Burlington, Iowa

I love towns on the Mississippi River.  They are historic, have interesting bridges, and stories to tell.  

The Great River Bridge connects Burlington, Iowa with Gulfport, Illinois.  It is a unique, asymmetric single tower cable stay bridge that is so much fun to photograph. Finished in 1993, it has been part of a successful plan transform the river area into a waterfront district that is a pleasant place to walk, pause to appreciate the river, and shop.

Burlington has a fascinating downtown with historic buildings from various time periods, lovely bed and breakfast homes, and a wonderful bookstore: Burlington by the Book  owned by Christopher Murphy.  Situated downtown a few blocks from the river, you will find interesting books and gifts, with author book signings as well and special events as well. 

Burlington is the hometown of Aldo Leopold, writer of "A Sand County Almanac," a book ahead of its time for conservation and a must read for all naturalists.  He graduated from Yale's Forestry School and had a long career in the Forest Service and became a professor of game management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  After purchasing 80 acres in Wisconsin, he put his theories into practice to restore the land.  You can still visit this property, part of the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

iPhone4 Camera

When I went bird watching at Magee Marsh, I knew it was a long boardwalk and I wanted to concentrate on seeing the birds without hauling camera and tripod. I was carrying my iPhone4 to make notes on what birds I was seeing.  But, being a photographer, the morning sunrise and the boardwalk seemed to cry out for me to take their picture to remember the beauty here.

I'm really impressed with iPhone4's 5-megapixel camera.  While technically a point and shoot, it has features that let you go beyond.  With the tap to focus, the camera can changes the exposure as well as the focus, allowing you to capture the beauty in lighting situations that need thought as to exposure.  And, the live view gives you an idea of whether you have tapped correctly to get the finished look you were hoping for.  In addition, they have built in a HDR (High Dynamic Range) function that shoots multiple images and combines them at the time of the capture.  How cool is that?


This image was taken at Burlington of the Mississippi River at flood stage from the restaurant. Note the blown out details in the trees along the river and the sky.

Using tap to focus, the exposure adjusts and I got the view of the river with the tree in silhouette which was my goal.

At Magee Marsh, the sunrise was beautiful. Using the tap to focus I was able to get the details in the sky to capture the delicate colors of sunrise.

I was pleased to even get the "rays,"

The fall colors along the boardwalk were also memorable. Here is an image taken not using the tap to focus. Notice how the sky and foliage and foliage are blown out, because the lighting is so different between the shaded boardwalk and the sunlit foliage.

Here is the same image using the tap to focus and the built in HDR. What a difference!

Then taking the image into photoshop:

While the iPhone4's camera doesn't match the quality of my Canon 5D MKII, it is still a great way to capture moments when I'm walking, doing bird watching or don't have the big camera with me.

Great River Bridge

The Great River Bridge connects Burlington, Iowa with Gulf Port, Illinois.  Bridges over the Mississippi are always impressive because they must be wide enough to span the mighty river and tall enough for the barge traffic to pass under.   The Great River Bridge is a newer bridge, built in 1993 replacing a much older, narrower bridge.  The one tower cable stayed construction makes it very elegant.

This image was taken when the river was at flood stage due to heavy rains in Minnesota, Iowa, and western Illinois.

For more information:  

Mississippi Musings

I''ve been fascinated with the Mississippi River since I was a child. Growing up in the Panhandle of Texas, the only river around was the Canadian River, which even on a good day, is a slow shallow wading place. The stories from Mark Twain, a spelling bee story that helps one remember how to spell Mississippi, and of course, the songs - Ole Man River from Showboat and Mighty Mississippi by New Christi Minstrels. They've both been in my head all day-even after we left the Mississippi River area.

We first saw the Mississippi at New Orleans where it is bound by city river walls, cruise ships, and buildings. Later we've crossed it at Natchez, Vicksburg, and Memphis on cross country trips. We've taken the short river boat tours around St. Louis and Hannibal. But one year we were lucky. We'd been at a convention in Minneapolis. We got to take our time and go down the Great River Road, sometimes on the east side, sometimes on the west. One of the favorite places we found was Big River State Forest north of Oquakwa, Illinois. There is a wonderful campground right on the banks of the Mississippi. You can watch the river barges right from your front window. (Yes, we ALWAYS park facing the river here!) Last fall we got to stay there 4 or 5 nights as I was working on a photo submission and needed time to stay in one place after our Chicago visit. (Two blog entries: Life Along the River and Life Lessons from a Riverboat)

Henry's latest story is set in Oquakwa, so after the St. Louis convention we made the drive up to drive around the town and make sure he had his details accurate. We checked out our campground, but with no electricity it was not a reasonable choice in the summer. So we stayed at Delabar State Park. This morning I went out for a walk. I need my nature time.

I saw cute little gray birds in the brush piles on the edge of the playground. My binoculars had a bad case of the foggy lenses from the cool temperature in the RV to the high humidity outside. I saw some kind of wren. I read the poster about not bringing Michigan wood into Illinois due to emerald borer. Then I headed over to the boat ramp.

As I approached the ramp,I thought I could hear the engines of one of the river tugs. There was an island between me and the main river channel. I waited, hoping to see it pass where I could see the channel, but no such luck. But in that waiting time, I fully enjoyed my surroundings. Two great egrets and three or four great blue herons fished for their breakfast. Some unseen bird had the prettiest fife like song. Occasionally some big (and I mean big) fish would flop around near me. I caught a glimpse once of a scaly back. I saw a big monster dragonfly dart by and small brilliant blue dragonflies hovering over the water. I got to watch a couple of young men unload an air boat and take off for an expedition on the water.

I pondered at how greatful I was that we do get to experience this great river. And it truly is one of the great rivers of the world. I thought about what it would be like to live in one of the houses here and experience the river throughout all four seasons. I dreamed about having a boat so I could explore the islands and see the migrating water birds in the fall and spring. What would it be like to work on one of the barge tugs going up and down the river as your life's paying job? Wouldn't it be nice to actually take one of those cruises that starts at the upper end of the Mississippi and takes you all the way to New Orleans?

Life is short . . . there is more to see and do on God's beautiful world than any one person can ever do. Henry and I are lucky . . . we get to do more than most. But I can certainly dream about a lot of different things that would be fun to do! This time we only get to spend one night in this area . . . we've got to be back in Austin for a science fiction convention this weekend. But I find myself wishing we had more time here. . . .

Sitting along the Mississippi banks and soaking it all in is truly one of life's simple pleasures.

Life along the river

Up until last night we were the only ones staying at the campground. People would drive in, sit and enjoy the water for awhile, or make use of the "facilities," and then go on. With the exception of the few passing boats and barges we've been pretty much on our own.

Most of the time, the RV sits here just like any other stationary object, so the birds and animals don't notice us for the most part. We do have to run the generator some which adds noise to the environment. With our big picture window in the front we have a great view of the wildlife around us.

I've enjoyed watching the blue herons and their antics. We've watched them fish on the river's edge just 30 or 40 feet from us. As that fish wiggled (struggled is probably the better word) in the heron's mouth, we wondered if the heron would lose his catch. But no, he deftly worked the fish around in its mouth until he swallowed it whole. We could watch the fish continue its flapping all the way down the heron's throat.

We've also seen some interaction. Once one heron got too close to another's fishing territory. The first bird drove the other one off. We've seen them do almost a dance in the water. They walk around circling each other with their heads held high (almost like little snobs). They don't get more than three or four feet from each other. They are not looking at each other, but you sense they are very aware of the other one's presence. We've seen two fly in and out together. And we saw one almost land on another one, pushing its head underwater after they were both startled by a riverboat. An accident . . . . or sibling rivalry . . . . hum . . . I'll never know. When we exit the RV, they startle giving a series of warning squawks. Sometimes just our moving in the RV or picking up our binoculars to look at them more closely causes them to take wing and move a little further away.

My animal list:
Blue Herons
Snowy Egrets
White pelicans
Doves
Cormorants
flocks of geese
terns (don't know which one)
beaver
seagulls
jumping fish (both small and some larger ones)

Owl calls
I took time this morning to listen to some owl calls.
My best uneducated guess is that we have been hearing a great horned owl.

Life Lessons from a Riverboat

I like to spend time outside in contemplation or meditation. At home, my time is usually in the mornings on my front porch. On this trip, there has not been much time to feed that inner spirit. While we've been at a wonderfully quiet spot on the Mississippi River, the weather has been damp, cold, and sometimes rainy. Plus, I had a major project going on. Once we got settled in at the campground, I started getting 20 photos ready to be uploaded at a new stock agency for me. Everything had to be resized, uploaded via ftp and then keyworded and described on the site. Upsizing is easy, but you have "wait" time while the program does its thing. Entering titles, descriptions, keywords, etc is time consuming. They had requested a first submission of 20 images, so that is what I've spent the last two days doing. To complicate matters, my keyboard has a glitch. It started before the trip. We put it in the shop, got it back . . . . just a few days later it is not fixed. Sometimes all the keys work and sometimes they don't. I've gotten really good at typing using a Keyboard viewer and my touch pad. But it is slow. And then at other times, my keyboard works normally (like right now.)

So . . . I've been at this lovely, peaceful, tranquil, riverside campground, working like crazy. We've seen a few riverboats go by and I stopped and enjoyed each one. We've heard owls in the woods every night. We've watched the antics of the great blue herons that fish the river. We've even seen a beaver. But I felt like I had not had time to "enjoy" these things. I was enjoying them, yes, but I had not had time to savor it . . .so to speak.

So this evening, I had my photos uploaded, my email from the website with approval wordings on it (and I really like that I have someone who gives me feedback and information directly - with Alamy I usually feel like I am working in the dark.) So tonight I can relax.

I was planning to go outside and sit at the picnic table by the river and hope for owl calls. I took Henry's night vision binoculars to see if I could see anything (well, I was not good at focusing them . . . figured that out, but did not really see much with them) Then I looked downstream and realized that I was seeing the sweeping lights of a river boat heading upstream. Oh Boy!!!!!! I could sit and watch this one with my undivided attention. (Needless to say, small things sometimes please me greatly!) So I sat down to enjoy the experience and give it my full attention.

Now when I first saw the lights, they were very dim and in the distance, around the curve of the island . . . . . . . I'm thinking now that riverboat was probably 10 miles away when I first realized it was coming. Earlier today, we did some calculations . . . . riverboats travel less than 7 miles per hour . . . . This one was not going 7 miles per hour in the dark.

I sat at the picnic table and listened to the night sounds. I was soaking up that serenity I had been missing. I could hear the frogs and crickets in the forest behind me. I could hear the small fish splashing as they lept out of the water. I could hear the squaks of the herons as the noise in the distance and the lights in the distance disturbed their sleep. (The riverboat is still a long way away . . . . )

I could hear the owls . . . I was hoping I would get to hear the owl calls tonight. Sometimes they are loud and nearby, other times they are soft and far away. I think we've heard two species . . . I need to go online and listen to owl calls. One sounds like a barred owl. We heard those on the Owl Prowl and Froggy Frolic I went on during the summer. So I think one was a barred owl. The call we heard last night was very different. It was much more of a howl. I'm thinking either screech owl or perhaps even a bobcat. Yes, I need to listen to bird calls while the sounds are fresh in my memory.

While enjoying the night sounds around me, I keep watching downstream as the boat makes its way up the river. This is a SLOW boat. I'm sure the daytime boats went faster. (7 miles an hour is faster?????) The boat has made it past the curve around the island. I can see the spotlight. Sometimes it sweeps the area where I am sitting and the trees on the bank of the slough by the campground. At first the light is faint as it illuminated the trees. As time passes, the light gets brighter. I can see the spotlights well . . . . I don't see barges in front of the spot lights . . . .hum . . . . this is taking a LONG time . . . .maybe it is not barges, maybe it is a dredge . . . . hum . . . . it is slow . . . . . .

The night barges have two big spot lights. Have I mentioned they are BRIGHT spot lights. Your eyes have gotten used to the dark, you are looking toward the boat as it shines the light on the far bank . . . . the light swings in your direction . . . .your eyes don't move fast enough . . . . you can actually see your iris close to block out that painfully bright light. After a couple of times, I tried to avoid this experience. Hands work well as a shade.

Did I mention that the boat is still not here yet?????

I am truly enjoying sitting at the picnic enjoying this evening and waiting for the boat. I am NOT going in until the boat passes. But I am gettng chilly, so I went in and got my coat.

The nice thing about contemplation time is that your mind has time to process things. As I wait for this VERY slow boat, I think about what the captain of this boat is dealing with. It is dark out here. While there are some very small, dim flashing lights (miniature light houses-not bright) along the shore every couple of miles, there is virtually no light to guide him along the river. Nothing like the street lights on metropolitan interstates. Only the big spotlights on the top of the boat. The barges are very long in front of him (5 barges long, 3 barges wide-that is probably 250 feet of barge in front of him in the dark). . . at night he only has a very small flashing red light to tell him where the front of the boat is. There are buoys in the river to mark the channel. They are not lit. The captain must find them with his spotlight. He also must trust that whoever placed the buoys knew what they were doing. He must also trust that there are no new sand bars. It is dark, he can't see any new sandbars.

There is a pattern to the movement of the lights. Sometimes the lights swing from side to side checking where the river bank and landmarks may be. Sometimes, the lights are aimed dead straight ahead where the channel buoys are illuminated. Sometimes the captain keeps the lights in one position for a long time. If you think it is safe to look at the boat . . . . oops that light got you in the eyes again, yes, I AM seeing my iris close in a amazing flash of yellow and black, yes, that hurts. Yes, let's not do that again!

The boat is actually much closer now. Yes, there really are barges in front of it. Yes, it really is the same size as the ones during the day. With the boat this close, the spotlights are truly blinding. The captain may see Henry and me, he certainly leaves the spotlight on us for several moments. It is very bright, indescribably bright, MUCH brighter than the streetlights on the highways, almost like the worklights they use in highway construction at night, or Hollywood production night lights. And there are only two of them.

It is only after the boat has passed you that you can see the spotlight on the nested covers to the barges. When the barge is even with you, it appears to be going faster. It is an illusion. You can hear the engine noises a longer distance when the boat is downstream - some acoustic thing-perhaps the island and trees channel the sound better in that direction. But when the boat is near you, the engine is loud. A very rhythmic loud. Rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, deep tones,

As the boat passes, I appreciate the beauty of the side lights and their reflection on the water. Since the covers are folded up, and the barges seem to be riding low in the water, I wonder if this is carrying coal. I can't see the cargo or even the barges well enough to really know how they are riding in the water. But my mind wants to make sense of this. The barges going upstream this morning were coal barges. Grain barges would be covered.

When I was waiting for the barge to make its way tediously up the river, my contemplation headed in spiritual realms. The night is dark, sometimes our lives are lived in darkness, away from God's light. God's light is bright, it can be seen from far away, much as the riverboat's bright light could be seen coming even when it was 10 or more miles away. If we look for that light, we can see it coming. I was looking in the night and saw the distant light because I was outside taking in my surroundings. As the boat captain must trust the buoys for guidance, I also must trust the markers God puts in my path to guide me through life, as the riverboat captain trusts the buoys and lights. The riverboat captain has a detailed map of the river. As a Christian, I have the Bible as a written guide to help me navigate through the challenges of life.

Patience. When we travel around the country in our RV, we usually go 55-70 miles an hour. This riverboat is going less than 7 miles per hour. Folks, this is slow. A riverboat captain must have patience. He really will get to his destination. But it won't be fast. What does he do to keep his mind occupied? How does he keep his concentration on the dimly lit buoy's, especially in the dead of night. Sometimes as we journey through our lives,it feels like we are going painfully slow, just like these riverboats. But the riverboats must go slow. They are pushing many tons of cargo in these long barges-usually 15 lashed together. Each barge would hold the contents of perhaps 10-15 tractor trailer rigs. The riverboat captain knows he will get to his destination eventually. When my life is going painfully slow toward my goal, I must remember that with God as my captain, I will get to his goal for me.

Sometimes, I wonder if the time I spend enjoying, contemplating, meditating on my surroundings is wasted. From the time I first saw the distant dim light until the riverboat finally passed by was probably 1 1/2 hours. I experienced the mystery and wonder of the life around the river, I felt the cool gentle air, and I gained another object lesson for Christian living.

Wasted time . . . . . . I don't think so.