Eastport Marina to Logsdon Tugboat, Beardstown, IL

The obvious question is why would we want to spend the night tugged with a tug? The quick answer is, we don’t. Unfortunately, there are not many alternative dockage options along the way to our next destination of Grafton, IL. Traveling 150 river miles, while doable, is not ideal. Therefore we break our trip to Grafton in half with an overnight stay in Beardstown.

We leave Eastport at 8:45 AM, under clear blue skies, navigating once again the shallow channel without incident. We quickly pass the Peoria riverfront and a view of their skyline.

For 112 years, Peoria was the proud headquarters of Caterpillar.

In 2017, to the shock of Peorians, Caterpillar announced it was moving its headquarters to Deerfield, IL, a suburb of Chicago. Reasons: close proximity to airports & railways plus the availability of better talent. Headquarter Deerfield lasted for 4 years, but apparently the talent ran dry and once again a relocation was in order. This time, the move was to Irving, TX, which not only has better talent, but also provides additional career opportunities to its employees. Caterpillar is not alone in their relocation decision. It joins the ranks of Boeing, Citadel and Tyson Foods all recently exiting the state of Illinois.

Although the headquarters have moved, Caterpillar still has a large presence in the Peoria/East Peoria area. Illinois remains home to the largest concentration of its employees.

Just past Peoria, we come upon our only lock of the day, Peoria Lock and Dam.

While at anchor, a police boat roars by heading straight for the dam. This is unusual for several reasons: first, they are waking us, which most boats have the courtesy to slow down near anchored boats, and second they are driving directly to the dam, an area of water which is dangerous and forbidden to all boats. As we watch them enter the dam area and beach their boat, we realize, to our horror, the reason for their actions: to recover a dead body off the dam wall.

Our location was such that we could not avoid seeing the entire crisis from recovering the body, encasing it within a bodybag, and finally transferring it to the waiting coroner.

Later, I research for any information pertaining to the body recovered. Initially, the body was only described as a black male. A picture of his t-shirt and pendant was provided to the media in a quest for public assistance with the ID. WIth the public’s help, and the coroner’s discovery of a distinguishable tattoo, an identification was made. The body was that of a 14 year old local boy. The cause of death was listed as drowning. According to law enforcement, the boy had been in the water for 24-48 hours and, if not for the dam catching him, he would have floated down river undiscovered indefinitely. The investigation is ongoing as several questions remain. Was he alone? Why was he there? Why wasn’t he reported missing? With or without answers, it remains a very sad and tragic day when a young life is gone way to soon. My heart breaks for 14 year old Leron, his family, and the Peoria Police and Fire crew on duty that day.

The lockmaster gives us the green light to enter the lock. Our wait was approximately 1 1/2 hours from the time we dropped anchor. The descent will be only 5 feet today.

Our journey today is through rural Illinois, lined with trees and occasional sandy river banks. Although the state of Illinois has a population of 12.5 million people, the vast majority, 9.5 million, live within the Chicago Metropolitan Area. We are definitely not in Chicago anymore!

While our journey lacks the multitude of factories, towns and buildings, it flourishes in the number of pleasure boats on the water. Definitely no better time to boat and camp on the Illinois River than on a beautiful Saturday of the July 4th weekend. While some areas we can cruise a bit faster, our duration of time at cruise speed is short, as other vessels, private docks and beached power boats dot our travels. Slowing down decreases our wake and douses any anger fuses ready to be lit by a large wake.

But there are times when our wake is appreciated!

We arrive to our home for the night. Thankfully, a deckhand meets us to grab our lines as it was confusing as to the exact location of our mooring.

I check out the bathroom.

I feel a beer is in order!

We decide to venture into town. But first, we need to make our way off the barge by climbing the levee wall.

Beardstown has a historical significance as being the site of Abraham Lincoln’s famous trial for which he successfully defended accused murderer William Duff Armstrong. Perhaps the stress and/or the glory of the trial forced him into the arms of a prostitute, as it is here, in Beardstown, that Lincoln is rumored to contract syphilis. While the brothel is gone, the courthouse still stands.

Today, Beardstown is a small town of less than 6,000 people. The largest employer is a pork slaughterhouse, employing a large immigrant population. As 41% of the population is of Hispanic heritage, Mexican restaurants are bountiful. Sadly though, 22% percent of the population lives below the poverty level which explains the boarded up buildings and closed businesses.

I do have someone to give me a welcome however!

The town may be empty, but across from us the river bank is jumping!

It has been a contradictory day for us! We experience tragedy, aloneness, sadness and loss on the river but also witness festivity, togetherness, joy and fun. I much prefer the later!