We've come late to the party compared to most of the U.S. but it happens sooner or later. We don't normally get a lot of snow but there was some Saturday morning, just enough to make my granddaughter beg to go sledding. Won't be much left by Sunday. Don't know the name of these berries just outside my front porch (I bet Mrs. C does) but they are pretty against the blue-white and green.
Seen inside the visitor center at Lock and Dam 26. The resolution isn't great but the confluence or the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers is just below and to the left of the label for the town of Wood River. There is a state park at the point and it's worth a visit if you find yourself in the area. The two rivers combined drain an awful lot of North America.
This is the municipal pier of the little town of Grafton, Illinois. It's up the Mississippi from the area of the last few days' pictures. The lighthouse is just for show. It is surprising to see birds that look like seagulls in the middle of the continent but I suppose the vast river environment provides a home to wildlife like we might see around Lake Michigan, almost 300 miles away.
This was off to the right of the frame in Tuesday's picture of the lock and dam visitor's center. Not sure why a wall was needed other than for architectural balance. The circular openings are there, well, because.
How many bridges are there across the Mississippi? Depends on the source you look at - 130? 133? 142? It also depends on how you define a functioning bridge. St. Louis City and County have nine, if I count correctly, two of which are exclusively for railroad use. But there is another one that used to carry historic U.S. Route 66 across the river that is so narrow and worn that it can now only be used for pedestrian sightseeing.
This one is the Alton Bridge, north of St. Louis, from St. Charles County, Missouri, to Alton, Illinois. The eagle in Monday's post was just up and to my left from the place I took this picture.
