Is this river always Green? 15 July 2021 On the Chicago River
The weather was as clear as it was ever going to be so we headed down the stairs to the river walk. On the way it started to rain so we ducked off the side under cover. We got to see a whole new part of Chicago as folks streamed down to river level. A scooter gang went by, a few lost tourists, joggers, fellow boat tourists, families and of course dog walkers. The tour was 90 minutes and we had a decent narrator. There is lots of boat traffic on the Chicago River. There are massive tug driven tourist barges, water taxis, Chicago Police boats, pleasure craft of all sizes, party boats and even a multi person pedal bar/boat. The smallest pleasure boat that we saw was manned by a novice who did not seem to know how to operate his craft. We watched him flounder in the center of the river trying to get out of the way of a larger boat. He manages to get over to our side but he actually hits out boat in the process. A gentle bounce off of us but a boating faux paus nonetheless! The tour took us under many bridges and along both arms of the river. The Chicago river was engineered so that the direction of its flow was reversed and it no longer flows into Lake Michigan. This is the only river in the world to have been modified in such a manner. The fog rolled in just as we get out into a larger space by Navy Pier. The thick fog took the light and the heat and so we were chilled when the tour was over. We walked the river walk for a bit to warm up but when it started to rain we called it a night.
Not even electric scooters
The celebs are on the boat
The paparazzi have found our whereabouts
They are coming in on small boats, collision!
After hitting our tour boat this small vessel sheepishly departs
Big traffic on the river
From Chicago School
To Art Deco
Modern, Post Modern and Bauhaus
Beaux Arts
The "I hope I don't back up too far and fall into the river" style
Industrial Style with thick clouds
Big heads think alike
Build right before the crash of '29
In the process of being built
We passed under more than 20 bridges and all are drawbridges
A little at a time make a building built
Some are rough around the edges
Some seem to be missing parts
Some support modern flourishes
Here Ceres is sporting a more of a classic look
Functionality drives some designs
Time has taken its toll on others
Imagine having this as your view
On the side of the Former Sears Tower is a box with a 100 story drop as the view
Viewing stations clinging to the side
Some break the chains of tradition
Actual chains
The red box indicated this building's location. That is a hard way to say you are here
Then the fog rolls in
With it a brisk wind
loosing light
and loosing us
Not your grandpa's pedal boat
