Hennepin - Grafton

Hennepin- Grafton

September 01 2012

Hennepin

The left overs of Isaac hit us at around midnight, and it rained just long enough for us to close the windows. By the time we got back into bed it had stopped raining, all of 45 seconds.

Our boat became a sauna in a matter of moments; with everything closed up and it was incredibly hot and humid. At 5am it started to POUR, we had a lot of rain in the next few hours, it was still hot and sticky but now everything was wet too.

I decided to sleep in (there was nothing else to do, that’s my excuse, and I am sticking to it!)

Around noon the rain had stopped and the sun came out. The air was like hot soup, you walk 5 steps and you are drenched in sweat and out of breath.

To make matters worse Gary had been fighting a nasty bug and he was really not feeling too good. (I blamed the heat but it could have been a flu thing)

Parked on the free wall (an old barge) at Hennepin

By the evening Gary was feeling better and we decided to try Hennepin’s famous fried chicken from Ray’s Riverside Restaurant. The chicken was great and so was the service. We had enough chicken to eat for two days!

Oh by the way, there is a little story to add to the day. After the leftovers of Isaac there were tornado warnings all around us, especially to the south. We later heard that 2 touched down near us, one in the river (which they almost never do) and a second one in a soy field. No damage, thank goodness. This weather is CRAZY!!!!

September 2, 2012

On our way past Henry’s we saw MV Making Memories and SV Teasa tied to the wall. Soon MV Making Memories were passing us on our way to Peoria.

MV Making Memories

The trip was lovely, the day warm but way cooler than it has been. We passed through some nature areas and we saw 100s of Bald Eagles on the side of the river. There were also some big old Turkey vultures.

Then I spotted my first pelican, I didn’t think they would be so far north.

Our plans were to stay on the “free wall” in Peoria but when we passed Dettweiler Marina we made a quick decision and asked them for a slip. Fortunately, because we have such a small draft, we were able to get in as where many other boats are unable to get into marinas due to the low water.  At $25 per night, which includes water and power, it is a bargain!! First thing we did was crank on the air con and have a long shower each. We got our bikes off and went for a nice bike ride into town.

Peoria

The town was dead; the blues fest that was supposed to be held at the waterfront was moved to Peoria-north because of the threats of tornadoes and all the rain.

A lovely yet deserted waterfront, due to
the tornado watches

We stopped into Joe’s Crab Shack for a bite. As we sat down Gary realised he had sat in a nice puddle of melted butter and crab juice. We complained to the manager and got an appetizer on the house. I had a margarita with about a half a liter of tequila in it. The bike ride back to the boat was a challengeJ

Joe's Crab Shack

When we got back to the marina we were met by local boaters who saw us come in (you cannot miss the huge Canadian flag on our stern) who welcomed us to Peoria. A guy named Tim offered us a ride to anywhere to go shopping. I slapped Gary on his arm before he could be all polite and decline the offer. So we thanked them and said we would love to have a ride to the shopping centre. Gary needed a new extension cord, we needed to stock up on toilet paper and I just wanted to be in a car again.

Herbie the love bug
Peoria - Illinois

September 3, 2012

Tim and his granddaughter, Kirstin took us across the bridge to the other side of the river and we went shopping at Lows, Bass Pro and Wal-Mart.

What>??!! LOL
At the entrance to Bass Pro
 Peoria Illinois

This Wal-Mart sold liquor so we were able to stock up on that too. We spent the rest of the day  tiding up the boat and catching up with correspondence. I was very saddened to hear that my sister Marlene has been struggling with more health issues and it just made both me and Gary realise how privileged we are to be living this life that we had dreamed about for so long.

We went to Alexander’s Steakhouse for dinner. We had heard much about it, so we rode our bikes all the way there for dinner. Gary enjoyed his pork chop and I enjoyed my steak.

Sept 5, 2012

We woke up to much cooler weather. A wind from the north was bringing some much needed relief of the blasting heat but it was also bringing some thunderstorms. After checking with Peoria lock we were told there are no barges waiting so we untied our dock lines and headed out. The lock was empty so instead of tying to a bollard or lines Gary just kept the boat idling back and forth. The lock wasn’t very high but the lock master took his good old time opening it for us so I threw out my bitch wings.

A working river barge

From Peoria to our anchorage at Quiver Island (about 40 miles) we never saw another boat!! Not a single boat or tow or barge. No radio traffic either. It was raining on and off but nothing bad. By the time we dropped anchor behind Quiver Island in about 5 feet of water, the sun was shining and it was nice and steamy again.

Sept 6, 2012

Another quiet day on the river and not another Looper in sight. We did get into a little traffic jam with a big barge and Gary was told by the captain to turn around as there was not enough room for us, him and the 2 work barges on either side of the river, laying pipe. We only had to idle for about 15 minutes and we were on our way again.

River side -old grain tower

Burlington Railway Bridge

We are anchored off Bar Isle in 7 feet of water and yet another warm evening. The water looked so inviting we actually went for a swim, yes in the dirty muddy waters of the Illinois. My skin didn’t burn off so I guess we will be ok.

Sept 7, 2012

As always the Asian carp were jumping like crazy as we left our anchorage. There was a storm brewing and NOAA kept sending warnings on the radio for a thunderstorm watch. We went through La Grange lock with no hassles and because it was such an easy cruising day we decided to push through to Willow Island anchorage, making it a 60 mile day instead of a 40 mile day.

The promised thunderstorm never hit us but by the time we dropped the anchor another major storm was brewing. Just in time as the rain started pouring down, it was raining so hard water was coming into the back of the boat from the gunnels. We moved the carpet and furniture out of the way because there was no way we could control the water rushing in. Then it started to hail, nothing major but the thunder and lightning was awe inspiring. We hadn’t seen a storm like this since we started our Loop.

Gary enjoying his own personalized fan to
cool him down while reading

Sundown at Bar Island Anchorage

After a while, as these things do, it calmed down. The wind was still pretty high by the time we went to bed but we were good and secure on the hook.

An old barge on the side of the river
has become part of the landscape

Signs that the river does
get very high sometimes

She looks like an old
haunted river boat queen

During the night the temp dropped considerably and in the morning we were woken up by gunshot noise. Obviously duck hunters blasting away at something. Scary.

As we left we were bombarded by Asian Carp, suicidally flinging themselves against the hull of the boat and unfortunately, also against the canvas. They must jump around 4-5 feet high to hit the canvass on the boat. After Gary cleaned off the fish guts we were on our way again. Destination; Grafton, catching up with some friends and get a much needed pump out. We also plan to top up with fuel, but we will do that in Saint Charles, Missouri, as the fuel there is about 40c cheaper by the gallon than it is in Illinois.

Next leg of our journey starts at where the Illinois and Mississippi rivers meet.

………………………………..to be continued