We were a little more successful with puppy pictures this evening.
The Rock Island Rapids section of the Mississippi River began in LeClaire. It was a very treacherous portion of the river and it required specialized river boat pilots to navigate it. The captains would wait under the “Big Green Tree, and wait for boats to tie up and hire them for the day. Now the lock and dam system have eliminated the need for these pilots but the mystic of these revered captains lives on in our hometown.
Kathy and I own a little (now destroyed by the last Mississippi River flood) cottage on the old canal system. There is nothing we enjoy more than hanging with friends around our fire pit. (We hope to rebuild the cottage this year, and move permanently to the river!)
The railroad built the first bridge across the Mississippi between Davenport, IA and Rock Island, IL. The steamboats were not able to get under it, so the steamboat companies sued the rail road. Abraham Lincoln defended the railroad and won! We now have “swinging” bridges that allow for all forms of transportation to move down and across the Mississippi.
The Princeton Narrows are just north of our home on the river. It is just wide enough for two barges to pass. I hate meeting barges in this section of the river, but it is home to a great sand bar. Much fun and frivolity has occurred on that sand bar!
Olathea=beautiful place.
Filed under: Puppies | Tagged: Abraham Lincoln, Canal Shore, cardigan corgis, cardigan welsh corgis, LeClaire, Mississippi River, Olathea, Princeton Narrows, puppies, puppy, Riverboat Pilots, Rock Island Rapids | Leave a comment »