Photos: 'Ageless Wanderer' Robert Youens passes through Starved Rock on a Jon boat

71-year-old adventurer and thyroid cancer survivor Robert Youens smiles while locking at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam on Monday, July 28, 2025, near Utica. Youens is making the Great Loop, a 6,000-mile journey on his Jon boat. Youens is looking at setting a record for the longest someone has gone on a Jon boat. Youens has 84 gallons of fuel and no cooler. He sleeps on the boat at night with a planned 7-hour rest. (Scott Anderson)