Peoria, IL to Grafton, IL

On September 8th, after spending the Labor Day weekend at Illinois Valley Yacht Club we once again resumed our trip down the Illinois River. Just a few miles from Peoria we transited the Peoria Lock with almost no wait.


Entering the Peoria Lock

Our next overnight Stay was at Tall Timbers Marina, a small but very nice Marina in Havana, IL. This was a very Dog friendly community and Sadie had lots of room to run.

The "Sadie Too" at Tall Timbers Marina Havana, IL

Our next overnight stay was one of the most interesting. We spent the night tied up to a grain barge at Logsdon Tug and Barge in Beardstown, IL. Logsdon it a family tug boat operation that allows travelers to tie up to their barges near their office. The only down side is that you have to climb stairs to get over a very high levy. We braved it anyway and went grocery shopping and had dinner at a pretty good Mexican restaurant.
During the night our bilge pump alarm went off and while I was trying to find out where the water was coming from, the air conditioning pump came apart in my hand. Luckily the next day I was able to have a new pump overnighted to Grafton Marina a couple of days down river.

The "Sadie Too" at Logston Tug and Barge Beardstown, IL

We were awakened early the next morning by one of the people working at Logsdon, with the news that the La Grange lock about 8 miles down stream would be closing for emergency repairs and if we wanted to get through the lock we needed to leave immediately. We did and made it through before they closed it.
The scenery on the lower Illinois River is pretty much the same as there are high Levy's on both sides of the river in most areas. The following are a few pictures of this stretch of river.

Interesting Structure on the lower Illinois River

Typical Scene along the Lower Illinois River

Typical Houses along the River

Our next overnight stay was at anchor behind Willow Island. This was our first night at anchor and our first time to have to load Sadie in the dingy and take her to shore to relieve herself. This proved to be a fairly easy operation and Sadie loves to ride in the dingy. During the night a storm came up and lasted well into the next day. Our morning trip to shore, after pumping about 2 inches of water out of the Dingy, was in a downpour. The up side is that it was a very warm rain, so we put on swimsuits and traveled in the rain.

Car Ferry at Kempsville, IL

Another House along the River

Cliffs along the Lower Illinois River Near the Mississippi River

As we came closer to the Mississippi River the scenery changed to higher land and lots of rock cliffs.
Our next stay was at Grafton Marina in Grafton, IL at the confluence of the Illinois River and the Mississippi River.
While we were checking in at Grafton Marina, Fed Ex delivered our new air conditioner pump and soon we had AC again.
While in Grafton our main Bilge Pump began running continuously when in auto operation. I was able to get another Bilge Pump but needed some plumbing parts to make it work, and we had available to us the Marina's courtesy van to drive to another town, Jerseyville, to the Farm and Home Supply store. They had what I needed and we were soon back in business.
Grafton is a very interesting town, Its entire existence is dependent upon tourism. Most of the town is Brew Pubs, Wineries, and restaurants. They have a zipline and other tourist activities. During the week the town is almost empty but on the weekend the town is packed.