Day 154-155- September 17 & 18 Grafton, IL to Alton, IL

                                                       DAY 154-155   

September 17-18 

While in Alton, IL we rode the bikes to the Melvin Price Locks & Dam which also was home to the National Great Rivers Museum.
When we think of dams on a river the first thought is usually that they are there to prevent flooding. On the Mississippi River the dams and locks are there to make the river navigable by keeping the water levels at least at 9 feet. 


The Auxiliary Chamber


The Middle Mississippi, between the red arrows, is the 195 miles we will be on.



The "stairway of water" is controlled by "tainter gates".


This is a photo of how "tainter gates" work.

This video shows the "tainter gates" in action on their model.



This is a real "Tainter Gate".  Hinged at the left, they swing down into the water to control the river level above the dam.  They also collect driftwood...



The cleverly drawn blue line outlines the dimensions of the inside of a typical river barge.
Paul was added to the inside of the barge for perspective.
So far the largest tow, the name for barges being pushed by a tug,
was 3 barges wide by 5 barges long plus the tug.
We have been told to expect to see larger tows on the Mississippi River.








The Missouri River passes through and divides my home state of South Dakota.
It joins the Mississippi River between Alton, IL and Saint Louis, MO.

Looking back up-river, our marina is immediately under the bridge on the right side, only about 1.75 miles away.  Ask me how I know.


I rode my e-bike 7.8 miles to a Walmart store. Saw these along the way.


Hmmmmmm?


Apparently it is a Trail Critter.

A foot bridge on the levee trail.  I don't know how far the trail goes, but farther than I wanted to walk each day.  It's a noisy bridge.  All of the boards are held in place by metal angle iron on each end, but not attached.  Clunk, clunk, clunk...
When I rode my bike across this bridge it sounded like the planks were flying off as fast as I crossed them. Eerie sounds, like in cartoons when the bridge disintegrates as the guy drives over it.


National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Sunset on the big river.

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