Through Chicago and the Illinois River

Dovekie, Jean and Mel, led the way through the Chicago lock and on through the centre of  Chicago, it was a day we had looked forward to and the weather was wonderful.  It was amazing to cruise through the center of the city, wonderful buildings and so many bridges.

 Second tallest, The Trump Tower

 The tour guide referred to this building as the corn cob building, actually the Marina Towers, dockage for your boat at water level, park your car, eat at the restaurants and go to your condo, quite an idea.

 Water taxi

 Railway bridge down for the train

 Up for the cruisers

 Sonata with a train in background

 Last Dance

We passed through the electric fish barrier which is attempting to keep the Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes, no photos were allowed, only one boat was allowed to pass at a time and we were instructed to wear our life jackets while transiting the area.

 Five loopers tied to the wall in Jolliette for the night, cocktails and rehashing the events of a wonderful day took place on the dock

 Hunting blinds along the Illinois

 With so much of their roots exposed it is amazing the trees prosper, eventually they will be root bare and washed down the river.

 Tall Timbers Marina - The flooding is so severe here that in the spring the ramp in the photo is level, the marina office is floating

 The entrance is quite narrow and the harbor is silted in at this time of year, we crept in with 3 feet on the depth sounder, later in the day Ookpik, Black Tickle, Nauti Nell and Awe Spray entered, I guess we had nothing to worry about.  The water level had decreased 4 inches over the evening and Ookpik found itself aground in the morning but was able to power out of the muddy bottom.

 Comments were made that the water level was down, this is what the ground looked like on an island we rowed to in order to get Rory off the boat

 

Rafted up for the night with Ookpik, Awe Spray and Black Tickle at Barr Island.  Borrowed Ookpik's dingy to paddle over to the island to let Rory do his business and then back to Awe Spray where Lynda and Don had invited us to a pot luck dinner.  Lynda will be famous on the Loop for her fresh, boat-made, bread, delicious. The evening was enjoyed by all with lots of laughter and tall tales.

 Karen on Ookpik raising the anchor

 Another barge

 Heading south

 We passed many homes on stilts

 A car ferry taking vehicles from one side of the Illinois to the other, continuously from one shore to the other - one more thing to watch out for.

Crossing Lake Michigan and Chicago

We headed out with a wonderful forecast, flat calm as we left New Buffalo, you can never help but wonder what Lake Michigan will throw at you unexpectedly, for the first time we were actually able to see the reflection of the clouds in the water.

As the trip progressed the waves picked up a little but the going was good, I never remember to take photos of the bad so when we hit some fog there are no photos.  The radar works well and we actually know how to use it (surprise, surprise) so there were no surprises!

The view of the waterfront as we approached Chicago was amazing.  The boat traffic was also amazing, lots of sailboats enjoying a glorious Sunday and then in Burnham marina the traffic with power boats felt like a four lane highway.

We may have felt small to other loopers but it was nothing compared to the ship berthed in front of us at the marina. Chicago has an incredible waterfront with walking/biking paths stretching for miles, parks, marinas and downtown was in walking distance.

We took a double decker bus tour of the city and with Frank's nerve Rory also joined us.

 Marilyn Monroe

 Our tour guide referred to this as the wave building

 We strolled Navy Pier and were able to eat on a patio with Rory at our feet

 The Wrigley Building

 Water taxi

 Marina Towers

 Had to try Chicago style hot dogs!

 Macy's was beautiful

We only spent two nights in Chicago, way too short, but we really felt we should push on - besides we were really looking forward to taking Salty Paws through the center of the city!