By Lee Vue, Paddle Forward Team
The Arrival
The Arrival
We arrived in Joliet, Illinois as the evening descended upon
us. We were immediately drawn to the abandoned barges on river-right that had
the unique characteristic of being overtaken by nature being entirely covered
with trees and grass on top. We scouted the area and came upon a flat area that
was obviously deer beds, which we decided would be great for placing the tents.
Despite the threat of poison ivy surrounding us, we agreed that the abandon
barges would make the best campsite for our stay in Joliet. It provided us with
privacy and access to downtown Joliet (within walking distance).
The Wi-Fi Adventure
The following morning, I awoke to the light sound of
trotting. I quickly got out of the tent with my camera in-hand and peered
through the trees to see two deer crossing the train tracks! As I approach
them, the ears of one of the deer perked up having noticed my movement and
within seconds, they jumped to the other side of the forested area. Feeling
satisfied that I manage to get a decent photo, I continued on with my morning routine.
After breakfast, we walked into town in search of free Wi-Fi
so we could work on adventure-learning tasks. Google Maps had informed us of a
local coffee shop called “Jitters” with the bulleted description of “older
women drinking” was located within a mile of our location. As we were walking
towards the downtown center, we noticed that streets were being block off with
metal railings to prevent cars from entering. We entered Jitters with eagerness
to be productive and relax. Jitters has a homely feel with dimmed lights and
comfortable couches in the back. There’s a piano on the far left corner that
welcomes any hands to play the keys. We ordered our drinks and unpacked our
backpacks onto the coffee table, but then after a few minutes of nudging
ourselves into the sofas, we realized that the Internet wasn’t working. We
finished our drinks and made the decision to move on to find another place with
Wi-Fi.
Across the street was the public library so we made our way
there. On the second floor, we found a large table to accommodate the seven of
us. An hour into our time at the library, we were frustrated at the low speed
of the Internet. Uploading wasn’t going as well as we had hope; therefore, we
packed up again and moved on to a new place. There was Starbucks located inside
the Harrah’s casino near the riverfront of downtown. We arrived at Starbucks
only to be informed by the baristas that the Internet was down. At this point, our unsuccessful luck
with Wi-Fi was reaching a point of annoyance. After walking around the casino
to find a place with outlets for our electronics, we situated ourselves at a
corner of a lounge. We logged onto the casino’s free Wi-Fi with our fingers
cross that the Internet would be fast. It turns out that Harrah’s Internet was
working great so we ended up staying there for a good few hours.On our way back to the car, we came upon crowds hovering on the side of the street and trucks with racecar images on them honking their way through the streets. Apparently, it was the Fan Rally Race for the Chicagoland Speedway that weekend. Everything suddenly made sense: the blocked streets, police patrols, and event tents being set up. We were super excited to be in town for the event so we walked around for free samples and then had dinner at the local restaurant, Blue Taco.
That night, we attended the benefit concert at the Joliet
Area Historical Museum. The event was supposed to be held on the rooftop, but
the weather was slightly too chilly so everything was moved to the basement. We
seated ourselves near the front as the band, Soul Motion, began playing their
set. The music was a mixture of country and soul; it was the type of the music
that had us tapping our shoes and bopping our heads. No one was dancing though.
Eventually one couple started dancing in the corner in front of the stage. We
soon joined them and found ourselves dancing for the entirety of the night. We
ended the night on the rooftop watching the fireworks from the Fan Rally event.
The New Neighbor
We returned to the campsite only to be blinded by a light
beam. The beam came from a barge that had moored right next to us! It was using
the abandoned barge to anchor for the night and the workers were curious about
the tents. We chit chatted with a few of them until the late night.
The City of Stone and
Steel
On our second full day in Joliet, we did a self-tour of the
Joliet Iron Works Historic Site. The production of steel and the local
limestone quarries were located on the site in the 1900s. These two industries
largely contributed to Joliet’s economy; hence the city was nicknamed “The City
of Stone and Steel.” It was the second largest steel mill in the US from 1869
to 1936, but ceased all operations in the early 1980s. Today, the site is a
forest preserve where the public can enjoy bike trails and picnic
shelters. It was fascinating to see the
ruins of the blast furnaces and brick skeletons of the buildings because of
it’s importance to the city on a historical level and what little remains of it
in present day.
Our next stop was the Joliet Area Historical Museum where
Greg, the Museum Director, gave us a tour of the place. We learned about Route
66, the history of Joliet, the construction of the canal, the infamous Joliet
Prison, and John Houbolt. The museum does a wonderful job with the displays and
information that visitors aren’t overwhelmed by one section. The second floor
has large beautiful stained glass and overlooks the first floor. We had a great
time at the museum and then eventually stayed in the lobby area for Internet
until they closed.
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