Fort Madison Toll Bridge

The Fort Madison toll bridge is a swing bridge that crosses the Mississippi River at Fort Madison, Iowa, and Niota, Illinois. Rail traffic travels the lower deck and cars travel the upper deck.

Photo: Joe Elliot, Summer 1995   

George M. Verity River Museum

The steamboat George M. Verity pushed barges up and down the Mississippi River from 1927 to 1960. Today it sits on land in Keokuk, Iowa, where it serves as a museum. Our tour consisted of a guided tour of the lower deck followed by self-guided exploration of the rest of the boat. We enjoyed exploring this great example of an early 20th century steam-powered Mississippi River workhorse.

Lock and Dam Number 19

Rocket Slide

A neighborhood park in Keokuk, Iowa, contains a blast from the past: a rocket slide. I was surprised to see one of these still in use. This brought back fond childhood memories of a rocket slide elsewhere -- including memories of being afraid to go down the rocket slide.

A bit of web searching reveals that the slide was recently restored, brought into compliance with current playground safety requirements, and placed in Keokuk's Triangle Park. I'm glad to see that new generations get to enjoy the slide while past generations recall memories of playing on the rocket slide. 

Avian Travelers

Warsaw Riverfront Park

We came across a nice little park by the Mississippi River in Warsaw, Illinois.  The Warsaw Riverfront Park is available for day use and overnight camping. We found the park to be filled with avian travelers -- geese.

Maid Rite

Heavy lunch-time traffic in and out of the Quincy Maid Rite suggests something good may be ahead

Maid Rite restaurants have been serving their signature loose meat sandwiches since 1926. What's a loose meat sandwich, you ask? Think hamburger; except seasoned loose finely ground beef instead of ground beef formed into patties.

We made a lunch stop at the Maid Rite sandwich shop in Quincy, Illinois, on our way up the Mississippi River. The loose meat sandwiches were good, but I think I prefer my ground beef formed into hamburger patties. The ice cold shakes were a welcome treat on a hot summer day.

The menu is posted on the walls

There are no fancy cash registers here

There's a line at the to-go counter

Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich by Cindy Funk

Sophia enjoys a malted milk shake

They don't sell shirts or shoes

Hannibal

Hannibal, Missouri, is best known as the boyhood home of author Samuel Clemens who published under the pen name Mark Twain. The town served as the setting for Twain's stories about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.