Ottawa, Spring Valley to Peoria

After leaving Sandy Island, we stopped over in Ottawa. Bryce followed our waypoint on the GPS from our last visit here and we anchored in the same place.. This is where he will take the jet-ski into the marina and get diesel and gas. The depth is only 5 feet deep so we cannot take Beauty in. It really isn’t a big deal that is why we carry jugs with us. The weather is much better this time around. The locals are out and about. Several of them came by and talked to us. The water is so warm we were able to swim in it. We enjoyed this anchorage so much that we spent two days here.

I’m enjoying some water time. Air temp is 93, water is 81. This lift has several uses one for Patch (I named the jet-ski) and me…LOL

The locals are enjoying the warm weather.

Bryce leaving on a fuel run. I think he has way to much fun on his new toy “Patch”.

This is Vince; our new friend. He came by and talked to us about our trip and imparted us with local knowledge.

This is the island we anchored next to near Ottawa.

We left Ottawa on Sunday and had no wait at the Starved Rock Lock. Our journey today was short. It was so hot, we just wanted to stop, take in the view and float.

We passed a town call Peru. This is a photo of someone’s lost dream.

Busy water front in Peru.

Here is a local pub in Peru, Ill.

The locals dot the shore line, swimming and fishing from one of the hot spots.

We sure are seeing a few ultralights this year. They often fly right next to us.

We are anchored between Spring Valley & Peru Just enjoying the day. We took “Patch” (jet-ski) out for exploration.

Bryce and I went to the beach area near by where we were anchored. We went to enjoy a walk along the beach. We were thinking it might be cooler.

At 94 degree we were looking to get off the boat and cool down on the beach.. The joke was on us. It was just as hot on shore. For those who do not know, the Illinois River has many such beaches that are only accessible by boat.

We had to watch out for the kids at play….

We took a jet-ski ride and noticed they are building another bridge. Large cranes lofted huge steel girders into place.

Later that night we were sitting on the bow of Beauty when this biplane flew next to us. I know our brother-in-law Bill would love this.. Bill we are always thinking of you…

The following day we pulled up anchor and headed to our next anchorage spot. However, we couldn’t find any place that was deep enough to anchor in. Bryce went below deck to check on Active Captain for any area that we might be able to slip into. We ended up having to do a bit of night motoring to get into Peoria Illinois. We arrived around 9:30 p.m and docked to on the free wall with electricity. With the past few days in the 90+ degrees, it sure was nice to turn on air conditioning.

I was enjoying some good music and my pool on the bow of the boat.

The Sprit of Peoria passed us going North up the river. She ties up just near us at the Peoria docks.

It is so funny to see George sitting on deck while we were motoring to Peoria. George was resting up on deck during the day. That is very unusual for him to get up on deck during the day time. Apparently, he was trying to stay cool in the breeze created by the moving boat.

Looks like these kids found a new way to use the floating trees coming down the river…

Looks like the local artist might live here. It’s actually kind of pretty.

OMG!!! George never ever goes on the bow at night like this. He always waits till we are anchored. I started laughing and called him Prince George. He was overseeing the captains driving. No doubt he could see better than us.