Thursday, August 31, 2017

Days 169-171 - Joliet to Ottawa (Illinois)

An exciting day through three locks.  Our first lock was the easiest.  We called them before we left Joliet and they said they would be ready for us when we got there.  We did have to wait a few minutes, but locked through by ourselves.  Seascape was supposed to join us but got caught by a railroad lift bridge closing in front of them to let a train go by.  They caught up with us by the second lock along with 4 other boats as we had a loooongggg wait there.  In comparison to what we hear others have had to wait, it wasn't that long but seemed like it to us.  Intuition - the Grand Banks that went UNDER the railroad bridge in Chicago had gone through the locks the day before and had to wait so long for each lock that they didn't arrive in Ottawa until after dark.  We called the lock and they informed us it would be about an hour and a half.  We anchored out of the channel and settled in to wait.  It was closer to 2 1/2 hours as the boats kept coming!  When they let us in the lock we discovered there were only 2 working bollards to we rafted 3 deep.  That was a first!  It was really smooth as we had all rafted before.  The last lock was a notoriously long wait, but we were very lucky and only waited about 45 min.  As we are a slow boat, all the other boats were there waiting when we arrived.  This time we only had to raft 2 deep.   All the other boats pulled into a marina 2 miles before the town but we went on ahead to the town free dock with free power!  It is a small dock but very comfortable and fairly quiet.  The bridge was right over us but not a lot of noisy traffic.  The barges going by would throw a small wake, but we were comfortable there for 3 nights.

The journey down the rivers - was different again.  We left a lot of the industry behind and entered a beautiful rural area with duck blinds everywhere!

 

Some of these resemble small homes!
 
Even with their own garages!

And then there are the real houses!
Such a beauty!

A new one - big!!

And new TINY houses!


We've never seen water lily fields so big and thick!!  They are all over this area.


Monday we walked around town, went to the visitors center, went to library, saw a movie (Wonder Woman - the first movie we've seen all year!), and then got caught in a HUGE thunder storm so a quick run BACK to the library!
The beautiful rainbow after the storm.


We waited there for 2 hours until the rain was almost stopped and headed to the grocery store where we picked up a few supplies and dinner at their deli which we took back to the boat.  Tuesday was boat project day and lazy day.  We started out on a bright note with a visitor.  Jake had just finished the Loop and lives near by.  He stopped by to meet us and offered any assistance - so nice! We took another walk into town and picked up a few more supplies then back to the boat.  There were two sailboats anchored just off the dock that Jake said had been there for several weeks.  They'd originally been on the dock but had been asked to leave when they outstayed their welcome.  That afternoon the fire department arrived to issue their sailing orders as they were no longer welcome in town.  We felt bad for them as one boat didn't run and had to be towed away, but it is nice to see a town that values its water front and wants to keep visitors coming.

Our boat on the left - the two sailboats and the fire boat that evicted them.

This is a barge that was "parked" under the bridge most of the day.  We couldn't decide how many barges there were so I walked up on the bridge to see...

...and the answer is - 9!!!


Ottawa is a fascinating town full of history.
It was the site of the first Lincoln/Douglas debate.  It would have been a sight to see with Douglas so short and a deep voice and Lincoln so tall with a high tenor voice.  Newspapers were very partisan (sound familiar?) and reported the speech slanted to their party's bias although the speeches was recorded verbatim as well.

It is also the home of the founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.

A sad part of their history is the Radium Girls.  There was a watch factory in town that used radium to light up the dials of their watches.  The girls were paid high wages but assured that it was safe. They were taught to lick the tip of the paint brush to get a finer tip to paint the dials.  Little did they know, many of them were dying already.  The town is still cleaning up the radio active materials that have spread through the town. This is a statue representing the girls who suffered.  In her left hand is a paint brush and her right holds a tulip but no one seems to know what the significance of the tulip is.

The town is full of murals that depict its history.  This one shows the digging of the Illinois & Michigan Canal by hand. This canal joined the Illinois River to the Mississippi before the current canal.  It took 12 years to build, all by hand. It included an aqueduct, supported by seven towering piers, that crossed over the Fox River and was once considered the eighth wonder of the world.

When we were ready to leave Ottawa, the fog had rolled in so we had to wait an hour.  But it was beautiful out!


While we waited for the fog to clear, this guy waited for his breakfast.

Docked at Ottawa, IL free wall - 7/28-7/29/17

Monday, August 28, 2017

Days 167-168 Chicago to Joliet

The best laid plans of mice and men - or boats and captains. We got a great start out of Chicago Friday morning, water topped off and holding tank emptied. We went through the first lock of the Chicago Rivers without a hitch. It is only a two foot drop so was a very brief journey :)

A brand new lock control building that has the look of a ship

It was an easy travel through the river - the only other traffic was water taxis, no tour boats this early. It was fun recognizing buildings we had seen by both land and sea this time. The bridges along this stretch were mostly draw bridges, but we had dropped our mast and antennas to the point where we could fit under without requesting a lift. We arrived at the Amtrak Bridge just to the south of town to find it in the lowered position. It is an active bridge but is usually in the up position unless a train is coming through. Another boat arrived just before us and discovered the bridge was stuck and there was no time frame for the repairs. The water taxi dock is very close and they said we could tie up to their unused portion. The other boat - "Intuition" - turned out to be a VERY new Looper - only 2 days into their trip. Their boat is much smaller than ours and with a little alteration (removing the windshield and chart plotter on the fly bridge), they were able to slip under the bridge with 3” to spare! Can you say “DUCK!”



The bridge was repaired by 5:30 in the evening, but by this time it was too late to go anywhere so we spent a very uncomfortable night, due to little boats causing a lot of wake and all the trains going by! Shortly before 7 AM we requested a bridge opening only to be told they had problems again! We were starting to plan the long trip around the city when the bridge opened - yay!!!! We were so happy.
It was a little higher than when Intuition went through!

Later, we approached this railroad bridge that does NOT go up! This is why we had to lower our mast and antennas
It looks so low!
 Are you sure we'll fit??
 We did but it was a very uncomfortable feeling being so close!

We entered the industrial part of Chicago and I found it fascinating! Working cranes, barges, conveyor belts all around us.

A boat storage that can hold 600 boats, all inside and warm.  The cranes are ready to lift the boats out of the water.

Dumping more gravel on an already huge pile

Loved these cranes - the first two are filling barges with scrap metal and the second two are emptying barges full of dirt. Near the end of the video notice the little guy pushing dirt into a pile for the big scoops to get it. I feel like a big kid watching these guys. I could watch them for hours!


One crane was moving this bus around like it was a toy

Filling a covered barge

There are a number of types of “tow boats” (not tug boats!!!). 

 My favorites are the tow boat bridges that are on hydraulic lifts that lower to go under the bridges. Kinda reminds me of Wall-e!

This one is especially large and pretty

A tow boat on “the hard”

  Here you can see how the tow boat is attached to the barge.

The barges are stored here, several barges deep. We must be careful going through here because the barges come in and out of the “slips” with surprising speed and we must keep out of their way.

You can just make out an entrance to a "slip" on the right.

The locks here are much larger that any we’ve seen so far so these huge barges can get through. We feel so insignificant tied up to the wall in them. I'll take a picture next time we go through one.

They move the barges 1, 2, 3, or more at a time. The most we have seen so far is 9 (3 long by 3 wide) but we’ve heard they do even more! Just three for this tow!

The tow boat operators have been very polite so far and slow down for us to pass as their stern can produce a strong current. Here is the same tow picking up speed just after we passed. How they move so close to the edge of the canal is a mystery!

Getting between these two was a little nerve wracking for Bob. The right side are stationary but the left is moving. Again the tow operator slowed down for us to squeeze through.

The edge of the canal is mostly stone and is so overgrown it has the feeling of an Indiana Jones movie


Part of it looks to have been carved out of rock

The scenery is exquisite through here - lush and green and so straight!


The are so many herons through here but so hard to photograph as we are moving and often they are too. Such beautiful creatures.

We passed through 1/2 mile of electrically charged water designed to kill invading fish (asian carp) that would replace the native fish. I don’t think we’ll go swimming!

We stopped for the night in Joliet on their free wall with free electricity!  The area of town we were in is sadly dying although they are trying to revive it. Joliet has the largest number of operable lift bridges in the Midwest. The 6 bridges built around 1930, represent three of only 4 design styles of lift bridges made in the world.
1. Verticle lift bridge - like the one we got stuck behind over night in Chicago.
2. Bascule Trunnion Bridge - What we would call a “draw” bridge at home.
3. Scherzer Rolling Life Bridge - It raises the span by rolling on a track resembling a rocking chair base.
Sorry - but the pictures didn’t turn out!

We wish we knew more about this piece of history. She looks like she has quite a story and we hope someone is starting to help her relive some of her past glory.

Docked at Joliet Free Wall  7/26/17



Friday, August 25, 2017

Days 160-166 - Grand Haven to St. Joseph to CHICAGO!

Current Position: 41° 52' 50" N 87° 36' 40" W

We had hoped for good weather all the way to Chicago as was forecast, but although the weather was good the Lake surface was not.  I stayed in the cabin and Bob came down only when necessary.  He finally came down and drove the boat from the cabin (where the visibility is not as good). We had overnight stays in Pentwater and St. Joseph.  We anchored out in Pentwater but stayed on the boat. The morning was incredibly beautiful.


In St. Joseph we stayed on the free wall with free electricity!  Nice!  We did walk down to the beach to take a dip in the lake as it was 84 degrees.  Bob said the water was perfect - I thought it a bit cold, but adjusted.  It's amazing how many boats pull up to the beach!  As you can see the place was packed.  The town symphony gives free concerts every Sunday up the hill from our boat so we enjoyed the music in the evening.



Sleeping proved a challenge however.  A large barge arrived shortly after midnight, waking us from a sound sleep.  It anchored across the river from us and kept its generators running all night while it either loaded or unloaded its cargo.  This is her the next morning as we both prepared to depart!

The trip into Chicago was still pretty bumpy until we got about an hour outside the city and it calmed down. We were pretty excited to see the city through the mist.

This lovely sailboat was just outside our marina!

When we arrived in the marina, we tied up to a mooring ball for the first time on our trawler (we had done it several times on a sailboat).  We had a few hiccoughs, but successfully attached the line. The city was pretty from the water.

and even prettier at night

We spent the next three days shopping, site-seeing, and preparing the boat to enter "the rivers".  We had to lower our wind generator, mast, and antennas to fit under some low bridges ahead.  We had some packages mailed to the local "Harbor Host" (Looper volunteers who are available to help those coming through their area).  Ken not only delivered our packages, he drove us back to the boat from West Marine AND helped lower our boom.  He was such a blessing! The city provides a water taxi service from the boats to the dock so we didn't have to lower the dinghy.  A little tricky getting on and off but very helpful.


We learned so much about Chicago history.  To me the most amazing was the decision to change the direction of the flow of the Chicago River.  Say what?  HOW can you change the direction of a river??  In 1900 the river was dumping sewage into Lake Michigan polluting Chicago's drinking water, so they devised a series of locks to switch the flow of the water to go down the Mississippi!  It was not a popular decision for the people south of Chicago! One hundred years later, the sediment in Chicago's rivers are not toxic any more but still highly polluted. They continue working on improving them but no swimming for me!

Chicago's population grew quickly and the waterfront grew too!
1831

1871 - Year of the Fire - after the fire the city became the fastest growing city in the world and by 1900 was one of the world's five larges cities.

1964 - note the drastic changes in the water front. The long pier on the right is Navy Pier - a popular tourist meca - shopping and a climate controlled Ferris wheel!

Chicago had the very FIRST Ferris Wheel during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.  They hoped it would rival the Eiffel Tower built for the the 1889 Exposition in Paris!  While original wheel is no more, as Bob says, there are a lot more Ferris Wheels than Eiffel Towers :)  The original Ferris Wheel had 36 gondolas capable of holding up to 60 people each - for a total of 2,160 people!!

One of the reasons for the rapid population growth after the fire was the huge rebuilding effort.  People thought Chicago would not recover from the fire, but recover it did.  

We got around the city via bus, subway, and EL.

We took a marvelous boat tour that taught all about the architecture of the city.

The lovely boat - Innisfree.  Quick - what movie is this from?

Awesome view of Trump tower - 2nd tallest in the city.

The building below is called the Jeweler's Building and is said that the Mafia met with the the city leaders here. For the first 14 years the building had a car lift so that delivery trucks could enter the building and make deliveries of diamonds, gold, etc. directly to the companies -- preventing robberies during deliveries. The building has been used in several movies and shows.

A gorgeous Gothic style 

This is a condominium nicknamed the corn cob building.

This building is the tallest ever designed by a woman. No two floors are alike as it is supposed to feel like the waves of the lake.

Looking straight up at the building.

 The "Eyebrow" building, has its own marina that is open year round.  They have a special devise that agitates the water so it doesn't freeze.

This building was originally symmetrical but they had to remove part of the left side of it to widen a road and bridge.

 This bridge is no longer used but is a historic structure.  All the newspapers had to go over this bridge to get out to the city.


Beautiful flowers everywhere

I love how many of the building reflect the sky.

The Boeing Building - it's a good thing this wasn't here when you were, Daddy!  They might not have moved you to Seattle :)  The building is built using a technique that has been used on several other buildings.  The lower portion is actually suspended from the taller tower similar to suspension bridges.  This is so they are able to build over the train tracks below the building.

Prior to the suspension style building, the buildings had to be set back to accommodate the trains below.

The curved portion of this building is suspended.

An extreme example of the suspension architecture - most of this building is suspended from the core in the center.  I just don't think I would feel safe in this one!

These are old warehouses converted to apartments. People who used to work here said they put on their roller skates as soon as they got to work.  Sears and Montgomery Ward started their mail order  businesses in Chicago making it the nations "mail-order capital".  The Post Office had to expand to handle all the mail, but there was a highway planned for that area, so they compromised and left a hole through the building for the highway! 

Chicago is a city of firsts - one of which was the first skyscraper.  It was 10 stories tall but has been demolished.  Willis Tower -(formerly Sears Tower) is the tallest building in Chicago and second tallest in the US. I went up to the viewing floor  - notice Bob did not go with me :)  It's a total of 108 floors, the viewing floor is 103. It has the glass "shelves" that protrude out for visitors to stand on.  Can you see them way up there?

I think it looked taller from the outside!

Although these skyscrapers do look a little short from up here.

Food in Chicago - We had some awesome Chinese food in China town and, of course, Chicago is known for its deep dish pizza, which we tried but weren't overly impressed with.  Good amount of toppings, but the seasoning was lacking.  Read below for a description. It's backwards! 

We did not try a hot dog but they sound good "dragged through the garden"!

We topped off our Chicago adventure with a visit to the Science and Industry Museum.  The highlight of the visit was a tour through a German submarine captured during WWII along with the Enigma machine it had on board.  Very interesting tour!


I'll leave you with a bit of levity - have a good night!



Moored at Monroe Marina, Chicago, IL     8/21-8/24/17