The above is the ugliest nastiest fish I have ever seen. The Asian Carp has invaded the Upland River system, and its a wonder how? They are really a dumb fish. Boat motors drive them to a frenzy where they jump at or onto the boat. This guy above jumped 4 feet into the air and scored a direct landing in our dinghy. There he proceeded to flop around for close to an hour. Their skin immediately starts to bleed so that splatters blood all over, along with their scales and really offensive odor. All in all a very yucky fish.
We are back on Rock Chalk and headed down the Illinois River to the Mississippi. We enjoyed our 13 day US tour of kids and grandkids in Austin, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. Plus we had a chance to catch up with family in Austin, while avoiding the wildfires. But both Shelley and I were ready to get back on the boat and continue our adventure.
The Illinois runs southwest from Lake Michigan until it flows into the Mississippi just above St. Louis. Most of the waterway for the last 50 miles have been protected migratory waters for hundreds of bird species. The above photo is one group of white pelicans. There were thousands of these guys, and they were all grouping up to head south. Birds and Boaters, we are all headed south. It was 37 two nights ago, and some of the trees are just starting to show some color.
There are lots of towboats and their massive barges on the Illinois. These guys rule the water, and its my job to stay out of their way. It's fun to talk to the tow captains on the radio as they all have deep southern accents. These tows push up to 15 barges (3 wide and 5 deep) at a time from the Gulf of Mexico to Chicago. They run 24/7 with two sets of crew on each tow, so they alternate 6 hours on and 6 off. The biggest problem is that these guys have priority in the locks. So if one is in front of you, you anchor and wait. Today we waited 4 hours at the Peoria Lock before we could finally lock down.
But who is in a hurry right? Right.
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