Deflection

What is going on with this weather? In May, we had days of ninety degree temperatures. And now, in southern Illinois the temperature is in the low twenties. Both extremes have not been heard of in this part of the county. To add to the confusion, here in central Illinois, it is to get down to thirteen degrees. WOW.

This morning was eye opening, after I when down to the river fount in Cape Girardeau. To begin with, on the side concrete jams for the flood gates for the city at the top of the lower river bank, there was marks on the recent flooding, with the recent flood being in 2017. If you look at the water level five years later, the water is down like over 25 feet. To the north of the city, there is a boat ramp. And, to the sides of the boat ramp, there are two feet in diameter logs that were placed there in flood condition when the water over at least twenty-five feet high than the present condition. As I was driving back to the east over the bridge, there was a huge amount of sand to the south exposed on both sides of the river.

Driving south, I could see ten feet of exposed jetties on both sides of the river. The barges were parked on both sides of the river. I them got to Fort Defiance where the Ohio River drains into the Mississippi River. Although the water was low at this point, things looked fairly normal. But there was a number of barges parked in the Ohio River.

By looking at the river, it is a whole lot bigger than I would have ever believed and especially deeper, since there are tows of fifteen barges empty being pushed up river in some location where the water is probably fifteen feet below normal pool. But, when it floods, the water volume must be massive, since it would be many acres wider than it is shown today. As low as the river is, it seem like it will take a few years to fill it full, it the rains were to start yet this year.

Fort Defiance was constructed during the civil war to keep the freight moving on both rivers, but all of the buildings are gone. It is a bleak park that is not very well kept up. In fact, the whole city of Cairo seem to be economically depressed. As a side note that makes sense, it is the lowest point in the state of Illinois. Or, the point where both rivers come together.

When Lewis and Clark got to the location of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 1803 (I am thinking that it was November: it must have been warmer than it is this year), they made camp for several days. Lewis was teaching Clark celestial survey. But, as I read the journals, they never mastered celestial survey during the whole trip; therefore, regarding the whole trip, Clark used dead reckoning. It is taking an estimated direction and distance and then repeating the process over and over again. So, if they mess-up the first direction, the whole map would be off from the proper location. As this method was checked out through the years, Clark was not too far off.

Most of my driving on the east side of the river was in a flat area between the river and the upper river banks. This is the location then the river was wider caring the glacier water to the Gulf of Mexico. Although the soil looks rich, it is easily worked up between the harvest and planting. But, with the river so close by, I would have thought that they would be irrigating the whole area, but the soil must be so rich that it does not need irrigation.

After leaving the Mississippi River, I traveled through the Shawnee National Forest. At first I was not too impressed, since it is located in the areas of private properties and the lower portion is the flat lands of the old river bottoms. But I finally took a side road to the Bell Smith Springs Recreational Area and I found good hiking trails in the forest. So, when I got to Harrisburg, I pick up information on the park. Therefore, I might have to take a better look at this area. Once the leaves are down in Wisconsin, I might have to think about pulling the trail down to the park for a few days and enjoy the weather. (Defiantly too hot in the summer, if you know me.)

Tomorrow, I am planning on being back in Whitewater for the evening. I have been kind of depressed over the past month. So, by writing these journals again, it is helping with my depression and I will get back into writing them again.

Roger