Leaving the Lakes for the Rivers

Leaving the Lakes for the Rivers

For next 1500 miles of our loop we will be traveling on rivers – most of these waterways have been controlled by man which means we must navigate the locks regulating the water level. Our journey began at the Chicago lock where we dropped about one foot. Then, we left Chicago via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal which took us through the heart of the city. The first few miles included 30+ low bridges requiring us to lower our mast one more time.  (Thankfully Steve and Paul did that maneuver before the kids left us.)  We were awed by the scenery from the river level as we left the high rises behind us and continued through more industrial landscape toward Joliet, our first stop on the Illinois River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 lowest bridge

Before reaching our dock on the free wall, we had an hour wait at the Lockport lock where we were lowered almost 40 feet by the very friendly and helpful lock attendants. One even grabbed our line and helped secure us to the floating bollard that gently guided us on our descent – a much easier process than holding ropes only secured to the top or even sliding our rope down a pole.  This is the largest drop on the Illinois section of the trip and our first real lock in several months.  These are the big boy locks measuring 600 feet in length and 110 in width to accommodate the numerous commercial barges that ply this route. Fortunately we only met a few of those on our run down from Chicago. We were held up while two tugs maneuvered a loaded barge completely blocking the channel for about a half hour. We also saw several of the tugs that have hydraulic pilot houses so they can both see over the barges and get low enough to clear those low bridges in the Chicago area.

 passing through the electric fish barrier - one boat at a time

Our posts have been sporadic both because we had Paul and Amanda keeping us busy and because the WIFI signal in big old Chicago was unreliable. However, arriving at the free wall provided by the city of Joliet we found not only free power outlets, but a super WIFI connection. So we are taking advantage and trying to get up to date. Joliet has several claims to fame – first it is on the historic Illinois & Michigan canal and Route 66. These two transportation avenues speak to the heydays of Joliet. The canal helped open this area and Chicago by providing a water route for commerce from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans and fostered the steel industry here in the late 1900s. Route 66 did much the same for businesses in the early era of the motor car. Both of these were showcased in the local history museum cleverly housed in a former church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and today....

 

 with canal walls in the middle

 

 

 

Interesting side note - Joliet is the site of the oldest public community college which is still a force in this town.

 

 

One monument to the wealth of this city in the 1920s remains – the restored Rialto Square Theatre. The building is impressive from the outside with a mosaic tiled entrance rising more than 100 feet, but the inside is beyond opulent. The slightly rundown, boarded up and repair seeking downtown does not hint at the inside of the Rialto. We caught the last week of the summer tours offered which included an organ concert on the theatre’s Barton Grand Theatre Pipe Organ. The Esplanade or Grand Hall was designed to look like the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles and it really does. The arch between this hall and the Rotunda resembles the Arch de Triomphe in Paris while the Rotunda at 75 feet high is fashioned after the Pantheon in Rome. The classic roots are further developed with the elaborate gold leaf plaster sculptures on the walls and ceilings. Then there are the light fixtures which include The Duchess – reported to be the largest hand-cut crystal chandelier in the US, weighing over 2 ½ tons. The attention to detail is amazing through out and the loving restoration a credit to the people of Joliet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was hard not to notice the bright lights on the Harrah Casino just across the river so we visited for lunch at The Restaurant – formerly known as the “Paula Dean Kitchen”. Lunch was tasty and apparently still bares the touch of Ms. Dean if not her name, which was hastily removed after her recent negative publicity. It is kind of making us homesick to see sweet potato pie on a menu.

 

 

 

 

 another restored treasure and still and active Amtrak station