The Graveyard

We encountered another flooded riverside park on the north end of Thebes, Illinois.

A sign at the park explained that the stretch of river passing by here was once known as "The Graveyard" due to the large number of steamboats that sank in this congested stretch of river with frequently changing depth. In was reported in 1867 that there were 133 sunken boats sitting on the bottom of the Mississippi between Cairo and Saint Louis.

On the day we visited it wasn't boats that ran aground. It was the river itself that had run aground -- consuming this park and other parts of the small river town of Thebes.

Cairo

Prior to passing through Cairo, Illinois, I had heard that it was one of the most depressing cities in the United States.

Cairo, pronounced CARE-OH,  is situated at the southernmost point in Illinois, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Cairo has experienced prosperity, sometimes-violent racial conflict, and eventual economic decline.

We passed through Cairo on our way up the Great River. We found a city much like many others on our journey. We found a city decades into an economic decline fueled by changes in manufacturing and transportation -- changes that started well over a century ago. 

Cairo Ohio River Bridge

Cairo I-57 Bridge

Sikeston Explosion

As we drove north in US Route 61 towards Sikeston, Missouri, a pillar of smoke appeared ahead of us. Just east of the town of Matthews, we were directed into another direction and had to adjust our plans for the day.

WATCH a live stream of the large fire at Santie Oil in Sikeston. LIVE: http://t.co/qxouqIV4yN #breaking pic.twitter.com/aRryr09r2n

— KFVS News (@kfvsnews) July 13, 2015

Abandoned Hayti Church

An abandoned church building in Hayti, Missouri, provokes questions about how and why it ended up abandoned. And then fleeting ideas about converting the building into a home. :)

Reynolds Park

On the river-side of the flood walls in Caruthersville, Missouri, we found Reynolds Park and roads closed due to the Mississippi River encroaching on what is normally dry land.

Little Pizza Heaven

Mike and Jean's Littla Pizza Heaven claims to have been "saving the world from mediocre pizza since 1980." I don't know about the world, but the pizza they served us suggests they have been serving the people of Caruthersville, Missouri, well,  The restaurant was packed. The pizza was delicious.

Credit Card

Did taping photocopies of your credit card to gas pumps in order to demonstrate how to insert a card seem a good idea at the time?

Blytheville Greyhound Bus Station

The old Blytheville Greyhound Bus Station is a prime example of the  Art Moderne style.

Corvette exoskeletons

Computers and Corvettes -- a match made in Osceola.

The Far Side of The River

Ahead lies a bit of Tennessee that is on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River serves as a border between most of the states it touches; however, the river has moved since the borders were officially surveyed and recorded.  This results in pockets of these river-border states being on the far side of the river -- cut off from the rest of the state.

Flooded roads kept us out of this particular pocket of Tennessee.

Levee Llama

Dead Tree, Live Tree