What More Can Happen to Iowa????

Let's sum up our stay in Iowa City thus far...multiple tornado warnings last summer/fall. OK, no touch downs so that was not a big deal. Sixty inches of snow in the winter. It was awful, beyond words awful, but we survived. This spring, a "500 year flood" that is predicted to be WORSE than the 1993 Iowa River flood. We all remember the 1993 Mississippi River flood and how legendary that is. On June 19, the Iowa River water level is supposed to be crest at 33 feet (anything above 22 feet is considered a flood). For those of you who have visited us, you know that the Iowa River flows down the middle of Iowa City. Our house should be fine, but we are worried about access to main roads and the water supply (if the flood water breaches the sandbag levee around the water supply we are in big trouble). The good news is that our house is being packed up on Friday and I am returning to Springfield on Saturday. We should be able to make it out safely, but Joe needs to remain in the house until the end of the month. He may be canoeing to work! We believe that a swarm of locusts is due to hit Iowa in July....

When there is a legendary event in your town, what do you do? You go see it! It was probably not the smartest thing that we could have done, but the kids, my mom (who is here to help with the move), and I ventured over a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Iowa River. The sight was unbelievable, and the noise was deafening. We were not the only people that went sightseeing, as the bridge was busy with people toting cameras and videocameras. Here is Olivia checking out the water levels. She really was mesmerized by the water and wasn't at all scared walking around on the bridge and viewing decks. Mom and I, on the other hand, were white-knuckled by the end.


I realize that it may have been a bit strange to smile at the camera with such an awful event happening in the background, but I guess it was habit. Ethan was in the stroller for his own safety - he is too much of a wiggle-worm these days!

This is not supposed to be a river. This is supposed to be a forest next to the river. It was a terrible yet awesome sight to witness this flooding. On a side note, the Devonian Fossil Gorge (see blog posts from 9/20/07 and 8/27/07) is now completely underwater and will probably emerge changed. The floods of 1993 is what revealed the Gorge, and I wonder what will be revealed after this flood recedes?