We landed in Chicago at 2:30 pm. My cousin, Ronnie, had been in contact with me after a visit with my folks and told me he would be in Chicago the day we arrived. We met in the airport and had a great visit with Christy and Ronnie’s son Marcus. Getting to be with family members that are separated by many miles is certainly precious. And I suppose, as we get older, it will only become more so. Thanks Ronnie for putting forth the effort to connect again.
Ronnie, Marcus, and Wes in the O’Hare Airport. Ronnie’s mom and my dad were siblings. We used to fight over Granny Dorman’s last piece of chocolate pie.
We got to the boat around dark after a 1 hour Uber ride. Sunday morning, October 20th, we listened to our home church service, tried to pull things together for the next leg of our adventure, and then our friends, the DeYoungs came to visit us. They transported us to lunch, the grocery store, and then back to the boat. John and Karen helped us drop the mast on the boat (next leg has some low bridges). As I said earlier, they’re pretty good folks. Their efforts were much appreciated and they made our transition to boat life much more simple.
Monday morning, the 21st of October, we pulled out about 8:00 am. Most all our boating friends are now gone ahead of us, but we have heard time and again about the barge traffic and about the extensive delays at the locks. All our friends were telling the truth. With approximately 100 locks now under our belt, we felt plenty experienced in negotiating them, but we had not encountered the barge traffic and their impact on locking through. Barge traffic here rules the waterways, and though we are treated kindly and with respect, we pleasure boaters are really a nuisance to the tows moving the world on water.
We got through the Lockport Lock with very little delay or drama. I was thinking that being behind all the pleasure boater traffic might be to our benefit, since most are done. We weaved our way through barges, waiting when they tell us to wait, passing them on the “1 whistle” (port to port) as they instruct. Though stressful, I must admit it is quite gratifying learning a new way to drive and communicate in a world totally foreign to me. Lord, keep me from being or doing stupid. We passed under the 5 draw bridges and things were going well. Next lock, Brandon Road. We called the lock master and asked for the next opening. “A while,” we were told. “How long?”, we asked, but got no concrete answer. Barges were waiting to go up and to go down. After 30 minutes, we doubled back to the Joliet Wall, a free wall to mooring transients, determined to wait and check in with the lockmaster occasionally. If necessary, we could stay the night here. The “while” went 1 hour, 2, and eventually 3 hours. Around 7:00 and an now dark, we got the word he could get us through. At the same time we learned the lock will be closed for the next 2 days, after today, so it would be Thursday before we could move, unless we go now. I made the decision (and Amanda reluctantly agreed) to go now and get through this thing. With 2 other boats (I would never have done it alone), we headed downstream. With another barge going down also, they put the 3 pleasure craft (aka PC’s) on the opposite wall. We got through the lock with little drama and drove downstream into the darkness. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a GALE WARNING, meaning winds gusting to 40 mph. We called a dive of a marina that was just a few miles down the river and pulled in about 9:30 pm. After trying numerous slips that were not deep as our draft, we managed to get into one, hook up power, and call it a night.
We were warned that these 2-3 weeks would not be much fun, and so far that forecast has been accurate. We are taking in the industrial scenery, fascinated by all mills, plants, etc. that use the river for their primary transportation in and out for their raw materials.
Local park and waterfall 
Inside the Lockport Lock. Down 39 feet 
My cell mate in the lock. That big pipe to the right is a floating bollard where we secure the boat. It moves down with the boat. 
Like the oilfield, it never rains on the life of tow operators. 
Our first low bridge that mandated we have our mast down 
I hope I can remember to take down my VHF antennas every time. 
Railroad bridges 
Asian carp are a major problem up the river. 
This stops all upriver migration. I wouldn’t migrate either. 
We have seen barges like this 3 wide and 5 deep. Stay clear! 
That’s a pipeline, not the St. Louis arch. 
Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference between the barge and the riverbank. 
Wait….. 
Open….. 
Wait some more till the big boy comes through. 
Inside the Brandon Road lock with a barge and 2 other PC’s.
Tuesday, October 22, we laid low. We determined to sit tight because of gale force winds in the forecast. Though not as ominous to negotiate in the river, compared to the big bodies of water like Lake Michigan or Chesapeake Bay, we were happy to sit tight. Wednesday, we hurry up and wait on 3 more locks. We will see where we really end up.