Day 33 and 34 Final days with floods

Getting to Lebanon Mo, was in intense rain (which later was a severely flooded area) with the spray from the road splash and the heavy raisns making driving a very cautious enterprise. The trucks of course make a huge spray and you hope that in a few hundered feet the road is still under the wheels. The car and trailer handled well , though, and after a few stops for gas, food and rest , we did

Fenton MO

arrive at Cloverdale Indiana the next day (Wednesday night) at a park that was very quiet albeit very wet undefoot. The rain had stopped by that time so setting up was less of an adventure than the previous night at Lebanon. There were few campers.

The terrain all along that I-44 corridor and continuing to I-70 in Illinois , was a mass of flooded land. The creeks had swollen to become large lakes and except for the bridges one would not know where the creeks were . All of the major rivers had filled the surrounding land with water and the Meremec, Bourbouse, and the Gasconade rivers had all overflowed their banks. There were mile long lakes over cornfields. The previous day there had been evacuations of towns and of course warnings for people to reach safer , higher ground, and to watch for low areas when driving that were flooded.

We found out later that the number of dead was nearing 20 people, and the flooding will continue to pour into the Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers as the next two weeks will see that water move downstream. (See quote below) When we returned to Grand Rapids we found that many of the relief agencies were getting into action including our own United Methodist Church .

"Lots of flooding happened on the east side of town, in the commercial area. People may be out of work for weeks," said the Rev. Paul Widicus, pastor of Harrisburg (Ill.) First United Methodist Church, where between 9 and 12 inches of rain fell in

Flooding in March 2008

24 hours during the week of March 17. "The Ohio, Wabash and Mississippi Rivers are already at flood stage," he continued. "Next week, many towns will be surrounded by water." Widicus expects a long summer of cleanup. Like his counterparts in Arkansas and Missouri, he is preparing for the long-term response. "We have an ecumenical group in Harrisburg called Christian Compassion Center. We’ll be able to find families needing help as the response unfolds," he said.** (see below)

Tippicanoe Indiana

These statements pretty well sum up the damage and stress the residents are experiencing and it was quite heart wrenching to see that as we drove through.

The frozen hose that we experienced the next morning in Cloverdae IN was nothing next to the flood problems many were going through. We were warm and dry at least. I had not looked at the temps predicted that night as I usually do, but with the clearing skies and north wind the drop was inevitable and did happen. It got to 24 F and so no water movement in any of the water supplies. I gathered up the hose and put it in the shower to be drained after reaching home.

The day was a beautiful day, with the sun shining all day, for driving from Cloverdale IN to Grand Rapids via Indianapolis and US 31, which with a little east turn at South Bend leads to US 131 at the Michigan/ Indiana border. There were a few trucks being extracated from the roadside and medians due to water on the road the night before . One truck was "belly up" with just the wheels showing. We stopped for 20 minutes while another truck was righted and towed away.

We indulged in a lunch at "Das Dutchman Essenhaus" in Middlebury IN, and had the family style chicken dinner (I mentioned this a few days ago) and my pie was blackberry and Ruth had Blueberry . The rest of the trip was uneventful except for a final cleanup of the water and sewer tanks at "American RV " at 76th Street. Lttle did we know that the next day, Friday the 21st, would see good snow storm arrive again and change the green ground to white.

We arrived home at 4:15 safe and sound and very grateful for the chance to experience more of the USA as well as spending time with family. The people , sights, God's creatures, and the out of doors, were all worth the while. We are truly blessed to be able to do this.Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the blog this year versus the letters last year.. Love you all, Jim and Ruth (crazy4birds@comcast.net) Next trip report could be the Holy Land trip in June. Stay tuned!

** The United Methodists (or others) can support UMCOR's flood relief efforts with donations to Advance #901670. Write "Midwestern Floods" on the memo line of the check, and drop in local church collection plates or mail directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. ( A plug for relief assistance if you feel the urge.)