Alchemist: The Lower Half of the Illinois River/Mississippi

Yesterday was a long day. No fog so we were able to get started at 6:30 am. Unfortunately, we were held up at the first lock and had only gone five miles by 8:30 am. But we made up some mileage later and got in 130 miles by the time we dropped anchor.

The Illinois River below Peoria becomes much less developed. We passed a few barges and very few pleasure boats. The river is pretty narrow and not very deep. I am amazed at how the barges are able to navigate the way they do.

Below is an Illinois River landscape. Can you tell what it is? It is a collection of red and green buoys!

Lots of cool birds along the way

Our last lock for the day

La Grange Lock and Dam - last lock on the Illinois

It warmed up as the day went on. Below is a photo of an Illinois River "beach". I think these folks have the right idea!

Below you can see a lift bridge. At normal height we would not fit under it so you radio the bridge operator to lift the middle section for you.

We saw the derelict below just south of Kempsville. Looks like it was a nice party boat at one time. Another fixer upper for Alan. He mentioned at one time he wanted a houseboat!

This was our anchorage for the night at mile marker 30. It was beautiful and so calm. We didn't feel a ripple!

An exhausted Alan below with a full moon in the background.

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI

Today, we went for 90 miles. We left at 6:30 am and in 30 miles we in the Mississippi! As you can see, it is quite a bit wider than the Illinois.

The barges are a lot bigger too!

At one point, you veer off the main river into the Chain of Rocks Canal. This canal was built by the Army Corp of Engineers to bypass treacherous rocks in the main river.

It gets a little tight if you meet a big barge

Me driving

One of the best parts of the day was going by St. Louis and seeing the Arch.

The Mississippi has thousands of wing dams of all shapes and sizes. They are man made barriers that extend only partway into the river. The intent is to force water into a fast-moving center channel to decrease the rate of sedimentation (yeah, I looked that up). They can be very dangerous for boaters if you are not careful and wander outside of the buoys.

Sometimes, you can't even see them - only a ripple in the water

We stopped for the night at Hoppie's Marina and I met "Famous Fern". Fern is an expert on boating and the Mississippi River and has guided many a transient boater through the Mississippi.