2017-05-29 38 -90

Location

Along Illinois Route 100, the Great River Road north/west of Alton, Illinois.

Participants

Kbh3rd and wife, as usual.

Plans

"It's a beautiful day, let's get out of the house." So spake the wife, so off we went. I recalled the meetup point was on the Great River Road along the Mississippi River in Illinois, on the way to Pere Marquette State Park where there are some nice hikes.

Expedition

The point was on or right next to the road and the Sam Vadalabene Trail along the river. The meetup point snuck up on me, and I drove right past it. So I backed up a bit, then got out and walked back to it. So I'll claim the Speed Racer Achievement, too.

After bagging the meetup point, we continued up the road to Grafton and had lunch at the Fin Inn, a restaurant specializing in fish and seafood. They have tanks with large local river fish built into the walls right next to the tables. After lunch we continued up the road to the park and hiked one of the easier trails on the hilltops.

Both the Mississippi and the Illinois River are in a low flood stage. We had tried to visit the Jones Confluence State Park in Missouri where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers meet, but it was closed due to high water. The tainter gates at the Melvin Price dam in Alton were fully open, so the river was flowing through unimpeded, which happens when the river is high. At Pere Marquette State Park the Illinois River, which meets the Mississippi at Grafton, was flooding the lowest parts of the park right on the banks, but it was receding, evidenced by the mud on parking lots, etc.