Just in case - those of you who don't live in the Midwest think that our flooding has subsided... You'd be wrong... The last of May, the flood waters returned with a vengeance. Taking out both I-29 & Hwy 34 yet again. Work that had gone on almost non-stop, halted. Both had been re-opened & are now closed again all the way to Missouri.
Over the Plattsmouth Bridge~
The Plattsmouth Bridge was also closed again, due to flood waters on the Iowa side going over the road. This left people with only two options to reach NE. Either up through Council Bluffs to Omaha, or the Bellevue Bridge. The bridge at Hwy 2, used by many to the south to reach Nebraska City & Lincoln was also closed with water over the road.
The Missouri - taking over its flood plain~
We we've been looking at another vehicle for me, my thumbs are so bad that I can't easily open the doors of the Bronco anymore. I'd also like heated seats for winter! Since the bridge had just re-opened for the second time, we took that way to reach a dealership on the Nebraska side.
Water everywhere~
Several weeks ago, we drove through the town of Pacific Junction. It was a horrible sight to see, homeowners had gone back in & cleaned out their homes. Piles of debris, some almost as large as the homes themselves had been moved to the street for pickup. Just heart-rending sad to see this & I did not take photos.
Both sides of the road~
The Glenwood Resource Center has become the hub for the flood victims. Originally serving three meals a day, thanks to the local church groups who took turns working to cook & serve those meals. The last figure I heard, they had put out over 130,000 meals.
Our way east toward home~
The scope of the disaster will be felt for years, re-building the levee's has been delayed by the newest onset of melt-water from the north - along with a terrifically wet spring.
Thank you to Silver Cloud Photography~
Silver Cloud Photography has done a terrific job of photographing the floods... The photo above was taken May 31st. Those displaced have been offered government buy-outs & most have accepted. That still doesn't take into account families who have lived in this area for generations & now are loosing not only their home or farm, but also their history on the land...
I-29 was recently re-opened, but there are no open exits from Glenwood to the Missouri state line.
With Summer now here & the heat going up, we're experiencing high dew points, with crazy high humidity. So much water trapped, the bugs are taking over. Driving down the roads, clouds of insects cover the windshields. Levee repairs have been delayed too. Iowan's are a tough - resilient people. Staying positive & moving forward even in the face of disastrous times.
I think every person in our state, is ready to be Done with Snow! In the month of February, it just kept coming, setting all-time records. Saturday, we had a nice dusting overnight. It was just enough to cover all the dirty snow from the snow plows going by. I'm not complaining - since while I was in Washington - we had 15" & the neighborhood streets didn't get plowed for days. This same weekend, our first March here, I was riding Farah at Indian Cave St. Park in NE!
North on 29~
I have a difficult time explaining Iowa weather to friends in WA. To have terrible weather one day & wake to brilliant sunshine the next is very different from there. I don't miss the days or weeks on end of slate gray days. So far, that has not been our experience here.
Plattsmouth Bridge~
By Sunday, yes, the sun was shining! That didn't stop the cold! As we enjoyed our drive, the thermometer in the truck ranged between 1-3 degrees. The 15-20 mph wind made it so cold that I was shivering just to get my photo!
I had Butch stop in the middle of the bridge so I could take the video above of the frazil ice floating down the river.
Lake at Pony Creek~
We ended up going by the Pony Creek Nature Center. The lake in front was totally frozen over, except for the outflow. Hundreds of ducks were surrounding the open water.
Snow drifts~
I decided to walk out & around the cabin today & see what the timber looked like. Butch kept the path shoveled to the porch. As I walked around the west side though, the drifts were higher than the top of my muck boots!
Crusty snow!
The frozen crust on top, was about 2" thick. I broke through & there was a crunch sound with every step. Too deep for me to take Nika on our usual walk. She breaks through it in the yard & has made a track around the edge, but this is a lot of snow!
Pristine Timber~
The timber looked so pretty with the deep layer of white stuff. I could just see the wood pile I'd been working on in January. To think - that I thought then - we might have another mild winter! Not! It could be weeks before we see the ground again, especially since our forecast holds more snow showers past the middle of March!
Nika waiting at the corner of the backyard~
Nika's fur coat is the thickest it's ever been. She seems to enjoy her time out each day, but is always ready to come in when I call her. I knew full well, when I enjoyed those beautiful snowdrops at Jentry's & flowers at the Seattle Flower Festival, that it would be a long while before I get to enjoy any blooms here at home!
