Moondance Visits Blue's Brothers Territory

Joliet, IL                         Bicentennial Park Free Wall                      October 4-5, 2016

It wasn’t our best start to a trip. Our starboard engine refused to start. Dad noticed our battery wasn’t fully charge so we started the generator and ran it for a few minutes. Tried again with mom at the helm and dad down below and it started. They have no idea what it was all about but it has been working fine ever since? They said they are keeping their fingers crossed! Got out onto Lake Michigan and once again that wind app failed us…instead of 1-2’ swells it was more like 2-6’. Fortunately, we weren’t in it too long before we headed into the Calumet River. Dad needed mom up on deck for navigation so mom just held me tight until we were through all the waves…

Bye, Chicago Museums, another time, another visit

Entering the Calumet River

The start of bridge after bridge: some open, some not, some high and some low...

And, of course barges...

One bridge next to another 

One of the few with a name on it so you can keep track

A better perspective of this obstacle course

In this case we were following this big guy and having to deal with all his backwash

I haven't gotten tired of all the varied things to see from the beautiful to the industrial

Trying to keep track of all the bridges and what bridge we needed to call for an opening was Initially challenging but nothing compared to the patience we needed to get through the two locks of the day. All government and commercial traffic has first dibs…we are at the bottom of the food change. We had an hour plus wait at the O’Brien Lock and more than a two hour plus wait at the Lockport. We were tied up at this awful wall that was so crumbly that even with bumpers our boat took some major scraps and one bumper’s rope got cut in two and we lost it! 

Lily is certainly the most patient of us all

Waiting for the O'Brien Lock to Open

This barge gets preference over us even though he was way behind us

The foliage is pretty in the midst of all this industrial area

The Thomas O'Brien Lock and Dam

Yep, more bridges

Seems there is another South Beach, who knew???

Gas anyone???

We loved how they would do these various types of overflow areas along here

Another style

Where the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal & the Calumet Sag Channel merge into the Des Plaines River

Some of these pilots houses can be raised and lowered

The Famous Asian Carp Electric Barrier starts here

               We thought it ran on the bottom of the channel but then there was this thing???

                                                            Asian Carp Hunters

Another looper traveling by himself with his cat

Finally inside the Lockport Lock 

By the time we got through there the sun was setting and we still had three more bridges to have raised. Thankfully, the first bridge master called the rest for opening so we could cruise right through. It was so good to see our friends on Salt Lick already on the Joliet Bicentennial wall! They had called a pizza delivery for all of us which was such a blessing!!! Turns out there were two other loop boats who helped us tie up but we didn’t get a chance to talk to them much since it was dark by then. 

As soon as we set down for dock tails and pizza Mike remembered we were in Blue’s Brother’s territory. LOL!  It was another early turn in night, but we slept much better despite the barge traffic all night long. 

My Impressionistic view of this church at sunset

Harrah's was across the river from our stop

Hank trying to find out where our pizza order was???

Janet and Doug taking selfies

Bicentennial Park

Beautiful clouds above the Joliet Police Station

Even the bridge and Harrah's looked magical this morning

We woke up to a lovely morning but the winds have definitely picked up making cruising a bit more challenging!!! We become a large sail and of course the current picks up too.

Started out with another hour wait for our first lock past Joliet, but we understand there is only one more, Dresden and we leave much of the commercial traffic behind. Hope that is right! 
We had hoped to make Ottawa today, but after getting a late start so everyone could sleep in…we have looked ahead at Springbrook Marina at Seneca, IL as an alternative.