Seneca, IL Springbrook Marina October 5-7, 2016
As we got closer to the Dresden Lock this part of the Des Plaines River got much wider and prettier…cottages, houses and even duck blinds appeared. As it got wider yet, we entered the Illinois River. We started seeing farms now since are at least 60 miles southwest of Chicago…lots of corn fields drying out… Starting to see the changing foliage just a bit…hope we get to see more even though we are traveling South.
Entering another US Army Corp of Engineers Lock
Some of the river scenes along the way...love all the various boat types and styles
Heading in while the wind is blowing us to the opposite wall they want us on...frustration!
Pretty basic old building but still charming!
Inside we are thrilled to use the floating ballards rather than holding on lines
You can see the ballard here decorated with a TrawlerLife sticker and Lily helping me out...NOT!
We refer to this hanging her head down pose as her Snoopy look
Me waiting for my muffins
Can't believe mom put this one on me? What's it suppose to do again?
Back in hunting country once again...
Trying to give a sense of how wide the river is at this point, as we look back at Salt Lick
Haven't seen these tiny houseboats since Louisiana.
Lily wanted a photo of the dogs while Mom wanted a photo of the guys for Valerie...just sayin'!
Cabins & houses along this stretch
Think there is something majestic about these plants when contrasted with that blue sky...
Mom saw this scene and all she could think about is that song, "Summertime, when the living is easy"...
We got lucky at the Dresden Lock since they already had the one sailboat loopers in there…they waited for us, so we went right in…Mom passed out Halloween candy which made the Lock Keepers day!
At that point it was a wonderful weather day with temps in the 70’s and alternating from sun to clouds which gave Dad’s eyes a break from the water glare. It was so nice that the ski doo’s and water skiers we out in force! I was really enjoying the ride…
It was about 3:30 when we got to Springbrook so we declared “Victory” as dad says and went into to dock, having covered about 37 miles today. It turns out they have a nice restaurant here but M & D had decided to have hamburgers and such with Janet and Hank, so they stuck to our plan. I love Janet because she shared some of her burger with me!!!
Before and after dinner dad, mom, Janet and Hank were planning the trip ahead since we have agreed to stay together for awhile anyway…It really is nice having at least one other boat to travel with…It’s given us more time to get to know them too…So many interesting careers within the Looper community!
As we anticipated, we ended up staying here for another day due to the storms coming through this area that started last night.
It worked well since dad got to buy tickets for mom, dad, Bek and Milena to fly to San Diego for a week. Mom baked pumpkin muffins…yum! We all watched some movies and got more reading in…while I napped…my favorite thing when I’m not exploring on our walks!!!
Seneca, IL Springbrook Marina October 5-7, 2016
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.
As we got closer to the Dresden Lock this part of the Des Plaines River got much wider and prettier…cottages, houses and even duck blinds appeared. As it got wider yet, we entered the Illinois River. We started seeing farms now since are at least 60 miles southwest of Chicago…lots of corn fields drying out… Starting to see the changing foliage just a bit…hope we get to see more even though we are traveling South.
We got lucky at the Dresden Lock since they already had the one sailboat loopers in there…they waited for us, so we went right in…Mom passed out Halloween candy which made the Lock Keepers day!
At that point it was a wonderful weather day with temps in the 70’s and alternating from sun to clouds which gave Dad’s eyes a break from the water glare. It was so nice that the ski doo’s and water skiers we out in force! I was really enjoying the ride…
It was about 3:30 when we got to Springbrook so we declared “Victory” as dad says and went into to dock, having covered about 37 miles today. It turns out they have a nice restaurant here but M & D had decided to have hamburgers and such with Janet and Hank, so they stuck to our plan. I love Janet because she shared some of her burger with me!!!
Before and after dinner dad, mom, Janet and Hank were planning the trip ahead since we have agreed to stay together for awhile anyway…It really is nice having at least one other boat to travel with…It’s given us more time to get to know them too…So many interesting careers within the Looper community!
As we anticipated, we ended up staying here for another day due to the storms coming through this area that started last night.
It worked well since dad got to buy tickets for mom, dad, Bek and Milena to fly to San Diego for a week. Mom baked pumpkin muffins…yum! We all watched some movies and got more reading in…while I napped…my favorite thing when I’m not exploring on our walks!!!
Tomorrow it looks like we should be able to move on down the river…we are forever hopeful!!! We can’t believe how badly we feel for those having been hit by Hurricane Matthew already and those facing him…sending out prayers to all…
Tomorrow it looks like we should be able to move on down the river…we are forever hopeful!!! We can’t believe how badly we feel for those having been hit by Hurricane Matthew already and those facing him…sending out prayers to all…
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