miss doris 3

miss doris3

My dear friends in Apple Genius land held my laptop hostage all week until intense negotiations finally secured it’s release. To celebrate, I am posting Miss Doris 3. Hope you enjoy.

miss doris 2

miss doris2

Had a wonderful week at band camp. I brought my phone, so I did not take many pictures, but I may post one or two this week. In the meantime, apparently I have already posted an image of Miss Doris, so this is, officially, the second image of this river boat and barge. Now that the flooding has receded the boats and barges are able to use the Illinois Waterway once again. Miss Doris 3 is coming soon.

a rainy june

quiet river sunrise

The summer flooding of the Illinois River has finally begun to recede. Illinois has had record rains in June, so hopefully we will be entering a bit of a drier weather pattern in July. This park is still closed due to the swollen Illinois River.

waterworld

the locks at marseilles

the ocks at marsellies

You can read about the Illinois Waterway here. This is the lock and dam in Marseilles, IL. The recent rains that resulted in flood conditions made the river a loud, violent presence at this location.

rain, rain go away

river trees

A week ago we had a terrific rainstorm that featured record sized hail for our area. That was the beginning of a few days of torrential rain that resulted in swollen creeks and rivers and flooded roads all over this region. This is the Illinois River, at William G. Stratton State Park, in Morris, IL, a favorite destination that is featured in many posts on this blog. The image below was taken with my phone and gives you a sense of the flooding at this park.

flooded IL river

illinois river bridge

illinois river bridge4

Take a hike along the I&M Canal, turn left at the train trestle, hike along the tracks to the river and you will find this bridge.

illinois river bridge3

illinois river bridge5

riverside family

riverside family

illinois river

ilinois river

We have had a rainy spring, so I thought it best not to walk on this dock while the river was a bit higher than usual.

in a quiet moment

quiet moment

in a quiet moment

the not so bleak

the note so bleak

To follow up the previous post (bleak), here is a winter moment with a different kind of beauty. A cold, crisp, serene sunrise along the banks of the Illinois River. Here at home we are just digging out from an apocalyptic snow storm (frighteningly names “Linus”), so I will visit this spot early in the morning to see a new, wintry sunrise. I love this beautiful world.