Good morning campers!
Had a good night - no rain. The birds are a natural alarm clock. Glad that I want to be up so early - otherwise they would be a pain for waking me up so early. :)
I want to go see where the Missouri enters into the Mississippi to come full circle with the river. I originally wanted to get to the headwaters of the Mississippi in Northern Minnesota, but it was just too much to add another 6 or 7 hours to get home to Indy so I just had to see the Missouri to its conclusion.
Well, the info sign pointing me in the direction to the State Park for the confluence of the two great rivers left a little out in the middle of the route. But perseverance and checking another map got me back on track. This park is on the tip of an island that sits between where the Illinois River enters the Mississippi and then where the Missouri mixes with the Mississippi at the other end of the island. It is across the Mississippi from Alton, IL. (May be familiar to those who follow Good Eats on the food channel.)
Like Lewis and Clark, showing much perseverance, I find the correct path to the confluence. The weather does not cooperate. Seems that all the rain that has been following me has flooded the low lying areas around the great rivers - the park is closed due to flooding. Great.
Looking at the map, I spy a location in Illinois across from the confluence of the great rivers - Fort Dubois - the starting point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Off we go to Alton, IL and south to Fort Dubois.
Along the way I find this huge piece of piping being moved from the river where it was taken off a barge to higher piece of land in case the mighty Mississippi decides to go exploring on its own. This is the 3rd of 5 pieces of the same size that are being moved. This huge structure is being "driven" by a man with a joy stick walking behind the moving structure. It was fun to watch this structure turn the corner. American engineering ingenuity.
On to Fort Dubois. The location of the Center is on the other side of the levee from the river, so the replica of the Fort and the Center itself are dry. However, the monument across the Mississippi from the confluence with the Missouri is flooded. Now I begin to start to get concerned. I start to look at the levees to see where I might hike to so I can get a picture.
Ah, I'd rather be lucky than good some times - and in this case I am. If just so happens that the floods of 1994 flooded out another monument marking the confluence of the great rivers on the Illinois side so money was raised for a tower that is 150 feet and looks over the levees. It is having its soft opening and had its Corps of Discovery users June 3. I am in luck.
A short elevator ride later - dot da da da - eureka - a confluence!
Inside the little visitor center they have a relief map of the area that is about 15 feet wide. There are 3 flat panel screens about the relief map. In front of the map are series of buttons numbered 1 - 15 from left to right. Problem is the numbers 1 - 15 on the relief map start right to left. The short video pieces show the appropriate video when the button is pushed, you just can not see where the area is that is being discussed on the video since it is on the other side of the map. That is what soft openings are for.
After the ride up the tower to see the confluence of the great rivers, two little girls visiting with their grandfather found a bunch of toads. One of them would scream and drop the toad every time the toad moved and then she would pick it right back up. Just some of the wildlife I have seen on my journey. The toads were funny as well.
I am on my way to Lawrence, KS for the evening. Jefferson City, MO is on the way so getting pictures of the Capitol will be easy and not too time consuming. But a stop before the Capitol is warranted. On the good ol' Rand McNally in the alerting red print are the words Winston Churchill Memorial.
Having a memorial to Churchill is a natural thing to have somewhere in the US. He was a great world leader and is deserving of such an honor. But why in the middle of no where Missouri?
It turns out that a small college - Westminster College- in Fulton, MO invited the Prime Minister to speak. The invitation was routed to President Truman as well. Truman added a personal note stating that the small College was in his home state and he would attend the ceremony as well. Churchill accepted after seeing Truman's note and gave one of his most important speeches on the Cold War at this tiny college in the middle of no where Missouri.
It is fine museum that chronicles Churchill's military and political life. It includes some captured Nazi video as well other original items. It has some of Churchill's cases that he used during his time of Prime Minister. One can only guess what important dispatches were carried in those cases. The museum is significantly better than the Mark Twain museum in Hannibal. If you ever find yourself driving along Interstate 70 in the middle of Missouri and find yourself with an extra hour or three, it is worth your time to stop.
The museum has the original letter with Truman's hand written note to Churchill. They also have a sizable piece of the Berlin Wall to go along with the theme of his speech. All in all a nice find along the way from Indy.
Moving on to Jefferson City to get some pictures of the Capitol, I happened upon a race of solar powered cars. The cars are mostly from US Universities with a few international entrants. The race is called 2010 American Solar Challenge. Good timing once again in that I was there about 15 minutes when the Stanford entry arrived. Jefferson City was the half way point for that day's drive.
The University of Michigan entry won for the 6th time of the 10 years of the race. UM also came in 3rd in the Australian Solar Challenge. Their car could attain speeds of 100 mph. The poor drivers have very little ventilation. They look like prairie dogs sticking their heads out of their burrows as the driver looks out of a bubble in the middle of a sea of solar panels. Stanford's driver headed for the nearest fountain to try to cool off. It was very hot that day and with such little ventilation in the cars due to weight considerations, I am surprised the drivers don't pass out from heat exposure. But they are young college students having their own Corps of Discovery moment.
Finally there are the pictures of the Capitol Building and a replica of the Liberty Bell that is on the grounds.
Thanks for traveling along. The next post will continue the trip through Missouri to Lawrence, KS.
Michael
Had a good night - no rain. The birds are a natural alarm clock. Glad that I want to be up so early - otherwise they would be a pain for waking me up so early. :)
I want to go see where the Missouri enters into the Mississippi to come full circle with the river. I originally wanted to get to the headwaters of the Mississippi in Northern Minnesota, but it was just too much to add another 6 or 7 hours to get home to Indy so I just had to see the Missouri to its conclusion.
Well, the info sign pointing me in the direction to the State Park for the confluence of the two great rivers left a little out in the middle of the route. But perseverance and checking another map got me back on track. This park is on the tip of an island that sits between where the Illinois River enters the Mississippi and then where the Missouri mixes with the Mississippi at the other end of the island. It is across the Mississippi from Alton, IL. (May be familiar to those who follow Good Eats on the food channel.)
Like Lewis and Clark, showing much perseverance, I find the correct path to the confluence. The weather does not cooperate. Seems that all the rain that has been following me has flooded the low lying areas around the great rivers - the park is closed due to flooding. Great.
Looking at the map, I spy a location in Illinois across from the confluence of the great rivers - Fort Dubois - the starting point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Off we go to Alton, IL and south to Fort Dubois.
Along the way I find this huge piece of piping being moved from the river where it was taken off a barge to higher piece of land in case the mighty Mississippi decides to go exploring on its own. This is the 3rd of 5 pieces of the same size that are being moved. This huge structure is being "driven" by a man with a joy stick walking behind the moving structure. It was fun to watch this structure turn the corner. American engineering ingenuity.
On to Fort Dubois. The location of the Center is on the other side of the levee from the river, so the replica of the Fort and the Center itself are dry. However, the monument across the Mississippi from the confluence with the Missouri is flooded. Now I begin to start to get concerned. I start to look at the levees to see where I might hike to so I can get a picture.
Ah, I'd rather be lucky than good some times - and in this case I am. If just so happens that the floods of 1994 flooded out another monument marking the confluence of the great rivers on the Illinois side so money was raised for a tower that is 150 feet and looks over the levees. It is having its soft opening and had its Corps of Discovery users June 3. I am in luck.
A short elevator ride later - dot da da da - eureka - a confluence!
Inside the little visitor center they have a relief map of the area that is about 15 feet wide. There are 3 flat panel screens about the relief map. In front of the map are series of buttons numbered 1 - 15 from left to right. Problem is the numbers 1 - 15 on the relief map start right to left. The short video pieces show the appropriate video when the button is pushed, you just can not see where the area is that is being discussed on the video since it is on the other side of the map. That is what soft openings are for.
After the ride up the tower to see the confluence of the great rivers, two little girls visiting with their grandfather found a bunch of toads. One of them would scream and drop the toad every time the toad moved and then she would pick it right back up. Just some of the wildlife I have seen on my journey. The toads were funny as well.
I am on my way to Lawrence, KS for the evening. Jefferson City, MO is on the way so getting pictures of the Capitol will be easy and not too time consuming. But a stop before the Capitol is warranted. On the good ol' Rand McNally in the alerting red print are the words Winston Churchill Memorial.
Having a memorial to Churchill is a natural thing to have somewhere in the US. He was a great world leader and is deserving of such an honor. But why in the middle of no where Missouri?
It turns out that a small college - Westminster College- in Fulton, MO invited the Prime Minister to speak. The invitation was routed to President Truman as well. Truman added a personal note stating that the small College was in his home state and he would attend the ceremony as well. Churchill accepted after seeing Truman's note and gave one of his most important speeches on the Cold War at this tiny college in the middle of no where Missouri.
It is fine museum that chronicles Churchill's military and political life. It includes some captured Nazi video as well other original items. It has some of Churchill's cases that he used during his time of Prime Minister. One can only guess what important dispatches were carried in those cases. The museum is significantly better than the Mark Twain museum in Hannibal. If you ever find yourself driving along Interstate 70 in the middle of Missouri and find yourself with an extra hour or three, it is worth your time to stop.
The museum has the original letter with Truman's hand written note to Churchill. They also have a sizable piece of the Berlin Wall to go along with the theme of his speech. All in all a nice find along the way from Indy.
Moving on to Jefferson City to get some pictures of the Capitol, I happened upon a race of solar powered cars. The cars are mostly from US Universities with a few international entrants. The race is called 2010 American Solar Challenge. Good timing once again in that I was there about 15 minutes when the Stanford entry arrived. Jefferson City was the half way point for that day's drive.
The University of Michigan entry won for the 6th time of the 10 years of the race. UM also came in 3rd in the Australian Solar Challenge. Their car could attain speeds of 100 mph. The poor drivers have very little ventilation. They look like prairie dogs sticking their heads out of their burrows as the driver looks out of a bubble in the middle of a sea of solar panels. Stanford's driver headed for the nearest fountain to try to cool off. It was very hot that day and with such little ventilation in the cars due to weight considerations, I am surprised the drivers don't pass out from heat exposure. But they are young college students having their own Corps of Discovery moment.
Finally there are the pictures of the Capitol Building and a replica of the Liberty Bell that is on the grounds.
Thanks for traveling along. The next post will continue the trip through Missouri to Lawrence, KS.
Michael
No comments:
Post a Comment