Catching Up

At Crowley’s Boatyard in Chicago, we had the mast taken down for the trip through Chicago and down the inland rivers. Our mast stands over 56 feet and the controlling fixed bridge height south of Chicago is 19+ feet. We are carrying the mast with us, making us a 50 foot motor vessel. After we took the mast down, we went to Burnham Harbor in Chicago and enjoyed the city as the previous pictures demonstrate. While we were at Crowley’s, we toured a Nordhaven trawler belonging to a Rochester man who we later met. He was wearing a Brantling t-shirt when we met him in Grafton, IL at the other end of the Illinois River. Small world.

Here’s why we had to get shorter. There are many bridges as one goes south through the heart of Chicago. Along this stretch of the Chicago River are tour boat docks and upscale apartment buildings. As one goes south, the city thins and the river is heavily industrialized with all the smells associated with the outflow from a major city and its chemical and industrial activities.

Our first stop south of Chicago was Joliet on September 9th. It was in Joliet that we learned an important lesson: always point the boat upstream when docking. We got a full stern of grass, limbs, and things foul to the extent that we had to untie and go out in the river to get rid of it. Joliet was also where we met the Adamowski’s of Bay City, MI who joined us and Ladyhawke for the next several weeks. Joliet is famous for its prison and it has seen better times as a city. Harrah’s casino was across the river.

One of our favorite stops on the Illinois was Ottawa, IL. Here Lincoln and Douglas had one of their famous debates. We also biked about eight miles along an old canal path. It reminded us that such an opportunity now exists at home along the Erie Canal. Ottawa has historical murals painted on many buildings around the downtown area. We had many offers from the locals for rides to get groceries and go to Wal Mart.

We began to see Monarch butterflies by the score flying across the rivers. While most of them didn’t land on the boat, this one decided to get up close and personal. The Monarchs’ annual migration south was obvious as we literally saw hundreds of them crossing our path. I was struck by the similarities in our quest to go south. We both travel at about the same speed subject to the currents of wind and water. The tow operators call us the butterflies. It is even more appropriate in our case because with our mast stored with the spreaders up we appear to have wings.