Illinois Waterway Visitor Center, Ottawa

Driving the bottom road back from Utica we stopped on a whim and were glad we did. My first time being back in the area after many years and this stop was awesome. We were lucky enough to see a barge coming up river. We thought there was no way it would fit but it did. Really neat to see. There is a small exhibit hall with bathrooms that we used. We were thankful for them. We didn’t interact with anyone and the place was very dusty inside. Outside was were the real beauty was. Definitely worth a visit.

What a great place. In the warm months you can watch the boats going through the canel system. In the winter you can watch the eagles. The small museum inside is very nice.