Lazy Illinois River

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th - LOWER HENRY ISLAND

Trip Day:	186	Latitude:	41° 04.94 ' N	Locks Today:	0
Miles Today:	13	Longitude:	089°23.03 ' W	Locks Total:	87
Total Miles:	3,661	Location:	Lower Henry Island,  IL

Leaving Hennepin we had another quiet day on the river.  There was very little barge traffic and the only pleasure craft we saw was when Bernie and Don, on Snow Cat, passed us going twice our speed.  We chatted on the radio with them and agreed we hope to see them again along the way. 

There was a little less than one mph current on the river today so we were running at seven mph most of the time.  Our destination was only 13 miles to anchor behind Lower Henry Island, still going slow to allow Betty and Marc, KatMan2, to catch up to us.

 

  We were lead boat as we   rounded the end of the island, Ron on the bow to sight obstacles and Jean steering.  The depth dropped off quickly from 15 ft to 4.5 ft, so I backed out.  Ron went below to raise the center boards so we could probe the area and find deeper water.  After a couple more tries we hugged the shoreline and found 12 feet of water, and slowly nudged our way into the sheltered anchorage avoiding the shallow silted areas. 

  

 I read the depths off to Madeline on the VHF and she followed our path.  Thankfully the anchor held nicely in the mud.  Shortly after lunch Bob and Madeline launched their kayaks and Ron lowered our dinghy so we could explore the area.  These islands are undeveloped and the mainland is a bird sanctuary.  Later in the day we could hear barges in the main channel, but their wakes had no    effect on us in our little hiding spot behind the island.

 

After dinner on our boat we played the board game Sequence, then a few hands of cards.  It was the perfect end to another lazy day on the river.  We haven’t had to pay for overnight stays since we left Chicago which helps offset the high cost our stay in the city. 

Unable to post - only one bar on Verizon!

  

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th - HENNEPIN

We said goodbye to Don and Jeannie on Odyssey—they are staying in Ottawa for a couple more days to wait for friends to join them.

This section of the Illinois River was wide and mostly wooded except in the few places where limestone cliffs met the water’s edge.  We passed some corn fields and a few small towns.  Very few barges were in route today, but we did see barges being loaded with grain, gravel and sand to be transported on the river. 

It was a lazy, uneventful day on the river with only one lock which required no wait since there was no commercial traffic.  We were pleased to find a variety of birds including ducks, geese, seagulls and herons.  People seem to fish along the river, but we are not convinced we would eat anything from these waters!   

 

 

 

 

 

Early afternoon we stopped at the village of Hennepin.  The “town dock” was a beached barge which has been filled with dirt, allowing boats to tie to the side.  This was fine, but it made it very difficult to climb off the boat onto the high side of the barge.  We walked up the steps to a very nice grocery store just across the road—ice cream all round!  Bob asked one of the locals what Hennepin was like; he responded, “Have you every heard of Mayberry?”  That about says it all.