A Car Trip Along the Mississippi River

Our goal on this two day road trip was to visit the town of Nauvoo, Illinois.  We took highway 61 north which follows the Mississippi River, and and on that road trip saw the damage left by the river when it overflowed its banks this past spring.  Many small towns in America are struggling to survive because of people leaving rural areas and looking for improved opportunities in the big cities.  Now the overflowing river has increased the problems for the river cities.  We have visited Clarksville, Mo. in the past to watch eagle activity around the river in January.  We always found stores and places to eat on the main street of town, a street located parallel to the river.  In recent months flooding on the river came up to those doors and higher- many of the places are now shuttered and some closed.

Around Quincy, Illinois we were in need of a break to get out and stretch our legs.  We saw signs for a stone bridge and decided to use that for our stop.  The signs directed us into South Park (apparently the second largest park in Quincy) where we found the bridge.  It was a peaceful walk down a woodland trail, along Curtis Creek to the bridge- but yuck, the smell in this area was bad.  We got out of there quickly. John and I explored the park a bit more to get information on the bridge. We found some interpretive signs and learned the the bridge was  built in the 1890s by Quincy architect George Wood.  He also designed the band pavilion in the park.

 

 During most of our drive along the Mississippi we always saw the height of the Mississippi River located up to its banks, except for the area coming into the town of Nauvoo.  Here water lilies were blooming with large swaths growing in shallow areas along the banks of the river.  We got out to view them and detected a faint floral smell which was quite pleasant,  Not sure if it was the flowers or something else we were smelling!

The large Mormon temple overlooks the river in Nauvoo.  The current temple was dedicated in 2002.  The first temple was built under the direction of Joseph Smith in 1841.  Conditions in Nauvoo became unsettled after Joseph and his brother were assassinated in 1844.  The temple was hurriedly dedicated in 1846,  and an arsonist burned that first temple in 1848.  Pictured below is a statue of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum.  More on the town of Navoo in my next posting.