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2012-04-30 tl;dr: I'm finally on the Illinois River and I've hit Peoria Lake. There's no current so it's slow going. The worst aspect of spending an entire week in one location is limited wardrobe. Not that it physically disturbs me in any way. Heavens know I can wear the same nasty clothes for days on end with little more than a rinse in a cloudy crick. But in a hotel with limited nearby restaurants and a single grocery store, I actually feel self-conscious wearing the same pants and my only heavy shirt every single day. Having only sandals with socks on also detracts from projecting a rugged persona.I was looking forward to the Illinois River, because I was led to believe it had sandy banks. Well, so far it has been mostly mud. And there's been no current to speak of. Hopefully that is because I am so close to Peoria Lake, and tomorrow will find me in faster water. There are a lot of side-likes along the river north of Peoria Lake. And they are all named Goose Lake even though there are equal parts goose and pelican. At first I was like, oh look, a pelican! By the end of the day, oh, another pelican. They do not let me get close, though. I met two towboats today; the Mark Shurden and the Ron Shankin. Because of the slow current I didn't make it as far as I had intended. It was my intention to stop short of Peoria. Just not so short, and not quite as late. |
 good morning Illinois River   mile marker 192   the towboat MARK SHURDEN  duck blind  the towboat RON SHANKIN    can't get close to pelicans   seen better days  Peoria Lake  I thought somebody was sitting on a capsized boat  but it was just a log |