Chicago to Mobile
It was a short jump from Grafton (on the Illinois River) to Alton (on the Mississippi River). We planned a longer stay at Alton Marina to wait out a weather system. We read books, did some more boat cleaning, I sketched, but on the third day Pete made the spontaneous decision to get a one-day …
A convoy of Loopers left Heritage Harbor (Ottawa) at the earliest light of day, having confirmed no barge traffic was expected at Starved Rock Lock, which was about an hour downriver. The lockmaster was ready for us when we arrived. Five miles after the lock were the “Peru Bends.” We were warned that if we …
At last! Our cooling system has been fixed! We made it to the bottom of Lake Michigan. No, wait! Let me rephrase that! We made it to the Southern Coast of Lake Michigan and our diesel Caterpillar engine purred like a kitten. We stayed in two harbors as we worked our way back to Chicago. …