More of Day 2

There was so much to see there that my brain is still on overload. So, I will take the time today to share some of the sights we saw while walking around London on day 2.

The walk along the River Thames was as enjoyable as it was relaxing, and I learned a bunch of stuff, like the image in my head of London Bridge is actually Tower Bridge as it leads to the Tower of London. London Bridge is a concrete bridge much like the ones we see today with wide walkways for people to walk.

From London Bridge, you can see Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is much more graceful and elegant than the other bridges in London. It was built in 1894 with roadways that lift for passing ships. It is an engineering marvel and an icon for London.

Continuing your walk down the Thames, the first statue/monument you see is that of Queen Boudica. Boudica or Boudicca was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She is considered a British national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence.

Our goal was to walk down to Cleopatra’s Needle. Cleopatra’s Needle in London is one of a pair of obelisks, together named Cleopatra’s Needles, that were moved from the ruins of the Caesareum of Alexandria, in Egypt, in the 19th century. Inscribed by Thutmose III and later Ramesses II of the Egyptian New Kingdom, the obelisk was moved in 12 BC to Alexandria, where it remained for over 1,800 years.

It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali as a diplomatic gift. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to pay to move the obelisk to London. It was subsequently erected in the West End of London on the Victoria Embankment in Westminster in 1878.

On either side of the Needle are Sphinx that protect it. Along the bottom of the Sphinx, you will see holes and damage from bullet/shrapnel fire during WWI.

As we walked through the city, we kept seeing this tall monument. I took pictures from several streets that showed it’s central location of the area. Standing 202 feet high and 202 feet from the spot on Pudding Lane where the great fire is thought to have started, The Monument to the Great Fire of London is the tallest isolated stone column in the world.

I think this is in Latin, maybe you can read it

Below are other buildings with interesting architectures that I enjoyed.

I hope you have enjoyed these as much as I did. I am always fascinated with these grand structures built so many years ago with such grace, elegance, and artistry.

I close with a reminder to be kind and show that we can change the world with kindness…if everyone is kind.

Fun on the River, Lock & Dam

If you had been following my two prior posts about my adventure on the river, this will be the final one as I share the amazement of Lock & Dam #16 on the Mississippi River.

I did not realize until this adventure how many dams there are on this river and actually how many rivers across the world share this same lock and dam technology. This part of the trip was my real reason for going. I love seeing how things work, so I will share some of things I thought interesting and maybe it will be interesting to you as well.

As we head downriver, the new I-74 bridge is the first structure we see. The official name for the bridge is the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. It replaced the old metal structured bridge which is currently being taken down.

At night, there are colored light that really show the beauty of this bridge. Depending on the season or holiday, the colors will change. Before getting to the bridge, there is this pile of boulders right in the middle. There evidently is enough soil on this small rock island to grow vegetation and usually it is surrounded by pelicans but today they are further down river.

Notice the numbers on the post with the orange caution signs…these are mile markers. The entire river is numbered and posted periodically. While there is no mileage map of the river, it is on a GPS of the river for the boat captains who use this river to know where they are at any given location. Our guide told us the number of products that in a year average up and down this river and I was amazed. Without the help of our rivers, a good portion of the products we use would be less getting to us.

As we got under the new I-74 bridge, you could see the old one as it is being dismantled and taken down. This twin bridge was originally a single bridge but as the area grew, it needed to be larger.

The first span opened in 1935 as a toll bridge. In 1959, an identical twin span was added to satisfy increased traffic. The twin spans were upgraded to carry interstate traffic in the mid-1970s. Built for a daily crossing of 48,000 vehicles, the daily average at its closing was 80,000, making it by far the most traveled bridge in the Quad Cities.

From the bridges, we headed to Lock and Dam #16. Upon entering, we tied off to the side and waited for the gates to close.

The lock system uses gravity to lower the water. Underneath the lock chamber are deep tunnels and when the gates are locked, the weight of the water above the tunnels pushes the water through the tunnels which lowers the boat.

You can see how far the waterline fell for us to be able to exit the lock chamber. Because the lock is so close to the Arsenal bridge, when the river is running high, which it is now, the bridge has to open for boats to be able to pass under it.

This section of the bridge is operated by a trolley car engine that allows it to rotate 90 degrees allowing water traffic to pass by the bridge.

Because this section of the water flow is controlled and relatively calm, the downward river side is a haven for pelicans and other water birds.

Once we were out of the lock, we could see the roller dam. From what our guide told us, this is the largest roller dam in the US. He also told us that the knowledge they learned when making this particular lock and dam was used when they made the much larger Panama lock and dam system.

The water coming through the roller dam was a lot more turbulent than the water from the lock. The purpose of the roller dam is to break up and control ice flows during the winter.

As we traveled further down river we could see the Centennial Bridge but we turned before we got there and headed back to the dock.

Before returning to the dock, we went through the original lock from the late 1800s which is no longer in use but was still interesting the way the water flows through it.

As we returned back through the lock we had a supervisor of sorts watching us to make sure we behaved…a blue heron. A really beautiful bird. He evidently is a regular guard.

All in all this was an interesting and fun excursion. I hope you enjoyed my photos and maybe learned something different. Below are some additional photos I took while on the river. Hope you enjoy them.

In closing I remind you of the beauty and power of kindness. The kinder we are, the hope is, the kinder the world will be. Lets at least do out part in always being kind.

Fun Foto Challenge: Man Made

With this challenge from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge the gate is wide open. The first thing that popped in my mind was the new I-74 bridge connecting Illinois to Iowa or the other way around. It has been fascinating watching this huge thing go up, then they will tear the old one down. I give you a before and after scenario with one side of the arch almost complete and the the closing of the arch. When you think of the power and amount of water that goes down the Mississippi at any given moment, this is amazing.

The other side of man made which hits closer to home…and my kitchen as “home made”, with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Breakfast includes a good southern helping of buttered grits covering scrambled eggs that are smothered in sausage gravy. Lunch is scrambled dogs (how you spread three chili dogs for 4 people) and Dinner is fried pork chop, turnip greens, black-eyes and tomato gravy on buttered toast.

The following are a few other photos I took that are worth mentioning with man made. The wooden statue on the end was of a tree that died so the owner carved a knight out of what was left. The home now is a home for those trying to get back on their feet.

In this fun of looking at Man Made items, remember one of the easiest, least expensive and most beautiful things man can make is…kindness.

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CFFC, Fun With the Past

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge allows us to bring fun from our archives or new pictures that reflect ideas from the picture above : Mural, covered bridge, car, green, grass, vintage car, people, trees, road, flowers, landscape, sidewalk, or come up with your own topic.

So below are some of my pictures of the past. Since we are venturing out less right now, I felt this was a fun way to deal with the self quarantine.

Mural, one of several from my town, Rock Island Illinois:

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Centennial Bridge between Iowa and Illinois and blue sky:

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Flowers, can’t wait until spring:

Landscape & trees around town:

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Old cars:

We are now in a time of more fear and resentment and the need for kindness and patience is drastically needed more than ever. Remember to always be kind especially when others are not. Be the light they need.

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The Great Outdoors, fpj-photo-challenge

While this week’s challenge from Jansen Photo is Outdoors, I believe it is meant for the beauty of nature…well, I am going to bend that just a bit and be amazed by the architecture of man spanning the Mississippi River. After all, it is outdoors. This bridge has been under construction now for about 2 years and I think it is due to open by end of next year. It has been amazing to watch, I posted earlier pictures in November if you care to go see those here. We went across to the other side and had to use this bridge – what a reroute you have to go through right now, glad I don’t have to use it everyday because the roads are moving as well.

But I was amazed at the progress, especially knowing the winter we went through and the massive flood (91 days) that has just now settled back into its banks.

So check out these pictures and remember even though man can aggravate you at time, he can be pretty amazing as well. I also realize that I am a bit of a geek since I came from quality management but I think these are neat. Hope you enjoy.

These white things sticking in the air are going to be archways spanning across.

And in closing, I remind you to maybe reach out and build a bridge over to someone or something who needs to cross into kindness. It may bring brightness into their lives.

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Really…How?

This morning I created a post about our love for our pets and made the comment that some dogs are smarter than some people. Now I am not saying that some people are stupid, but I am saying a lot of people don’t think about what they are doing which makes us call them stupid. I also made the comment that I didn’t have a picture explaining that phenomenon…now I do! And I thought I would share, mostly because this is the second time in two weeks this has happened. Really?!?

Driving intellegence.image — See the flashing lights at the top of the picture…yea…

Last week was even more…interesting…as a big ole truck hit the bridge, put on his flashers as a warning because he was now attached to the bridge…got run into from behind…because basically he was a parked truck…really?!!?

Yea…dogs seem smarter than some people.

So remember while it is not kind to say people are stupid, it is not unkind to say people don’t think two feet of where they are going. So extra kindness needs to go forth to some people…to keep you from slapping them. God can only do so much when we refuse to use the intelligence he gave us.

So let us work extra hard at being kind especially when you have to shake your head. Some people really need it.

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The Mighty “Mississip”, Snow Melt Begins

The river is still rising. Currently at 20.4 feet expected to crest at well over 21 feet. Depending on where you are along this section of the Mississippi, it leaves it banks anywhere from 16′ to 18′. Therein lies the problem when you are over 20′ of flood stage.

IMG_20190406_161202 — This is River Drive, how appropriate.

The biggest concern now is tomorrow – rain storm possible with flash flooding – really. There is no where for the flash flood to go, it will just add to the flood already in progress. Lets put this into scientific facts for you. The Mississippi’s current water flow on an average(no flood) day is 2 million cubic feet per second…per second! Okay, lets try to bring that better into perspective. There are 7.489 gallons per cubic foot which weigh 62.4 lbs. A 48′ long semi truck trailer holds 3,600 cubic feet. To boil it all down – its a lot of water. Some of the smaller communities along the river in this area that rely on their wells for water can not longer use their wells due to the flooding. So they basically have no water. I am reminded of a phrase – Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

I am still amazed that currently, the trains are still running but I hear that is going to change soon if the water keeps rising. And it looks like it probably will.

I went onto the walkway of the bridge to get these shots. Yes – I walked, yea me. For those who are new to my postings, I am recovering from foot surgery.

IMG_20190406_161402 — There is a walkway where you can walk across the bridge. Some amazing shots from there. Check out the current around the piling of the bridge.

Below is the one shot I really wanted to get. I just have my phone camera so I can’t do long distances but that concrete building beyond the ball field is the back of a bandstand and there are outdoor chairs bolted down to a concrete pad to watch the band with a dance pad between the chairs and the band stand. The chairs are totally under water.

IMG_20190406_162253 — A winding sidewalk with lamppost is between those big trees and the river bank. The retaining wall for that sidewalk is underwater.

So always be aware of what water can do. Even the tiniest leak can be a real headache. But I learned when young and living in Florida that water can be a beast to reckon with. Please keep these communities along this river in your prayers. This is a LONG river and the further south it goes the wider it gets. They are telling us this amount of flood stage will be with us for awhile.

And I close with good thoughts of sharing kindness, even when life gets tough. There is always room for sharing God’s light in kindness. It may be the one spark of love that person may see that day.

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Bridges @ Iowa and Illinois, A Photo a Week

Living on one side of the river and working on the others can cause a transportation problem if we did have bridges. There are some places around the world that have ferry boats that take people and sometimes cars from one side of the river to the other.

Where I live on the Mississippi we have numerous bridges, some for cars and some for trains. Most have identifying names so in conversation you can tell what side of the quad cities you are referring to. There are 4 cities linked together, 2 cities on each side of the river that the only way you can tell what city you are in is by the street name. For instance if you were on 49th street and all of a sudden you were on 1st street, you went from Davenport to Bettendorf in Iowa or from Rock Island to Moline in Illinois. On the far west side of town you have the first bridge, the Blue Bridge(that used to be the yellow bridge) which is actually the 280 bypass. The next bridge east is a railroad bridge and coming further east you have the newer bridge, the Centennial Bridge, which connects the downtown areas of Davenport and Rock Island. This is the bridge where all the 4th of July festivities are surrounded. A barge is put in the middle of the river and is where they shoot off fireworks. The next bridge over is the Arsenal Bridge and Lock Dam that goes from Davenport’s east side the the Rock Island Base. Coming further east is the I-74 Corridor bridge which is in the process of its 3rd and massive rebuild. The the last bridge for the area is the I-80 bridge which will probably be the next rebuild project one the I-74 bridge is complete in 2020.

In following Nancy Merrill’s prompt of Bridges I am featuring the center most bridges of the area. There is also a smaller river in this area, the Rock river that flows into the Mississippi that has several bridges as well but they are not as photographic as these. So enjoy. I do apologize for the gray day but its that kind of day.

IMG_20181102_112343 — The Centennial Bridge with the Railroad bridge in the distance.

IMG_20180713_131048 — Paddle boat ride up the river showing construction on I-74 Corridor Bridge earlier this summer

These two pictures below show construction barges and cranes. In October you could main frames for the structure footings and some of the first sections of the bridge are complete. I will send update maybe in the spring.

The area I live in is really not that big in comparison of the larger metro cities but is big enough to need several bridges to carry people from side to the other.

In closing today I close with a wonderful smile as a reminder to always be kind. your kindness may be the only nice thing that person may get on a given day.

smiling — This smile can turn any frown upside down.