight of our trip.
The South Branch goes right by the Sears Tower, seen in this picture looking back.
This Amtrak Bridge is only 10' off the water and it does not lift during rush hour, so we timed our arrival to be after 9 am.
After this bridge the River takes a turn to the southwest, and the industry begins. Here's a sample of one ... a power plant.
The Chicago River is linked to the Illinois River via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. In the early 1900's the good people of Chicago realized that taking their drinking water out of Lake Michigan and also sending their sewage that way via the River was not such a good idea. So the Chicago River was reversed via locks and canals, and eventually routed into the southern flowing Illinois River (and then the Mississippi). At the same time, the shipping canal was created and Loopers now have a way to return to the Rivers from the Great Lakes. The old canal walls are kinda neat, but there are signs all along this section that caution against swimming, jet skiing, wading, tubing or any human contact with this water .... hmmmm ...
The current Lake Michigan challenge is to keep the Asian Carp from entering the Lake. The Army Corps of Engineers is maintaining an electrical current "fish barrier" on the Illinois River that is either working or it's not, depending on who you talk to. There is a sign telling boats to call the Coast Guard on their VHF radio before they transit the barrier. We heard other boats call and the CG read them the rules for passing through the barrier. For example, boats under 20 feet cannot pass, passengers must get into the cabin of the boat (or wear a life jacket) and remain seated, and give a security call on your radio before you enter ... so we did because we didn't want to face fines and/or imprisonment.
We stopped for the night at Joliet, where the city has a free wall, with electric. There is alot of barge traffic and they passed quite close to us here.
It's a bit of a relief to get off Lake Michigan's big waves, although we miss the beautiful water and Steve really enjoyed the planning necessary for "big water" cruising. We've been staying in marinas because they are reasonably priced and we need the AC once we stop for the night. We've been traveling for a few days with Woody and Judy, from Maine. Woody is a retired lobsterman who bought the hull for their boat and built the rest himself.
The waterway runs 327 miles from Chicago to Grafton where it enters the Mississippi. We're currently about half way and the shoreline is much less industrial and quite pretty in parts ...
... some big rock cliffs.
Most of the tows are three long with one towboat, so they put the three barges in the lock and unhook the towboat and put it into the lock beside the barges. We've had to wait an hour or more at almost every lock. At one they told us to tie up to one of the "dolphins" above the lock to wait. Lucy had to get out and eat a little grass that was growing in the cracks.
Captain Steve is back in his element passing tow boats.
We passed by this marina where the owner is collecting old paddleboats.
The Illinois River is low as shown by these exposed tree roots.
Our next lock is Peoria where the lock is under repair and boats are only being locked through from 5 pm until 7 am. With the amount of barge traffic, they are busy with barges all night and we don't want to run at night anyway. On Sundays, however, they lock boats through all day, so we are spending Friday and Saturday night at the Eastport Marina and taking a little break from our long days of travel. Tonight we had free tacos at the bar and a swim in the pool, so it's not a bad place to wait it out. Here's a 13 second video of the Chicago River skyscrapers, a definite highlight of our trip.
1 comment:
I enjoyed you pictures and commentary. I'm dreaming of doing the great loop someday. I'm 54 now and the goal is in 3 years get a boat and start doing some small trips.
Lincoln
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