The Mighty Missouri

This section of I-29 remained open....

Sandbags were everywhere

Plattsmouth Toll Bridge, connects Nebraska and Iowa over the Missouri

As we left Kansas this morning, my mind felt flooded with research ideas for students, and I thought little about the actual drive through Nebraska, Iowa and then onwards to Mitchell, SD.  When we entered Nebraska on State Route 75 and then made it to the major thoroughfare of Interstate 29 headed north.  Uh oh...road closings on the Iowa side of things.  Today is July 21st, and beginning on and around May 1st the Missouri River has seen devastating flooding and individuals and communities have paid the price of living so close to the power of a major river.  Today we winded through areas where I-29 was shutdown completely, following unknown detours, and seeing the aftermath of this dangerous spring and early summer storms.  We held our breath just hoping that we could reach our destination; I couldn't help but think of those people whose whole worlds had drowned with these floods.  One of the many things I truly appreciate about Montclair is that though we have tough winters and a heat wave here or there, we have the safety of being relatively far from a river with the power of these midwestern rivers.  I was reminded of that today.  *The picture of a bridge above is from one of the coolest bridges I've every been across...it crosses the Missouri River dividing Nebraska and Iowa and is called the Plattsmouth Toll Bridge...as recently as a few weeks ago it was the only bridge still functioning that crossed the Missouri in the region.