081915

We decided we had been cooped up in Nauvoo long enough so we took off for Costco in Coralville, Iowa.  It's about 100 miles away near Iowa City.  Not that it's very exciting but it's somewhere to go on our P-Day and it's a nice drive in Iowa farm country...and lots of it.   

Note the stainless steel chopsticks.  Kapok in Coralville, Iowa.  Good stuff. 

So, we picked up our goodies for the month and headed home.  A few miles down the road the skies let loose and I had to slow down as it was getting really hard to see.  It let up a bit.  A few miles farther, it let loose again but this time I could no longer see the white line on either side of the road.  I looked in my rearview mirror and saw people pulling off the road so I figured I had better do the same, especially since the guy behind me was coming up on me pretty rapidly.  I did and pulled way over to the right as he went flying past me at 75 MPH.  Could not even see a foot in front of him/her! So, did the semi-right behind him.  It let up a bit and I got back on the road.  4 minutes down the road it was as dry as Kalifornia.  Go figure.

We got to Fort Madison and were greeted by this:

The bridge is sideways and were being "barged".  A temporary condition where we sit and wait for the barge to pass so the bridge will closed and we can be on our way.

...and there's the lead tugboat pulling the first barge through the area.

...and there's the whole barge with both tugs.  The one in back is quite a bit bigger than the one in front.

...and there it goes.  Now the bridge closes and we are on our way...

And the bridge isn't moving...so, looking upstream, quite a ways, I see, are you kidding me, another barge!  Holy cow, we got double barged!  Rats!

...and here comes the second barge, it's a big one, much bigger than the last one.

Finally, we see the whole second barge:

That is a long barge!

Looking back up the railroad tracks, I hear a train horn and realize that there is a train coming.  Hmmmm, does that mean that the bridge better get put back in place soon.  However, the train continued on the other track and not towards the bridge.

So, finally, the bridge starts to close:

A shot straight down the gullet...

...and done...

Wow, that's a long coal train...Hi, Mom!  She's taking a video of the bridge closing.

Yeah, we can go now!  An hour and a half later!  Double barged...hope that doesn't happen anytime soon again!  Gads!