Another first. The Mainship Many Moons rests tonight against the 150-year-old remains of an old lock in the small town of Henry, Ill. We're tied up to loops of rebar, a metal reinforcement put into concrete. The crumbling wall creates steps to get on and off the boat. We have electricity here, and a porta-pottie, … Continue reading Old Locks and Asian Carp (Day 43)
You thought river travel would be relaxing? Um, no, not so far! Interesting? Yes indeed. The graphic on the right shows our blue track into lock #5 of our trip. It looks like we drove right over the round concrete pier. Nope, just bumped it. But yes, that's how we entered the lock. That's where … Continue reading Close Encounters and Homemade Cleats (Day 41)
And then the time comes to fly solo. Many Loopers travel together, sometimes by design and sometimes by happenstance. I was glad that veteran Loopers lead the way yesterday, our first "river day" -- just as I was glad for a buddy boat in Lake Superior. Today, we felt ready to go it alone. There … Continue reading Alone On The River (Day 40)
This is the day we left the Great Lakes and headed into the inland waterway system. Passed under dozens of Chicago bridges. Went through our first river lock. Met our first barge. Learned about floating bollards and prop-washes and tight river turns. There's so much to absorb on each day of travel ... sites to … Continue reading Now, The Rivers (Day 39)
Nervous? Yes, I was. In the end, though, it's easy going through "the Soo Locks" at Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan, on the Canadian border. Jeff coasts the Mainship Many Moons slowly forward while I call the lock master requesting permission to "lock down" (meaning we're heading down-river, vs. up-river). About 20 minutes later, we're … Continue reading To “The Soo” (Day 9) – The Locks
For Many Moons 