Illinois River Mile 0

Such a pleasure to wake to sun and blue skies, it just makes the journey so beautiful. Monday was no exception...as we traversed the river we came upon 2 bald eagles. What a beautiful sight as they left the perch atop the trees to fly along side us for a couple of miles.
Now we are still waiting for the Asian carp to be jumping out of the water. We heard that due to the high water they aren't as prone to jump because they stay deeper. I am still holding out hope that we see a few along the way. Speaking of high water, we were able to pass over the wicket dam and did not have to go through the Peoria lock! There is actually a flood warning in Havana as flood stage is 14.0 feet and we are currently at 15.1 feet (they are experiencing minor flooding). We traveled 48 miles to Tall Timbers Marina in Havana, IL. The owner Bob stopped and chatted as we had docktails with 3 other looper boats.

Tuesday morning brought clear skies and we headed out for an anchorage at Buckhorn Island, just outside of Pearl, IL, 75 miles away. There are 2 other looper boats and 2 sail boats heading down river at the same time as us. Once again we didn't have to lock through the LaGrange Lock as we were able to go over the wicket dam. We saw 3 fawns along the side of the river and then as we approached Florence, we got to see the flying fish! There was a fishing boat on the side of the river and the person had a net in their hands and they were trying to catch the jumping fish! So cool!
The temperature was 85 with a feel like of 89 and I wished I could have jumped in the water once we got to the anchorage, but its just mud (maybe it would have been beneficial like a mud bath) but I just wasn't willing to experience it. We did sit with our feet in the water, couldn't see more than a few inches down. There were 2 other looper boats at the anchorage with us.

Another benefit of this part of the river is the current, it gives us an extra 1-3 mph over what we would normally travel without any current, helping with fuel consumption and adds to the distance we can cover in a day.

Wednesday we woke to partly cloudy skies with a 40% chance of rain. As the morning progressed the sun came out and we had beautiful scenery along the river with little islands that make for great anchorages along the way. Our destination was Grafton, Il where we will spend several days and is located at mile 0 on the Illinois, this is where we will pick up the Mississippi River.

Peoria, Il home of Caterpillar

Bald Eagles along the Illinois River

Crossing over the wicket dam in Peoria

 

Docktails with True North, Dr's Orders and Sandy Bottom

Cabins along the way all built on stilts.

You can really see how brown the water is too!

 

Tow Albob with a load of rocks, the barges are

so low to the water