Doing time in Joliet

Prior to leaving Chicago we helped Skinwalker lower their mast in order to clear the bridges headed downstream.

We had been together in a nice cozy spot right in the middle of town for longer than we wanted but the rivers seem to have subsided enough to make a run to Joliet.

Skinwalker and Juwika headed through the center of town but we had to go down lake Michigan to the Cal-Sag channel at Calumet harbor. We could not lower our radar arch so we could not clear the fixed bridges going through the center of town. The Cal-Sag channel is a very industrial place with lots of barge traffic moving materials. This channel also had a number of places where debris had rafted together and we had to work our way through. The photo shows an area with a smaller amount of the debris.

There was one fixed bridge that we had to clear and we cleared it with about 8 inches to spare. We were concerned because of the high water levels that we would not be able to clear this bridge.

We rejoined the Chicago river and met Skinwalker and Juwika at the junction. We could not have timed it better if we had planned to meet up there. We traveled on down to the city of Joliet where the city has put in power pedestals along their wall. This is a free wall so we took advantage of their hospitality for a few days. We had determined that the river levels were reasonable at least through a few locks then we would be in flood conditions. We stayed in Joliet for 5 days while we waited. During that time we had as many as 14 boats along the wall.

We spent time exploring the area around the town wall. The wall is directly on the river between bridges and is heavily traveled by barge tows. These tows come close (sometimes uncomfortably so) to the boats as they come through and some boats have been hit here but we had no problems at all. This was a single width barge but some tows were three barges wide and four barges long.

There was a very good pub/restaurant nearby and many of us walked over the bridge to eat here. It was good enough that we ate there again the second night after many additional boats arrived.

Juwika left us after one night here as they were to get down the river to Spring Brook marina to have their boat put on a truck to go back to Washington state. Their loop trip completed, we said our goodbyes to our good friends and saw them off.

Joliet is most well known as having one of the largest federal penitentiaries in the country. We did not see this facility but we did find a great old Vaudeville/Movie House theater in town. Stacy arranged for about 20 of us to get a tour of the facility and the guide knew just about everything about the theater and the town.

The theater was restored in the 1980's and is used today by many headlining acts for stage productions and concerts.

Since we were right next to the town park, we walked over one night for a free concert. Quite a few of the towns we have visited have a greater sense of community than to what we are accustomed. Many towns have these type parks with free events.

In the cruising boating world we have our own community and any time a few boats are gathered together there is some type of sharing of meals, repairs, etc. We had a pot-luck dinner on the wall and Wayne gave Lynn (of Skinwalker) a haircut while we were there.

On our last night there Stacy's long time good friend Sharon Albrecht (along with Everette) drove two hours to visit with us. They are with WDA at Purdue University. It was good to get to see them and catch up with what is happening in their lives.

Most of our time on the wall was spent looking at river hydrology trying to determine the best time to head downstream. After 5 days we decided it was time to go and left to see what our timetable would be working downstream with the locks. Our plan is to head on down the Illiois river and then the Mississippi to the Ohio and Cumberland before we slow to a crawl to enjoy the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers.