Quad Cities and flooding

July 2014.  We followed the highway along the Mississippi River up to the Quad Cities, Rock Island and Moline, IL., and Davenport and Bettendorf, IA.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Quincy, IL, we saw this bridge was almost under water.  Yes, it was closed, only the bridge we crossed on was open.

The city park was under water, too.

We crossed back over into Missouri at Keokuk.  At Lock and Dam No. 19, the Power House was started in 1910 and when it was finished in 1913 was the largest capacity, single generating powerhouse in the world.  The powerhouse has 15 generators and was originally designed to produce 25 Hz instead of the 60 Hz alternating current used today.

Site of the very first chiropractic school, founded by David Palmer, in downtown Davenport.  Palmer method of chiropractic medicine is still popular and in use today.

The John Deere Museum is in Moline.

No need for people to run the tractor anymore.  Just program it and let it go.

The tractors were interesting, but my favorite exhibit was this one.  How blue jeans are made.

It showed pictures and a movie which took you from the cotton fields, to where they got the indigo dye, to how the cloth is woven.  

One of the very first John Deere tractors.

On the first day of our visit downtown, this was how high the flooding was.  Several downtown streets were closed due to being underwater.

From atop lookout and walkway, you can't tell where the river ends and the park should have started.  But you can tell where the parking lot is.  One unfortunate individual didn't get his car out in time.

One of the corners of the original Fort Armstrong.

Although Fort Armstrong no longer exists, the area is still used by the Army.

In addition to being an active arsenal, they have a very interesting musuem. 

If you like guns, then this is the place to go.  Not only do they show you guns from the last 200 years of our history, they also show you how guns were made right here at the arsenol at one time.

We went to see the Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island.  But in addition, we found the Watch Tower Amusement Park.  From 1882 to 1927, the area which is now the state historic site, was the home of Watch Tower Amusement Park.

Not only did it have the Toboggan Slide ride, it boasted the figure eight roller coaster, the first of its kind west of Chicago.

But historically, this was the site where Black Hawk led his followers after the Black Hawk War of 1832.   It was also the site of the westernmost conflict of the revolutionary war.  Yes, the revolutionary war.  In 1780, an American force destroyed the village of Saukenuk.  

By the time we left, several days later, the water was down enough that we could wade out to those benches which were almost underwater in the earlier picture.