Captain's Blog

  TRAVEL DAY 126 - Hardin to Alton October 16, 2023 4.13 Hours/ 36.5 Miles     The weather turned, although the mornings remain cool, the afternoon warmed to the upper 60's. Our plan today was to go to Grafton but with Runaway's transmission problem and a family issue for Sidetrip, the River Rats decided to go just a little further down river to Alton. We moved in the same formation with Runaway in the middle so we could monitor their progress. We pulled away from the dock and into the Illinois River current at a few minutes before 9 am.   Pau Hana     Our crew was happy for an easy travel day and looking forward to 4 days in a marina, downtime, laundry, provisions and unlimited hot water! At noon we turned on to the Mississippi River at Grafton, with Illinois on our port and Missouri to our starboard. This marks another milestone on our epic journey. The trees are just starting to turn color and we're hopeful for beautiful fall foliage down the rivers. ...

  TRAVEL DAY 123 - Ottawa to Henry October 12, 2023 7.38 Hours/ 45.3 Miles     With the 3 locks and Chicago behind us, we were determined to make some miles. The Illinois River varies between being very industrial to somewhat isolated. Betty our trusty Volvo enjoys the 1+ mph current as she doesn't have to work as hard to maintain a fast speed. Fast to us is the 9.6+/- mph we are doing versus the 7.5 - 8 mph she would be normally be making.      Doe by the river     Our travel day got us to Henry Marina, which is an old lock on the river. There is an interior basin with docks but with low river levels, it is too shallow for most of the Looper boats. Instead, the larger boats tie up to the interior old stone wall of the lock with a protective barrier of the outer stone lock wall minimizing the wakes from passing commercial and recreational traffic. This old lock was built in 1870 and was the first lock on the Illinois River.     Tied...

  TRAVEL DAY 120 - Hammond, IN to Dolton, IL October 9, 2023 2.42 Hours/ 12.9 Miles     It's been said, Tell God your plans and he will laugh. The same might be said for anyone on this adventure. Our original plan was to go through the locks on October 6th. The AGLCA informed the Loopers that all the flotillas were delayed 5 days. Great, 5 more days in the Hammond refugee camp. There is not much close by, so not the best place to be waylaid, but with over 75 boats stacked up, it's not the worst. A hard pill to swallow but that is certainly a component of this trip: Semper Gumby     Hammond Sunrise     Illinois, our 13th state. We were glad our time in Indiana was through as we pulled out of Hammond Marina with some trepidation about what we knew would test our patience skills. We were receiving reports from the boats ahead of us and had a good idea of what we were going to experience.   Flotilla #6 on the move at daybreak     Our fl...