On to Ottawa, IL

Hi everyone!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was an interesting day on the river. Currently we are on the Illinois River, along with other loopers and lots of commercial traffic. We got a chance to see some of those big tows we have heard about. The biggest one we saw yesterday was a fifteen-barge arrangement. The barges are lashed together and then pushed down the river by tugs. We haven't gone through a lock with barges yet... We have been told that some of the tows are so big they have to be taken apart to move them through the locks. The sections are taken through, then reassembled on the other side. There are very large bollards to lash the barges to while this takes place.

We arrived at Ottawa in the afternoon and took the third of three spaces at a city dock. The other boats there were Confetti and The Cooper. We were happy to see both of them after all this time! We were later joined by three other boats. Since we had the three spaces, the other three tied up to us. This was an occasion for a docktail party. We shared stories for a while and then walked into town for dinner.

Today we all stayed and did shopping, maintenance and sightseeing. The folks from the grocery store are kind enough to give you a ride home with your groceries. Steve and I went off to explore and then do some shopping.

Ottawa is an interesting little town. In 2002 they began a mural program called A Brush with History. Several murals are already completed, with more to come. They depict historic events and prominent groups and people. We visited Washington Square, where there are war memorials and statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. They debated in the square in 1858 in front of an estimated 14,000 people. Both were running for the Illinois state Senate. There is a war memorial that contains the names of over 800 men who died in the Spanish American war and in the Civil War.

We enjoyed walking through the quaint downtown area. There were lovely buildings, churches and gardens. The exploring was cut short by rain but we enjoyed our morning. Temperatures here will be in the upper 30's tonight, so it's chicken soup for dinner! Tomorrow we head on down the river.

These are the big bollards that hold the barges for the locks.

Another lock along the way.

A big "tow" - three barges across

And five barges long.

Corn fields - with camp sites along the edges.

The red box is a British phone booth - in a corn field!

Many tree roots have been exposed along the water's edge

This turned out to be a floating bar.

These folks have a caboose instead of a camper.

A little cave carved out of the rock.

The Cooper and Confetti

Six of us tied up together.

Docktails with fellow loopers.

Daybreak on the river - see the egret?

The park across the river

The war memorial - there are monuments around it with over 800 names

Lincoln and Douglas

The Ottawa visitor's center

The Lincoln-Douglas debate

A close-up

The restaurant had murals too!