Joliet IL to the Finish Line!!

The last stretch of this Great Loop Trip would be the Illinois River to the Mississippi River to the Ohio to the Cumberland and on to Green Turtle Bay. The last several hundred miles would be covered pretty quickly since there aren't many places to stop once you hit the Mississippi. Even though we were nearing the end of our trip we still had many "firsts" ahead of us.

The first was tying to a barge mooring cell while waiting for a lock on the Illinois River. The river had been in flood stage lately and barge traffic was just starting to move again causing long delays at locks for us pleasure boaters. We got to the Marseilles (Mar-Cells in river lingo) lock and were told it would be awhile and there wasn't really a good place to wait. After floating around a bit and trying to stay out of the way we decided to pull over to a mooring cell and shut down the engines. The other boats must have thought it was a good idea because shortly everyone was tied up for the wait.

We got through after a couple of hours and decided to make it a short day by stopping at a marina just past the lock. This allowed the 8 boats to spread out a bit and made the next several locks less stressful. We covered as much ground as comfortable after that since the convenient stops were pretty spread out. We spent one night at the IVY Club just above Peoria IL. Not much to do in the area but we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the boat after dinner.

The next day was another first for us as we went over a dam!! It wasn't as exciting as you may think since it was a wicket dam where they are raised only during low water to keep the river open. Since we were traveling just behind the crest of the flood the wickets were not needed and we passed right over them. You can see the lock to the left in the picture below and the water is about to the top of it.

Later that day we passed a nice little town where we were tempted to stop but we hear that it's still illegal to go there. Maybe next year....

The next first for us was spending the night at a working barge company. The stop in Beardstown, IL was a good days travel from Peoria and the river being up made anchoring not a very comfortable option.

You really need to watch your step on these barges but the manager was a hoot and insisted on showing me around their newest tug boat, even let me spend some time "between the sticks"

If you ever get to Beardstown (and I don't know why you would) be sure to take a walk down Main St. and check out the Sazarac Bar. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the people are friendly and the ice cold draft is $1.50 a mug! I was tempted to get their namesake drink but decided to wait till we get to New Orleans for that.

Our next stop was Grafton, IL. where we spent 2 nights to rest up before starting the trip down the Mississippi. This would be our last marina before Green Turtle Bay almost 300 miles away. Its a nice little river town and the marina had a pool which really helped on a day when the heat index was over 100 degrees!!

We got started down the Mississippi at first light with the hope of covering over 100 miles. At the junction of the Illinois & Mississippi rivers is the shrine to Our Lady of the Rivers, we hoped she would be looking after us.

Sunrise on the Mississippi

We were able to get through the only 2 locks we would see on the Mississippi without too much delay and were passing St. Louis by noon.

After St. Louis the river becomes very rural and there isn't much to see but you can't let your guard down as there is still debris and barge traffic to deal with. Thanks to a very favorable push from the river we were able to cover the ground we hoped for and were tied to a Corps. of Engineers barge just off the river before sunset.

Big Debris.

The next day we were moving early again in the hope of covering even more ground. We made the turn from the Mississippi into the Ohio mid afternoon and were anchored below the new Olmsted Lock just before a strong line of storms hit. We were pleased to see the current in the Ohio wasn't too strong so we were still able to make pretty good time. We went from a speed of 13+ mph to just over 9 when we started up river. In the pic below you can see the line between the muddy Mississippi and the more blue of the Ohio.

We were moving at first light again the next morning hoping to get to GTB before dark. We knew there would be a delay at the dreaded Lock 52 but didn't know how long. We had heard from boats ahead of us that some had to wait overnight before getting through. First "lock" was the newest on the Ohio at the Olmsted dam. The dam is still under construction but the locks are used as a "pass through" to get past the construction. When finished in about 2020 this lock will replace locks 53 & 52 and make passage much easier on this part of the river. We had to follow a "helper boat" through the construction zone and were anchored below lock 52 by 10:00 waiting our turn.

Turns out we were able to get through 52 after only a 4 hour wait and it was beginning to look like we would make it to GTB!! Lock 52 is the oldest on the river and is a pretty decrepit lock...they are just hoping it holds together until Olmsted is finished. It is also a wicket dam but in this case the wickets were up so we had to use the lock.

Wicket Tender

 We pushed the boat up to about 2000 rpm's to be able to make the last 40 miles before dark, we usually run at 1500. We made the turn up the Cumberland river and knew it would be close but we pushed on. It was good to see an old friend looking out for us along the way.

We made it into the Barkley Lock just as the sun set and by the time we came out the other side it was pitch black! Good thing we only had a mile to go and we knew the way in!! We were safely tied up just a few slips from where we started the trip at 8:05 PM and commenced a celebration with our old Pier 5 friends until returning to the boat exhausted.

It was 11 months and 3 days from start to end and we covered 5745 miles during that time. It has been a great adventure and we're already looking forward to moving again after taking a break for a month. For any of you following back in Cincinnati we will be in town this Thursday for about a week and extend an open invitation to meet us Saturday at Oktoberfest!! We plan to get there early and spend the day so come on down for some Gemutlichkeit with old friends!!

I'm planning another post before we set out again with more totals and information about the Great Loop and our plans for the next adventure. Until then...Prost!!!!

Southern Lake Michigan & Chicago

After a weekend in Frankfort we were ready to get moving again. By Monday the lake had calmed down enough to travel but not cross so we headed further down the Michigan side to Ludington. Ludington is another nice small town worth a day or two's visit. Unfortunately the weather and lake would keep us here 2 days. We did get a car for a day and get supplies and groceries. One interesting factoid is that Ludington is home to the last coal fired steam ship in the US. It crosses the lake twice a day as a car ferry.

The forecast was for good weather and calming seas so we decided this was our best chance to get across the lake. We left in lumpy seas but things really calmed down to less than a foot by mid lake and we were in Sheboygan, WI. by early afternoon. We only stayed 1 night here before moving down to Racine for the weekend. Reef Point marina was a huge 900 slip marina with a pool and hot tubs and a very nice stop. Reef Point is also home port to our sister ship Mist and friends Bobbi & Bill who completed their loop the week prior. Note the Gold burgee over Bill's shoulder in the pic bellow. It denotes someone who has completed the loop and we'll be getting ours in just a few weeks!

Monday was forecast to be a calm day with no clouds for our run down to Chicago...they were half right.

See Chicago?

How about now??

Finally!!

We were planning to spend 3 nights in Chicago and really enjoy the town but Mother Nature had other plans again. Winds began picking up last night and if we didn't get out this morning it was going to be Saturday before the lake would be calm enough for us to make the short run to the Chicago River. Yesterday we spent the morning taking down everything on top of the boat so we could clear a 17' bridge and go through downtown. If we couldn't get short enough we were going to have to take a different route that bypasses downtown...not nearly as cool a ride. After getting that done we had a Ferris Bueller day with our friends Moni & Rick from Moni Jean. We covered a bunch of town in a very short time and had a blast! All too soon it was time to get back with an early departure planned for the next morning.

We were out of the marina and heading toward the Chicago Harbor Lock before 0800 and it was a good thing. The winds had picked up sooner than forecast (do I sound like a broken record?) and waves were already crashing over the breakwater that protects Navy Pier and the harbor. Once through the lock we were back in the river systems and will be for the next few months.

It was really cool being able to pass right through town and definitely worth the work to lay everything down. After a few miles we left the skyscrapers for a more industrial setting but it is still interesting. Not too much further brought us to the 17' bridge and I was praying we had measured correctly.

And yes, I ducked....

One other bit of excitement was in a canal section that is very busy with barge traffic. We had to mill about very smartly while waiting for an opening to get through.

Oh...and there was the place where they electrify the river to keep the "invasive species" out of Lake Michigan....pssssssst...it's too late!

After that it was a pretty easy ride down to Joliet where we're enjoying a free wall to help recover from the cost of Chicago marinas!

Well. it's all down hill (river) from here and we should be back at Green Turtle Bay in just a couple of weeks. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since we've started this adventure!! We plan to be back in Cincinnati for Oktoberfest weekend before starting off again for points south and warmer winter climes.

Upper Lake Michigan

I believe we left off with our last stop in Canada at St. Joseph Island. Our return to the US and customs check in was a simple phone call while underway thanks to the Small Vessel Reporting System. It's a kind of Trusted Traveler program for boaters that we joined back in the keys. After spending a night in De Tour Michigan we headed over to Mackinac Island for a couple of nights. There we met back up with Knot Sew Easy and Moondance as well as a few other Loopers we hadn't met yet. We did the carriage ride thing with the crew of Knot Sew Easy who had picked up one of their sons and his fiance along the way. We hired a private carriage which gave us a better tour than the bigger "cattle car" tour with the canned speech along the way.  Heck, our driver even stopped so we could pick up some beer for the ride!!

Apparently open containers are OK outside the Mackinac "city limits" and, no, our driver didn't join us in a beer.

She stopped a few places to give the horses a rest and let us get out to take pictures. The smaller carriage also allowed us to go places the bigger ones couldn't. The pic below is one of those places with a nice view overlooking the harbor.

After doing the tourist thing for a couple of days we moved on to Beaver Island and then Little Traverse Bay. Our friends on Jammin' Jane and Liquid Assets had arranged a stay at Bay Harbor Yacht Club where we were hosted by fellow loopers they had met in Marathon. Bay Harbor is a true Yacht Club with some pretty fancy boat$ and houses. Needless to say Chasing 80 felt a bit out of place with our camo kayak up on the deck. Below is a bit newer Chris Craft docked next to us.

Jill and I moved on a day earlier than the rest to get ahead of the bad weather forecast for later in the week. It was a very nice reunion and hard to leave since Knot Sew Easy and Jammin' Jane are about finished with their loop and we won't likely see them again until next year. Liquid Assets is from Nashville so I imagine we'll see them again down the road.

We next stopped in Leland MI. before moving on to Frankfort. A few miles out of Leland we were hailed on the radio by a boat requesting a tow as they were almost out of gas. Once in the harbor they put 147 gallons in a 150 gallon thank....I'll say they cut it close!!

We are now in Frankfort MI and have been for 3 days. The weather is windy and the lake forecast is for 7-10 foot waves through today. We are in a marina protected from the lake by 2 breakwaters and still got beat up all night. Most of the owners here were up till well after midnight adjusting dock lines as best we could. The short video below was taken this morning after things calmed down a bit.

And another one we took after walking out to the beach this morning.

Things are supposed to improve throughout the day today and we may be able to travel tomorrow before getting weathered in again. The long range "forecast" has things improving by the end of the week...we'll see. The hope is to get across the lake and see some of the Wisconsin side but things will have to improve pretty dramatically for that to happen. For now we'll just keep moving down the Michigan side as conditions allow,

One thing we did find in Frankfort took me back to my childhood....yeah, we found a brewery too, Till next time....

Georgian Bay & North Channel

Last post was from the southern end of the Georgian Bay and this one is being written at De Tour Michigan upon our return to the US of A. We have a lot of ground to cover and a bunch of pictures in this installment so lets get started...

We were in Midland ON during a Canadian "Civil Holiday". Not quite sure what that is other than boaters don't have to act civil over a long weekend so we decided to stay in port until Tuesday when everyone was back at work (we thought). First order of business was a haircut which was long overdue and not to be found over a holiday weekend. Lucky for me I had a set of clippers and a wife who is willing to try....what's the worst that could happen??

Well, Tuesday morning we got underway up the Georgian Bay. We were very excited since we've heard so many stories about how beautiful it is. The protected channel up the bay twists and turns it's way through narrow passes lined with granite boulders and you have to keep on your toes. Things are well marked along the way and started out easy enough.

There are always interesting sights along the way. Below is a helicopter delivering a log somewhere...did you see the one in the above pic?

Just a few hours into our trip up the bay I realized we were still too close to the holiday weekend. There were boats everywhere zooming past at full speed just a few yards between us and the edge of the channel. I thought all rude boaters resided in south Florida but maybe they come to Canada for the summer?

During this stretch I realized why gun laws are so strict in Canada...you can have a gun or a boat but not both!!

By the end of the first day I realized that I hate Georgian Bay!! There...I said it...I feel better. It's really not much fun to boat when you can't enjoy the sights and this was one of those places. To top it off we pulled into a secluded (sarcasm) anchorage for the evening only to find our windlass was acting up and we couldn't get the chain out. This was completely my fault since I didn't check it earlier and we hadn't used it since Georgia (the state, not the bay). We told our friends to enjoy the stay and pushed on to a dock in Parry Sound. The only thing that made it better was the fact that Parry Sound was a very nice town and they had a car show too.

It's always interesting to have to time your approach to a dock with the taxi pattern of the local float plane delivering fresh fish.

Next day our friends caught up and we spent another day exploring town before moving further up north. We passed through Pointe au Baril along the way and I wondered where the name came from. It was very nice of them to post a sign for us!

Pointe au Baril

Next stop was the small town of Britt where we got weathered in for an extra day when the winds picked up on the bay. It was here that another question was answered for me. Where to the construction workers go when they are building a house on one of these remote islands???

Island Honey Dipper

As we got further up the bay the boat traffic thinned out and the scenery changed to more rugged. This was what we had been hoping for all along! Turns out we just had to endure Georgian Bay to get to the beauty of the North Channel.

After a night in the little town of Killarney we spent an afternoon exploring Baie Fine before going to Little Current for a couple of nights. Baie Fine (Bay Fin) is spectacular and you feel like you're in a fjord in Norway. At the upper end we took a hike up to Topaz Lake which reminded Jill & I of a mini Lake Tahoe.

The Batan Death March

The Reward

Happy Hikers

Everyone slept well at Little Current that evening!! I hiked up one more hill to get some sunset shots before turning in early.

Next morning a cruise ship pulled into port. A good thing we didn't meet him in a small channel!!

While in Little Current we met up with friend and fellow retired firefighter Bill Browne and his family, who have a place up here and have summered here for many years. We were invited to enjoy a nice birthday dinner with the family as Bill's wife and mother share the day. It was a great visit and for once we traveled to friends...not the other way around.

They even let the new pup try driving the boat....maybe next time it'll be tall enough.

After Little Current our little flotilla split up and Knot Sew Easy and Moondance returned to the US while we continued a bit further north to visit more friends, this time at Hilton Beach on St. Josephs Island. Unfortunately we let them get away before we were able to get a nice shot of the family. I did get one candid shot of Greg making killer margaritas...Casey's shoulder is there too...Glad the next day wasn't a travel day after those drinks!

So that's about it for now. We are back in the US and back to our regular cell phone numbers. The plan from here is to spend some time traveling down Lake Michigan toward Chicago. Should be in the Windy City sometime before Labor Day. We'll keep you posted.

On a sad note, our friends on Knot Sew Easy had to put their first mate down while in Little Current. It it always hard to loose a beloved pet and they had really hoped she was going to make it home to Michigan. We've followed Knot Sew Easy for many miles during this trip and I'll leave you with a picture of Brandy as we got used to seeing her.