Tuesday, July 24, 2012

the mighty Mississippi

Traveling U.S. Hwy 60 through Missouri, mostly a 4-lane divided highway, but as it got closer to the big river the road got narrower, warning signs about the big curve ahead...

I rounded the curve and looked up at the huge steel structure ahead, no turning back now. I remember the tractor trailer I had just met a few minutes before on the road, thinking at the time that at least the bridge ahead is big enough for him, thinking now that I am glad I didn't meet him on the bridge.

Eeek! White-knuckle drive, way too narrow, not even enough room to paint the white line on the edge - built in 1929 - 20 feet wide total!


Whew! Finally across but don't relax, more signs, don't miss the curve, and do it all over again - across the Ohio River this time - the two mighty rivers join here.

The confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers - although they flow down the same channel, the two rivers remain separate, the Ohio blue and the Mississippi a muddy brown for several miles.

It was nice to drive on the backroads through rural Kansas and Missouri, but this was a little too narrow for me, the interstate started looking pretty good!

~photos from Bridgehunter.com

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