GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: THE LAND OF LINCOLN

DAY 98 SEPT. 16, 2011

DEP. OTTOWA 07:30 ARR. HENRY HARBOR 1:40

AM 45*, CLOUDY COOL

D. 44.5 / 1877.7

We called Starved Rock Lock early to get their status and were told as of right now it looked good. When we got to the lock they had just closed the gates on a down bound tow and we had to wait about 40 mins. The instructions were to tie up to the bollards on the left descending bank (LDB). Check out the pictures. The bollard is a round concrete freestanding structure with huge cleats on it designed for barges to tie up to. While Great Escape had no problem with this because they have a very high deck, Glory Days did. I had to practically climb off the boat to get a line around the cleat, but somehow managed to do it without falling in the water. If this happens again, I will try it from the upper deck. We cleared the lock at 9:40 and within an hour found ourselves behind a large down bound tow approaching 2 large up bound tows in a fleeting area. A fleeting area is a long stretch of riverbank where tugs pick up and /or drop off barges to make up their tows. Kind of like a barge terminal or Chinese fire drill from our perspective. We agreed to wait behind the down bound tow until they cleared the 2 up bound tows, and then proceeded to overtake him. When we arrived at the town of Henry, IL, we were told to tie up at the old lock wall. This was the most deteriorated, uneven “wall” I have ever seen. They had the nerve to charge us $1/ft to stay overnight. We did have electric, but again, no water.

WAITING FOR THE LOCK TO OPEN

ITS DIFFICULT TO TIE TO A ROUNDMOORING CELL

FINALLY IN THE LOCK

DAY 99 SAT.SEPT. 17, 2011

DEP. HENRY 07:20, ARR. PEORIA 11:00

AM 56* SUNNY COOL, LATER CLOUDY PM 70*

D. 34.4 sm/1882.1

No locks today, and a short run so we get to sleep late, 06:00. We met tow “Pat White” on 1 whistle. It was kind of hairy for me as it was on a curve and we had go to the right side which was the outside of the curve. It was also the direction the stern of the tug was swinging toward in order to get its front barge to steer right. We came within 15 feet of its stern and had to really power up to keep from getting sucked in by its wake. It seemed to me that a 2 whistle meeting would have been better, but who am I to argue with a tow Capt. At 10:30 we met up bound tow “Gregory David,” 2 barges wide and 5 long, in a straight away and went by on 1 whistle with no anxiety. As we are travelling south the river is widening and eventually opens up into Peoria Lake which is about a mile wide, with a narrow channel around its perimeter. We also see our first bald eagle of the trip, high up in a bare tree. When we got to Peoria we were met by old friends Jean and Brian Orr on Spirit of Whitby. It is always good to see them and they helped us get into a nice slip (free) with electric (free) but no water. We spent some time catching up and walking around the area. To our good fortune, there was an “Octoberfest” going on tonight and tomorrow. It was the highlight of our day. The polka music was great and the food was very good, and cheap. Roast pork dinner with red cabbage and spaetzel for only $10. Did I mention, the beer was good?

WAITING FOR THE NEXT FLOOD??

JEANNE & BRIAN ORR DOING THE POLKA AT OCTOBERFEST
PEORIA, IL

NOT QUITE A POLKA

DAY 100 SUN SEPT. 18, 2011

LAYOVER AT PEORIA

RAIN, ALL DAY

It’s hard to believe, this is the 100^th day of our cruise. We did not count the week at home. We celebrate by sleeping until 8:00, having a big breakfast, and going to a German “Polka” Mass at the “Octoberfest” next to the marina. In spite of the rain today, it was a great weekend. We even managed to find a source of water to fill our depleting water tank. Tomorrow we plan to head for Tall Timbers Marina for the night, IF they have enough water depth for us to get in. The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) controls the pool depth (read water level) on the rivers and adjusts it depending on the amount of rain. The water depth at the marina has been low all week, but they are hoping it will be back up tomorrow. If not, we will anchor out behind Quiver I. which is why we need the tank water.

DAY 101 MON. SEPT.19, 2011
AM CLOUDY, CHANCE OF SHOWERS, DAMP AN COLD . 4PM SUNNY 72*
DEP. PEORIA 0615 ARR. BEARDSTOWN 2:30
D. 71.68 sm / 1963.8

We planned to leave at 06:30 and cruise to Tall Timbers marina 30 sm south, but that didn’t work. We called the lock at 06:00 and the lockmaster said to bring it on down, then Don (Great Escape) heard a south bound tow on the radio and we had to make a quick departure in order to get to the lock before him. Had he got there first, or called before we got there, we would have to wait (possibly hours) as commercial tows have priority. No problem, we beat him. We called Tall Timbers and they said the water level was too low for us to get in so we were going with plan “B”, anchor behind Quiver Island near the barge loading area, until Don heard from friends that they did that last night and were told to leave at 10:00 at night. That left plan “C”, cruise 71 sm. to Beardstown and tie up to a barge for $1/ft. So, after 8 hrs. of cruising in damp cold clothes, we tied up to a barge and the sun came out. We met (head on) 5 tows, including one that was overtaking another in the channel, and went thru one lock. After a celebratory cocktail, Pat wants to walk into town. Beardstown, IL, looks like a ghost town with many stores closed and very few cars. Another one of those small towns that were prosperous at one time, and are now depressed. The river that brought them prosperity, has flooded the town on many occasions and brought them ruin on others. We visited the local museum and the curator gave us a personal tour even though it was closed. What looked like a small 1 room museum turned out to be at least 6 large rooms and took us an hour and a half. Their big claim to fame is the court room where Lincoln defended a murder suspect in what became known as to “Almanac Trial.”