Getting Barged

                                          Here's some pictures of a barge going through the lock at the Keokuk dam.  Plus a barge babe I took a picture of.  She's pretty cute.

There is a bridge between Nauvoo and Fort Madison, Iowa.  It's pretty cool - a combination of vehicle and railroad bridge.  Many times you'll drive along the bridge with a train running along side of you.  The only problem with the bridge is that it opens whenever a barge goes up or down the Mississippi River - which is pretty often. When you get caught by the bridge being opened that is called "getting barged". We have an app that tracks the river traffic so know when the barges are coming.  The "barges" are really fifteen separate barges pushed by a tugboat. One of those 15 barge loads will fill 870 semi-trailers.  If those semis were on the freeway they would stretch 35 miles!  It's interesting to note that 60% of all the grain the United States exports goes down the Mississippi.

 Approaching the bridge going East to West as a train is heading the same direction.

 On the bridge

 Leaving the bridge with the train now on the left side as it had passed under us while we were on the bridge.

Off the bridge and heading west!