Travels of the Confetti

9/12/11 -  9/21/11  Our tour through Illinois began with Joliet.  The free city dock was walking distance to a Harrahs Casino so we went over for breakfast.  I won about 40 bucks at a quarter slot and we left with our winnings.  Another couple of days at anchor and we landed at Ottawa City.  The city dock is suppose to accommodate about two and a half boats but more arrived later and we ended up with seven boats "rafted up".  We went to the grocery store and were given a ride back to the boat by the former owner.  He ended up ferrying several other boaters to and from the store.  He said his wife still worked at the store and he enjoyed doing it.  We were beginning to see an increase in commercial traffic as we approached the Upper Mississippi river and tug boats pushing 15 barges were not uncommon.  Also we saw a LOT of Asian Carp, an invasive species that has taken over the Illinois.  In fact we passed through a section of the river that has an electrified barrier to prevent them from passing into the great lakes.  They have an instinctive escape behavior that makes them jump out of the water when boat motors are nearby.  People in small open boats have been injured  when the fish jump out and hit them.  We talked to a boater that had to throw seven overboard after one "attack".  Anchorages were now harder to find because the river level was low.   Several more days at anchor and a tie up at Havana and Hardin and we found ourselves at Grafton, the gateway to the Mississippi.