Marmalade Skies

Sunset in Ottawa

Chip and I left Joliet (mi 288.0) at 8:30 AM central time and continued along the Des Plaines River...With the radar tower lowered, we have not had to hail the bridge tenders, just making it under the 16.5' drawbridge heights at center; allowing us to make some good time. We would recommend the Free Wall in Joliet to anyone cruising through...it is a convenient first night stop from Chicago, and a good place to arrange crew changes as the Harrah's right across the street from the park where we tied up has an airport transfer. There aren't any facilities, and there were a few shady characters roaming around, but all in all, a good night sleep...We had a wonderful visit with Art & Sharon, and as I watched them walk away I realized that we would likely be traveling alone now until Chattanooga where we are hoping my mom will join us the end of October.

At mile 273, the Des Plaines and the Kankakee Rivers meet and form the Illinois River. Up to that point the riverfront has been very commercial with a lot of chemical plants, grain elevators, sunken barges...We traveled completely by sight and paper charts (which is fairly easy on a river) as the chart plotter chip, sent to us from the manufacturer was blank. Once we got through the 2nd lock at the Dresden Dam the river began to get a little more picturesque. We began to notice wild flowers and wading birds as well as several pairs of wild swans, Canada geese and a random monarch butterfly...

It was a warm day, the temperature gage on the fly bridge read 93 degrees, and at a cruising speed of 7-8 knots we weren't creating much of a breeze. We are tucked in now at a "Looper Friendly" marina in Ottawa Illinois (mi 242). The photograph is of the sunset last night, taken off the stern, looking out over the inlet leading into the marina with a silo reflected in the water. Now I am off to do a little reprovisoning and laundry...and of course, some exploring. If you are interested in learning more about where we are, please log onto the Ottawa website HERE.