Traveling down the Illinois River means sharing the "road" with these behemoths known as tows. These tows are pushing anywhere from 3 to 6 barges loaded with grain, coal, chemicals, scrap metal, sand or anything produced in this area to reach ports in New Orleans and beyond. They are usually longer than a football field in total and require highly skilled captains to navigate the river bends and currents. We know to stay out of their way, since it takes about a half-mile to stop them if needed to avert a problem.
Tonight we are docked in downtown Peoria, within a block of the Caterpillar corporate headquarters. Since I have two Cat 3208's in my boat, I tried to get a tour of the Cat engine plant. But it couldn't be arranged in the time we are here. (I just heard this saying today: "If it's not a Cat, it's a dog.")
Being docked in downtown locations means there could be a rock concert nearby. In our case tonight, Joy @ Sea is docked about 30 feet from the back of the stage where a rock band is going full blast. Oh how I wish it could be Sara and her band. Her music has so much more substance. But for the time being, we'll endure this one.
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