River flooding cut the mid-American boating season down to one month in 2019. River locks were closed due to flooding. Marinas along the Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers were under water or closed until early to mid-August so you wouldn't have been able to dock or refuel if you had been able to find a way down the rivers. Be sure to check the river levels before heading to the rivers.
I was going to ask my boss if I could get some time off from my job driving the forklift at the warehouse so I could fly to Chicago and take my yacht down the Mississippi and out to the Bahamas but he said if I did I probably wouldn't get my $0.25 raise next year and I really need to hit that $15 an hour mark. 🙄
Great video. I saw Chicago to St. Louis pop up on my computer so I had to watch it. The video is quite old I would say as I saw you pass the towboat M/V Chicago Trader. I was probably on that boat as you passed that day as I worked on the "Trader" for quite a while in my younger days. The Chicago Trader sunk while I was on it, we were going up river on the north side I believe, and to make a long story short, we sunk. It was cold and spitting snow and about 8 pm or so. The crew lost everything when it sunk and we got off the boat with just the clothes on our back, I have never been so cold. They raised the boat and overhauled it and renamed it the William L. Klunk. That's been close to 30 years ago. It was good to see the area again on your vid. I hope to do the great loop in the next few years and be up that way again............
The trip from Starved Rock to Peoria is one of the prettiest sections of the river imo. I work at Starved Rock Lock, we were unmanned because of the roadway being flooded at that point, if you ever get to do this leg of the trip again, I highly advise it. Mid-summer is best for water levels, and fall colors is breathtaking.
@@aggabus To my knowledge yes they do not charge how every there will be two locks closed this summer so the trip will not be navigable this year and I think another two next year so you will want to check the lock schedule if you are planning a trip.
