Making Headway Down the Illinois

 

Wednesday, September 2nd – JUST LIKE “DELIVERANCE” !!

 

At 7:00 a.m. we left in the fog, but it burned off fairly quickly.  We met two guys probably in their very early 20’s at “Starved Rock Lock”.  They “locked through” behind our boat and I had the chance to ask them what in the hell they were doing in the Illinois River in a freakin’ canoe!!  They told me they were going to New Orleans.  I said that if I were their mother, I would drive to the riverbank, make them get in my car and take them right back home!!  Think about it – they have no beds, no shower, no bathroom, and unbelievably, no VHF radio.  They have no way to communicate with the lock masters or tugboats or anyone!  I couldn’t talk them out of going home, and we went on our way.   

 

We caught up with 3 boats from the previous day and went 65 miles to Hamm’s Holiday Harbor Marina, Rome, IL.  It sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?  Our first view of the harbor was the “dead” paddleboats; we figured it must be a graveyard for those huge steamships that no longer work.  That should have tipped us off, but we were committed by then.  The cruising guide wrote positive things about this location:  it said there was a restaurant (but it was closed), laundry facilities (they must have been referring to the hose on the dock), restrooms with showers (only one worked and it was unisex I guess—I wouldn’t go near there)….well, you get the picture.  We tied up to a dock that was smashed in 3 different spots, had metal posts to tie up to that were pulling away from the dock and looked liked they’d snap any second.  Plus we had 2 picturesque work barges beside us.  What a delightful spot.   You’ll see it in the Trip Photos.  I know I heard some banjos in the woods!  

 

That night, Roger checked the engine room and found that oil had blown out into the bilge – not good.  He suspected that we had been running too hard at 2500 rpm, and couldn’t identify the source of the blow-out.  I was worried and didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but Roger seemed calm and told me he would check it in the morning. 

Thursday, September 3^rd

 

We left “Deliverance-Land” as early as we could – 6:30 a.m.  Not too long into the trip, an engine alarm sounded.  Now what!?  We slowed down, I took the helm and Roger went into the engine room.  Everything looked ok, compared to yesterday’s oil blowout, and after about 10 looooonnngggg minutes, the alarm stopped.  Roger checked on it every couple of hours and everything seemed okay.  

 

Late afternoon, we stopped at a barge and tied up.  Susan Godin from another boat called “Potest-Fieri” and I took our dogs to shore.  Louie had held it for nearly 11 hours!!  We edged our way along the 

barge, trying not to fall into the disgusting brown river on one side and trying not to impale ourselves with the broken cables on the other side, climbed up incredibly steep metal steps and finally got some green grass.  On the way back to the boat, we noticed that Louie was covered with burrs.  Oh, poor dog.  None of us were happy there, plus they wanted to charge us $36 for the night. 

 

We decided to move down the river about 2 more miles, where we caught up with “Barefoot Shoe” in an anchorage.  We also anchored, had cocktails on our boat and then Danny Godin and Roger took the dogs ashore one last time for the night.  Everyone was covered in mud, including Danny’s dinghy!  What a mess.  By the time I got Roger and Louie cleaned up, I had about 8 mosquito bites.  It had been a long, long day, but we went 93 miles and were happy to be making such good distance.  We ended up eating a light dinner and went to bed at 9:00 so that Roger could take a good look in the engine room early the next morning.

Friday, September 4^th

 

At 6 a.m., Roger replaced a damaged impeller.  I helped him by drinking my coffee – I’m useless without that first cup.  Then he found another problem – 2 bolts sitting in the bilge – not where they were supposed to be!  They came off the engine casing, so he messed with those and cleaned up some of the oil that had spilled.

 

Danny came over in his dinghy to pick me up so that I could take Louie to the bathroom.  I went barefoot because he said my shoes would only get stuck in the mud.  His dinghy had gone from white to all-brown inside.  I had a feeling I was in for a fun dog walk.  Oh God, I got out of the dinghy and stepped in mud – who knows how deep!!  To avoid sinking in, I lunged up the embankment and grabbed onto tree roots and pulled myself out of the mud.  I had visions of death by quicksand, just like the old movies.  I really held back on the expletives, because I hardly know this guy who was so nice to take us ashore.  Danny handed me Louie by the handle on his lifejacket and I carried him up the hill to a flat spot where he could take care of business.  I dreaded going back down to the mud and nearly propelled myself face first into the dinghy right after Louie landed in there!  Anchoring with a dog is NOT FUN!!

 

Anyway, we traveled 85 miles today and landed at Grafton, IL marina.  Roger & I usually take turns showering on our boat when the other person is driving.  By the time we tie up for the night, that is one less thing we have to do.

 

I can tell you right now…that the Illinois River is so boring!!  We motored 85 miles and finished the Illinois today, after traveling 327 miles on it.  In Grafton, IL we are at Mile Marker 0.00.  Even the guys agree with us girls that they cannot wait to get off the rivers – the Illinois, the Mississippi and the Ohio River.  We stayed here for two nights.  It’s a great marina with normal people and normal boats.  There is civilization here, finally!!

 

Saturday, September 5th

 

In the morning I did 4 loads of laundry while Roger worked in the engine room.  He had done as much as he could and we will have a mechanic look at it when we get to the Kentucky Lakes area.

 

After laundry, I borrowed another pick-up truck from the owners of the marina.  This is getting to be a habit!!   Rae Mason from “Barefoot Shoes” and Susan Godin from “Potest Fieri” were with me and we stocked up on groceries at two grocery stores, and homemade pie and fruit from a roadside stand.  Back at the marina, it was Labor Day Weekend, and there was a band playing and lots of drunk and crazy boaters!  It sounds just like a day at home, doesn’t it?

 

Sunday, September 6^th

 

Our jaunt down the Mississippi will be 218 miles, but the current is fast, and going in our favor.  We are hoping to be off of “the Miss” in 3 days.  One of the problems, as I’ve said, is that on these 3 rivers, we have to plan our itinerary very carefully.  There are so few marinas, so we shall see what is ahead of us next!