Toto, I’ve a Feeling We Are Not in Michigan Anymore…
If I neglected to mention it earlier, the Michigan state marinas spoiled us (me) rotten; easy in and out, clean facilities, free laundry in some cases (!), relatively inexpensive and staffed by friendly, knowledgable people. Of course, DuSable in Chicago was most of these things (not the inexpensive part), as well, but the rest of our accommodations in Illinois have been, ummm, different.
Two of the anchorages have been spectacular and each of the little towns we visited had something we liked so I will stop with the commentary and comparison but you decide…
Joliet, IL
The wall in Joliet is free but it was in a section of town where there was not much else. On the other side of the river was a large casino but the nearest bridge was impassable due to construction. Not that we would have gone to the casino…… because we were busy trying to figure out why we seemed to have lost engine cooling. We found this in the engine cooling water strainer. Yikes!😳
Channahon, IL
Our first overnight on a fuel dock; our draft didn’t allow us to go any further into the marina. This place had a great restaurant, though!
Ottawa, IL
Like Joliet, we stayed on another free wall in Ottawa. This time, though, downtown was immediately accessible. Ottawa was the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate and the first town we encountered on the Illinois River Road, a scenic highway running along the river, down to Havana.
Depue, IL
Our first river anchorage; we tucked in just in front of the little island, out of the channel, but still on the river. This was the first place we needed to use a stern anchor to keep from swinging around the anchor on our bow.We did not visit the town but had delightful company the next morning.
Henry, IL
Our second fuel dock “slip”. Oh, and the orange box with the K is the pump-out station… 😵💫 This marina is in the development phase; a young couple bought the property and are working hard to develop it with little capital.
Peoria, IL
We docked underneath the dam, next to the lock. Not my favorite… the tows run through the lock ALL night…
Havana, IL
A GREAT anchorage… off the river, way behind the island with a dingy dock less than half a mile away. Havana is the end of the Illinois River Road and a lively little town. Plus, we had the best dinner on the Illinois River at Babe’s on Plum!
‘Grandma’s Got a Notion’ quilting supply store had a surprisingly large on-hand inventory for the size of the town and the historic water tower inspired a creative solution to the problem of a left-over tree stump!
Diamond Island, IL
We anchored in the dam pool of the LaGrange lock but I don’t have a photo for that overnight. Our water tank sloshed all night long from the current coming over the dam so we did not like that anchorage AT ALL. This is Diamond Island and it was a well-deserved reward for the night before.This guy had breakfast with us at Diamond Island!
Hardin, IL
Not even sure what to call this… no pump-out or fuel dock, just a spot deep enough and securely tied to the bank of the river.
The best part of Hardin was the bicycle ride we took to get our first glimpse of the Mississippi. Hardin is pretty much the last town before the junction of the Illinois and the Mississippi.
Grafton, IL
Another fuel pump/pump-out slip in Grafton. We tried to get into the slip they assigned, A1, but got stuck. Seems they did not know their depths although we called that morning to confirm 6’+. 🙄Grafton did have this cool chairlift/gondola ride you could take to a nice restaurant at the top of the hill, though. The ride was closed so we walked; the views were spectacular and the pizza was delicious.And, finally, we have arrived at the Mississippi River. And, finally, we have the beginning of what we know as autumn! This is mile 0 of the Illinois and mile 218 of the Upper Mississippi.
