Clean Up - Flood 2008

I had to go grocery shopping in Keokuk, Iowa today. They are cleaning up the road between Hamilton and Keokuk that I showed in previous posts. If you remember this lane that I am driving on was under water and we were driving on gravel piled almost to the top of these concrete dividers. These pictures give you an idea of how high they had to build the road to keep the bridge open. Wow!

I wondered how hard it was going to be to clean up. It looks like they really knew what they were doing. Way to be prepared.

Clean up in Ft Madison - Flood 2008

The last pictures I took showed this Kum & Go under water along with the whole street. It looks like the clean up is coming along.

This is the little burger joint across the street. Both of these businesses are just after the Ft Madison bridge going to Burlington. Lucky for this place it had closed down a year before the flood. We were sad because Mom and I use to come over for these little soft serve cones that were sugar free and fat free and they actualy tasted really good. : )

No More Headgear

The orthodontist told Lacey "No more headgear", Lacey hated that headgear, instead they put springs in her mouth. She wasn't sure how this was going to work, eating is a bit difficult, her mouth looks swollen especially when she smiles, and the first morning she woke up and was miserable. I think she is getting use to it but it's going to be a long hard ride. Wow, the things we do for perfection. Lacey keeps saying her teeth are good enough now. : )

Iowa City - Flood 2008

I had to take Lacey to Iowa City for her orthodontist appointment on Friday. It was supposed to be last week but they called and cancelled because of flooding there. Well I was very suprised at the amount of damage I saw. As we were getting to the University of Iowa there is a little Dairy Queen that was wiped out a couple of years ago by a tornado. I was sad to see that it was hit hard again by flooding. I wonder if they will survive this.

After the appointment I drove lacey over to the Coralville mall to do a little shopping and on the way we saw a lot of clean up going on. I had no idea how bad it had been here. I had seen it on the news but it is a whole different monster in person. What a mess.

Lacey Earned her Medallion

Lacey has been working very hard to earn her medallion in young women. She has been close to finished for a while but when she came back from Young Women camp she was HIGHLY motivated. I asked her what happened at camp that touched her. She had a great time at camp but on the last night when the bishops came and her grandpa spoke about who they are, where they came from and what is expected of them. She really got excited again about the gospel and the things she believes. She said that she wanted to be kinder to others and more prayerful. She finished up the goals she was working on and received her medallion on June 22nd.

Nauvoo Weather

Wow! We had a storm last night. There was so much lightning it was like daylight outside. The rain poured and poured. Today it's overcast and actually very nice. The weather has been fairly mild, not too hot, slightly breezy. I wish it would stay like this. (minus the lightening, that's a little scary) I am not sure how the rain is effecting the river levels and farmers. It probably isn't good, but my grass hasn't been so green and my bushes and flowers haven't been so beautiful in years. Nauvoo is really beautiful right now. It seems like there aren't as many tourists as usual. I am not sure if that is because of the gas prices or the flooding or what. I hope it picks up because this area depends a lot on the tourist season. I usually watch kids for 1 or 2 families a week while the parents attend the temple. I watched one family today but it's been 3 or 4 weeks off for me. It's ok though I am going to work at Annie's Custard in town at night to supplement my income. BUT if it stays slow she won't need me. SCARY!
:) We'll be fine...things always work out!

The Water is Going Down - Nauvoo Flood 2008

If you look at previous pictures you can really tell how much the water has receded. The water use to be over the curb at the base of the statue.

Old Sunset by the Mississippi site.
Water street is visible again. It use to be completely under water.

Nauvoo Restoration Missionaries cleaned up the debris so fast, except the dead grass, it's hard to tell it ever flooded.

Anna is ONE!!!

Anna turned one today! We love birthdays at daycare.
Yummy! Sticky! Gooey!

What a fun little party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA BANANA!!

Nauvoo Neighbors - Flood 2008

Niota is the town just north of Nauvoo where you cross the bridge to Ft Madison.

The National Guard and a lot of volunteers have kept the water away

from doing too much damage.

A lot of land has flooded but I think for the most part the homes are doing ok.

Ben O'dell's office/home looks like it is doing ok. He is the local Chiropractor and a member of our ward. They had to move all of his equipment out of his office because they had a voluntary evacuation and he has some very expensive equipment that he could not afford to lose due to flood waters. I feel bad because until the waters go down his practice is going to suffer.
and here is the Ft Madison bridge open and running. In Ft Madison just on the other side of this bridge we still had to drive through water but it's not as deep as it was. The water is really starting to go down. YEA!!

Working on the Porch

For Fathers Day I told Marty he could spend some money and fix the porch "the right way". Last summer we noticed the had some soft spots. He tore up the carpet. Cut the rubber membrane. Cut out the wood that had rotted and replaced it with some plywood patches. Put new rubber membrane on it and new indoor/outdoor carpet. As soon as the sun hit it it started to wrinkle. OOOH Marty was ticked off! He has been complaining about how it needs to be fixed "the right way" ever since, but since I am so cheap we waited.

Now with all the rain and wet lately there are more soft spots and Marty got his wish.

Visiting Nauvoo - Flood 2008

I hope people realize that the Nauvoo sites are far away from the water. If you are out seeing the sites you won't even realize there is flooding, until you drive down parley street. Then it's just interesting to see how high the water is. The only threatened historical building is the "Nauvoo House" owned by the Community of Christ church, but it isn't even a building that you tour.

Anyone planning a trip to Nauvoo shouldn't worry, it's the same as it ever was. It's a bit of an adventure getting here but the bridges are open and the water is going down and there is a lot to see and do.

2008 Nauvoo Pageant Concession Stand

It's getting closer to that time. I have been trying to figure out sign up sheets for the volunteers for concession stand work. I have been in charge of this since 2005 when they started the Nauvoo Pageant. Every year we try to make things easier and find ways to make things run smoother. I love it.

Marty sets up the concession stand every year and so Thursday he set the trailer.

And today they are putting up the frame that holds the tarp that we work under. It is quite a project but it sure makes working the concessions a lot nicer.

Marty Working the lift.

Usually he does all of this alone but this year he has help.

Garret Menke always has such a great attitude. Marty has really enjoyed working with him. He works with Marty and NRI until August when he will be leaving on his mission. We are so excited to see where he gets to serve.

Steve Campbell is Martys supervisor at NRI. These guys volunteer their time every year to make this place work. We are so grateful for all of their efforts and to Nauvoo Restoration, Inc. for allowing the guys to use the equipment to set up.

Driving to Nauvoo in the Flood Waters

We went to Keokuk tonight to grocery shop and go out to dinner. The road is amazing. They literally built a gravel road on top of the existing highway. It sits about 3 feet higher than the road beneath it and is now completely surrounded by water. It Started as a one lane road and the traffic was terrible. Now it is two lanes one going each direction.

The water washes up against the barrier and waves occasionally splash over the road but it feels safe and I am amazed at the efforts that have been put into keeping the Keokuk/Hamilton bridge open.


Unfortunately the Ft Madison bridge was closed this morning and if it has reopened I have not heard. The road on the Niota, Illinois side is covered with water and cars keep stalling out. Burlington is still closed so we are very grateful for the folks who have worked so hard to keep our Keokuk bridge open and safe to drive across.

Nauvoo Flood 2008 Update

I have not taken any pictures of Nauvoo flooding since Sunday so I went for a drive down to the sites today and this is what I found.

The water is definitely higher. Sunday you could still see the grass and curb. Now the water goes up to the concrete around the statue.
The stage area of the old "Sunset by the Mississippi" site is now under water and it smells terrible. I am so glad that it hasn't been really hot here. It has been in the 70's with a cool breeze. If it was in the 90's it would be unbearable.

This is the red brick store. The water is much closer but not close enough to do any damage.
This is a historic home owned by the Community of Christ Church and the river across the street. This is really as close as the river gets to any of the historic homes.

This is the river and smelly sludge on water street. Most of water street is under water.
The end of Parley Street.