Friday 12 of September.

So  now we are officially heading south!!  Thursday morning we went through the Lock right in Chicago 1st pic--and right though downtown [2nd pic]--hoping the guy with that big tower was going to throw us some money out the window--but no such luck!  Then we were in the Sanitary Canal--and I'm afraid it lives up to its name.  Lots of garbage--didn't smell very good!  Lots of barges hauling mainly sand and coal.  We had to radio these big guys and ask them if we had safe passage past them.  They were all very friendly and helpful--they were probably saying 'dumb Canucks'!!  Most of the canal was very industrial but we went through a few miles of just river cruising.   Then on to the 2nd lock--there's about 140 more to go before we reach the gulf!! [no charge for locking thru-thankfully]  We had to wait our turn going down,  as we come 2nd after the barges  it would have been 11pm when they put us through, so spent the nite at the top of the lock.  Early start

at 7 am this morning--dropping 40ft --ending our time in the Sanitary Canal--now we are in the Des Plaines River and docked at the city of Joliet.  The last pics are of a tug that went by us just now--it had 15 barges in front--3 abreast, 5rows.  We have no idea how he steers the thing!!  1st pic shows him coming thru the raised bridge--2nd Neil and Ralph watching in awe--and the last pic is the tug itself.   We were really glad we did not have to hail him and ask him were to pass.   Each of those barges are about 500ft long--you do the math!!!