We have wifi now so time to update!
We had 333.4 miles to travel on the Illinois Waterway.
The plan was to leave early but we had to check out with the marina. We departed Hammond at 08:35 and to our amazement a great lakes freighter Philip R Clarke, was reversing down the Calumet River at 3.5 knots! It's very tight with no room for error and he was doing it in reverse!
We arrived at the Thomas J O'Brien lock at 10:18 and exited at 11:10. All went smoothly with a midship wrap around a bollard. It was only about a 4' drop which was a warm up for the next lock. We arrived at the junction of the Cal Sag and Chicago Sanitary Canal at 14:25. Going down the river is a mix of peaceful quiet solitude then industrial areas and a lot of tows with barges. The tow Captains are terrific. We hail them by name and they advise what they want us to do. The last lock Lockport, was crowded with a 138' tug pushing 4 barges, us and 2 other boats. It was about a 40' drop and again went smoothly. We continued to the free dock in Joliet. The wall is very rough but it is a nice stop. Shore power is also free. It is located downtown and adjacent to a park. Arrival time was about 18:10. Lots of Loopers on the wall.
We were up early and there was a light rain falling. We decided to go to get a little further down river. We are travelling with Chris and his dog Samantha, a cute 16 year old Jack Russel Terrier.
The rain ended early morning in time for the Dresden Lock and Dam. You tie to a floating bollard that lowers with you as the water empties 21.75 feet. It is all a very smooth process.
We had plans to stop at the Spring Brook Marina but the depth in the basin was too shallow for us. We continued too Snug Harbour marina which is actually a bar/restaurant with dockage right on the river. It is very biker friendly and the array of really nice bikes was amazing. Very friendly with decent food in the restaurant, mainly fried bar food.
It was quiet and pretty much closed down at 10:00 pm.
Marseilles Lock Mile 244
Just a short distance away we were able to get into the Marseilles Lock after a short 30 minute wait. A drop of 24.5 feet and we were on our way. We met some locals last pm who advised us to stop at the Heritage Harbour marina for diesel. We topped up 9.5 gallons then shot down the river with a 2.2 knot current going our way.
Shortly we were at the Starved Rock Lock and locked through with no wait. Under normal water levels the drop is 18'.
Mile 196 Henry Harbour Marina. There is a hairpin turn into the marina which is quite the thrill with a 2.2 knot current from the river! There is a bar and restaurant, shower, shore power and free wifi. The grocery store is a short walk away.