KATMAT Illinois River to the Mississippi River

 

 

10/28/2023

Departed from the Cal Sag at 127th Street in Alsip. My sister and sister in law and husbands were there to see us off.

This is the start of trip Matt has planned for a few years now. He started researching Ranger Tugs back in 2016. We traveled to Florida for several years to visit the boats and talk to boat owners of Ranger Tugs at Burnt Store Marina. Matt originally was looking at a R25 but then chose the R27 but when a R29 came up for sale he decided to buy that. Since it is 29 feet long and 10 foot wide we are able to tow it. We have towed it to Fort Myers the last several years but the last two years  after putting it in the water at Fort Myers we have traveled in it by water to the Keys.

Met up with Hygee (HEW-guh) a Scandinavian term for comfort and cozy. (Dave and Nancy) to start the adventure. We had originally met them in 2018 at a Great Lakes Ranger Tug Rendevous. We met up again in 2020 and cruised to Door County together.

We headed to Joliet where we docked along the wall. Friends of Dave and Nancy picked us up and went to dinner at the Metro Bar and Grill. We met up with the rest of our Flotilla which was a group of eight.

10/29/2023

We were up at the crack of dawn to head to the locks. Went thru 3 of the locks today had to wait 3 hours to get into the Dresdan lock!! We anchored out during the wait. Dan  (Willie Dawes) became our Flotilla leader. Captain Dan is a licensed 100 - ton Master and former schooner and tugboat captain. His ability to talk to tugboats and to lead our way thru the locks is exceptional. While in the locks the water drops from 8 feet to 18 feet.

 

Stayed the night at Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa.

Jeremy Fowler gave a talk on what to expect on the our upcoming journey all the way to Paducah. Very insightful !! Explained about locks , mile markers, marinas and anchoring.

10/30/2023

Left Heritage Harbor Marina headed to Ottawa locks. 

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Our current Flotilla is a group of six heading south on the Illinois towards the Mississippi River.

We docked at Henry Marina in the quaint little town of Henry. Henry Harbor Marina is a very nice stop along the way. The owners were very nice and hospitable to boat owners. They set up a bonfire for the evening. The kids from one of the sailboats went Trick or Treating a day early but were handing out treats if you had no treats (Of course we had candy on the boat LOL).

10/31/2023

Left Henry and headed to Peoria. The coldest day so far. Expecting freezing temperatures and possible snow flurries. On the way we ran into engine trouble it was overheating. No heat on the boat was certainly a challenge to keep warm in the freezing temps. Docked the boat at a marina. Added anti freeze and let it cool down. This seemed to resolve the issue. Continued on to Peoria. It was very windy 28 knots and cold !!!. We are down to a group of four.

The Sol Maria (Gavin & Lisa (owners) from New Zealand (They having been sailing on their boat since 2009 and have gone all over the world.

( Peter & Sandra from Wales) they are aboard the Sol Maria Peter is a cousin of Gavin.

 

The Willie Dawes (Dan & Kathy)

 

 

 

The Hygee (Dave & Nancy)

 

 

Stayed in Peoria for the night. The free city dock was supposed to have electric but all the pedestals were not working. We ate dinner at a barbecue place with Dan & Kathy, Dave and Nancy. Food was very good. It was near the docks and train station.

  11/1/2023

Left Peoria and headed to Havana, IL . Anchored out at Quiver Island. Dingy-ed into the town. Picked up a few supplies at Dollar General. The town was again very small and quaint. Matt stayed back to check out the engine and a few other things. 

When we left in the morning the Willie Dawes had attached a log to their anchor !!! Took a few shakes to get it off !!

11/02/2023

We left Havana and traveled to the La Grange Locks (the last of our locks in Illinois) . The trip was uneventful and anchored for the night outside the locks. The weather is starting to get warmer.

11/3/2023

Left La Grange and headed towards Mels Diner about a 60 mile journey which took about 10 hours. Lots of homes on stilts along the river in case of flooding. We came across many barges being pushed by a tug (one tug might be pushing as many as 18 barges, 3 wide 6 deep) which Dan kept us abreast of how we needed to pass.

 

The town of Kampsville (the leaves are starting to turn)

The Kampsville Ferry

   FIKA caught up with us (they originally started with us at Joliet but stayed back in Henry).

 

 

Allison & Chris

Gwynnie & Ewan

Sat on Sol Maria for early evening drinks and great conversations until dinnertime.

We ( 14 in total)  had dinner at Mels which lived up to its hype. It is family owned. The food was delicious and the pies were all handmade by the daughter of the owners and the variety was endless. 

 

11/4/2023

Ate breakfast at Mel's (Dan,Dave, Matt & I) again the meal was delicious. Caught the early morning sunrise.

 

Did a short run into Grafton. There was a Country Music Festival going on. Met up with my neice Katie and her boyfriend Ken. We were able to use her car to pick up groceries and supplies. Went to a bar with Karaoke night (of course I did not sing !!) and then to another bar near the docks they held a best boot contest the boot with fringes was the winner !!                      

 

  11/5/2023

Laundry during early morning. Nancy & I went into town and rode the ski lift up to Aerie's Winery. A must to do in order to see the spectacular views of the town. Then we walked around the town of Grafton.

11/6/2023

We were going to stay another night in Grafton but decided to make our next day to Hoppies a shorter run so off we went to Alton. We arrived early enough to walk around the town. A very lively town to see. Walked to Morrison's Irish Pub with Dave and Nancy. The guys had their Irish beer.

 

 

We took a short walk over to the Old Bakery Beer. This building was originally a bakery and has since been turned into a restaurant and Brewery. A very interesting old building.

There was also another boater who played bagpipes while walking down the docks