Day 146: Beardstown to Maitland Island, Illinois
Day 146: Sunday, September 11th: We noted today was the fourth anniversary of "9/11". It is still painful to think of those events.
This morning we arose early and got underway quickly but not as quickly as Unforgettable who left in the breaking dawn. Today was the day they would complete their Great Loop trip when they entered the Mississippi River. They were meeting friends in St. Charles, MO to celebrate and they didn't want to be late.
Here they are, leaving in the breaking dawn:
Today promised to be another hot and hazy day; the rising sun just looked hot:
A very nice tow captain with about nine fuel barges was ahead of us entering the LaGrange Lock. He held back and let us go through the lock first -- a very nice gesture! We thanked him profusely and headed in:
This was another of the wicket dams; here's a look at it:
We went by two boats anchored by an island out of the channel. One was Island Magic, A NordHaven 43 we had met in Waterford, NY and was doing the Loop. The other was a sailboat named Island Time. That's the name of the boat our good friends Diane and David Hay had for years. We never have gotten to ask if they are the same boat.
A little further downstream we passed some more industrial areas. We couldn't tell exactly what this facility did, but guessed it had something to do with agricultural products, perhaps soybeans:
At 10:28 this morning we passed our most western point on the Loop. It was at river mile 61.1 on the Illinois River, coordinates N39 42.032 W090 38.780. It was not a particularly notable spot, so no pictures. Three corners found, one to go!
We noticed the bungalows along the banks were built up on stilts. The spring thaws make the river level in this area rise some 18 feet:
This picture makes it look like the houses are standing in water. Actually there is a nice beach between the river and the houses:
Soon Island Magic could be heard on the radio. We discussed anchoring in the same spot for the night but they decided to push on a little further than we wanted to go.
We spotted this old rusty former towboat and discovered it was somebody's home. Look closely and you can see the owners enjoying a cool one sitting on the main deck:
Around four in the afternoon, we found Maitland Island, a 1-1/2 mile long island with a deep channel behind it. There were no towns nearby to reference geographically, but we were in Calhoun County. It was an ideal spot to drop anchor out of the way of passing tows. Sadly it was a great place for locals to water ski and, it being Sunday, they were there. Later, however, it got peaceful and quiet. Looking upstream..
Position tonight: N39 07.025 W090 36.805
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