So we ran from Harrisville, MI on Lake Huron on Monday to Leland, MI on Lake Michigan. Seas were a bit rough once we got around the Straights of Mackinac. We got held up in Leland for 2 days waiting for Lake Michigan to calm down. Seas were 3 to 5 feet with occasional 7 foot seas. We didn't want any part of that for the 265 mile run from Leland to Chicago. So we waited.
On Thursday we had an absolutely beautiful run from Leland to Chicago. Seas with a bit bumpy to start, but by the end of the day, seas were like glass. It was a very good decision to wait. We had a nice day to get off of Lake Michigan and onto the Cal-Sag Channel.
On Friday morning we continued on the Cal-Sag and encountered our lowest bridge of the trip. We got under the 19'6" CSX railroad bridge without any problem. We believe the measurement Meridian provides in its literature is to the top of the mast light since we had about of foot of clearance once we removed the light.
We made a good run from Chicago to Henry, IL on Friday covering 129 miles and 5 locks. We encountered lots of barge traffic, but we made the most of it. For the most part, the barges were very accommodating during our run down the Illinois River.
Saturday morning we set off in the rain from Henry Harbor looking to cover as many miles as possible. We completed the Illinois River at 2:40pm and made a brief stop in Grafton, IL. I wanted to stop and say hello to a client I did a trip for back in March. After a brief stop, we started off down the Mississippi River toward Alton, IL. We ran another 19 miles from Grafton to Alton before we stopped for the day after 212 miles. We found a great diesel fuel price of $2.95/gallon and decided to top off the tanks. We couldn't go any further today since the Mississippi River was shut down a few miles ahead of us. Apparently, 116 barges broke loose just south of St Louis and the USCG shut down the River for a 10 mile stretch. It looks like they have gotten things under control now and the river is back open. We are hopeful to get off early again tomorrow and make our way down the Mississippi. We might reach the junction of the Ohio River tomorrow where we will begin our 980 trip up the Ohio to Pittsburgh.
A passenger ship coming out of Ludington, MI on Thursday.
Chicago skyline
O'Brian Lock; the first lock on the Cal-Sag Channel
Capt David and Todd waiting for the lock.
The point where the Cal-Sag meets up with the Chicago Sanitary Ship Channel.
Need to try and keep out the Asian Carp.
Barge at the second lock on the Illinois River.
One of the barges allowed us to lock through with him.
No much room between us and the lock wall or the tows prop wash.
The beginning of our 3 hour wait at the Marseilas Lock
The barges are big and long going into the locks on the Illinois
A good picture of some wildlife as we waited for the lock.
Downtown Peoria, IL today as we traveled in the rain.
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