Henry, IL to East Peoria, IL

Date             September 17, 2011

Day               80

Departure    Henry Harbor Marina, Henry, IL  8:45 am

Arrival         East Port Marina, E. Peoria, IL 1:15 pm       

Miles                30.9

Cumulative   1709.9

NOTE: For a larger view of each picture, click once on the picture (This is new. No longer need to double click)

Henry Harbor Marina, where we stayed last night, is on the site of an old lock wall.  There were five boats at the old lock wall.  This lock was the first lock in Illinois and was used for approximately 10 years.

Before we left, in the tree directly across from the dock, a great blue heron was perched at the top of the tree.  He looked really strange, sitting at the top branch, being as large as he is.

A short distance down the river, we saw this grain elevator and all these birds roosting and flying around.  It reminded me of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, "The Birds"!

These riverboats have been abandoned on the riverbank.  They must have been something in their day.

We saw this sandy, shallow area that was absolutely covered with hundreds of white pelicans.  

We caught up to this tow as we traveled along the river.  Lynda called the captain on the VHF radio and requested to pass the tow and what side to pass on.  He responded that we should pass on the "2's".  This meant that we pass him on his port (left) side.

We will be staying at East Port Marina tonight.  The marina is at the end of a long entry channel.  As we traveled the channel, the water depth kept dropping and dropping.  We need 4 feet in order to float.  The depth gauge is set to show how much water is below the keel.  If the depth gauge goes to "0.00" then we are on the bottom.  We got VERY close to sitting in the mud as we made our way into the marina! 

We did make it all the way in, without getting stuck or stirring up too much mud.  If the weather is bad tomorrow, we may stay another night.  Can you see us?  We are at the end of the short dock in the middle of the picture.