Off to a Foggy Start

Well, we were up at the crack of dawn ready to begin our trip but Mother Nature had other ideas. Alan changed the air filters while we sat it out. We are hearing that the Ohio River is on the rise. Hopefully, by the time we get there it will be back to normal. For you non-boaters, high water means a stronger current to pass through (higher speed and more fuel needed to go the same distance) and often there is debris in the water that can take out your propellers if you hit them. I don't know if you can make out the gold burgee (flag) on the front of the boat below. That indicates that this boater has completed the loop. I guess they are on their second go-around!

We finally were able to leave the dock at 10 am. We met a couple of loopers in the marina. Unfortunately, one of them hit some shallow water and messed up their prop. Hated to hear that on the radio. We went through two locks today. The first one was great - no wait and a floating pin. The second one- Starving Rock Lock was a bit different. We had to wait about an hour to get in the lock so we had some lunch while we were waiting. Also, this one did not have floating pins. The lock guys threw us a couple of lines and we let them out slowly as we descended around 20 feet. Alan says we were "paying out" the lines so I guess I paid out today. Below is a picture of Starving Rock - looks pretty healthy to me.

Ok, so I promised a photo of some Asian Carp. Here are a few guys we came upon just north of Peoria, IL. I hope you can view the video below - it is crazy! And yes, those are bows and arrows.

We were able to get 100 miles in and stopped for the night in Peoria right before sunset. We stayed at the City Dock. Jeff Conniff told us about it. I am going to kill him the next time I see him. Alan pulled a Captain Ron and I almost had a heart attack. 

The nice spots were taken so we had to come through a narrow channel with short fingers

Here we are - snugged in

Seriously, it was a really nice spot. Peoria has a great riverfront. We ate at a place called American Tap - sat outside and had a wondeful view. There was a full moon and paddlewheeler went by. Wonderful photo opportunity - if I only had thought to bring my camera!