Burger Barge in Flood

My parents joined us for dinner at Burger Barge on the eastern bank of the Illinois River.  The floodwaters are partially covering the outside deck, but inside was dry and the food was good.  As we drove over the I-74 bridge we could see the see the flooding on the Peoria (western)s side of the river.

Kristine's Confirmation

Although the Illinois River is still rising, the waters of its tributaries are receding and cleanup and repairs are underway.  Farmington Road (and its bridge over Kickapoo Creek) is open again, although sections of Kickapoo Creek Road are still closed.  This afternoon Kristine received the sacrament of confirmation in the Catholic Church at St. Mary's Cathedral today.  The ceremony, and the party afterward, went well.

April 2013 Flooding

We had about 4 inches of rain from training thunderstorms with lots of lightning over about a day or so ending yesterday.  Since the ground was already pretty wet from 3 inches of rain the week before, a lot of the rain turned into runoff which has led to flooding.   So many images on the news to describe, both here and throughout northern Illinois. One image that stands out is of Kickapoo Creek actually flowing over the Farmington road bridge, which was closed yesterday and was still closed today.  Another is a bit more odd - the floodwaters reaching almost up to the Hardee's Restaurant in Bartonville.  The waters of the creek are starting to recede, but the Illinois River will probably crest at record-setting levels on Tuesday or so. (It came close in 2009 - see the March 14, 2009, blog entry.)  Here is an excellent link about the river level: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=ilx&gage=piai2.  Last night we lost power for a bit over an hour, and our home internet did not come back until tonight.  The cold that followed the storms has produced flurries today (I'm not sure those tomato plants I put in last Sunday will survive). We are thankful that we came out pretty unscathed with mere inconveniences in scheduling and rerouted traffic.  A lot of people need prayers from these events, however.  Here are some pictures, including a visit to Dry Run Creek in Bradley Park on Thursday morning (whitewater rafting, anyone?) and along a reopened portion of Kickapoo Creek Road from this morning.  Note in the last picture, the water is just under the railroad trestle at left, and at right, the floodwaters have washed stones out from under the rails and railroad ties.

Pushing Spring

We had rain and cool temps much of the week, but things got warmer today.  We are eager to get out of what I call the Fell Winter of 2013: 1) It's a J.R.R.Tolkien reference to an especially harsh, horrible winter (it really was not so snowy for us - it just dragged on and on), and 2) we had to deal with the effects of me falling down and breaking a bone pretty much all winter long.  I guess it's one my ways of whining.  My foot still hurts a bit sometimes, but I still can hobble around.  Anyway, this weekend we cut forsythia blossoms for a vase in the house, cut down a few garlic mustard sprouts in the woods, and planted some tomato plants in the garden.  Katie, Kris, and I checked a spot in the woods known to have a puddle almost year-round in order to look for frog eggs, but to our surprise the puddle was nearly dry.  Kris and Katie explored the woods a little more.  In other news, Katie's science fair poster is ready.  I've been hearing about recent accidents in places we have visited in 2004:  1) In Hawaii, someone fell into a steam vent (and survived) after jumping a fence in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park  (http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_23007387/san-rafael-youth-15-survives-fall-into-hawaii).  I wonder if this is the same vent  that I measured the temperature  and carbon dioxide level of when we visited in 2004 (I stayed on the correct side of the fence)?  2) In Washington, avalanches caught caught hikers on Granite Mountain near Snoqualmie Pass (http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/04/1-hiker-found-2-still-missing-after-avalanches-near-snoqualmie-pass/).  I hiked this mountain with Dace and Susan in August, 2004 (no avalanche danger then- all the snow melted). It was an awesome, challenging hike, and it really cemented my love of the mountains, but I do remember crossing the chute from previous avalanches and marveling at the broken trees.

Nesting

Kristine noticed a robin checking out a favored location in our front maple tree on Sunday.  The nest has made significant progress in just a few days.  Weather has been warm for a few days - now it has cooled off and gotten rainy.  This past weekend I was at a conference in Jacksonville, IL, and there I learned that city is the home of the Eli Bridge Company, which has been making amusement park rides like Ferris wheels and Scramblers for over 100 years.http://www.elibridge.com/history.htm. Ahhh...memories of Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, WI.  On the way back to Peoria I was surprised to a couple of hot air balloons near the city of Lincoln, IL - seemed a bit early for that sort of thing.  My right foot is doing OK overall -  it still gets sore and needs a bit of support and TLC.

Wobbling forward...

I got my foot X-rayed on Monday, and even though the break in my right 5th metatarsal has not completely healed, I got clearance to walk short distances without crutches and with my foot braced in a cast, etc.  I will still use the scooter for longer distances.  Though my walk is slower and more comical than ever (the "Chariots of Fire" theme song keeps popping up in my head). I'm very thankful to be making progress. I wanted to post this Monday, but I'm not sure how the news would have been received on April Fools Day.  In other news, daffodils are starting to open up around here.  We have a couple popping up in places in the yard we have not seen before.  Another sign of spring is that Bugs, our bunny, is beginning to do his spring shedding.