The Age of Aquarius

One observation I've made since traveling across the nation has been the amount of water our whole country received this year.  If Aquarius is the water bearer, maybe 2015 is the real dawn of the Age of Aquarius as our entire country has been drenched with water up to now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxSCAalsBE  

(How many of you remember this song? 'Dig' those 60's outfits and 'early star trek' sci-fi scenery)

It was foggy and rainy when I took the ferry to leave San Francisco this year and people on the ferry commented how much rain San Francisco got this year.   When Jaine and I hit Colorado, people said they've never seen the Arkansas River so high this year.  Jay, a really nice hotel owner in Salida, CO, predicted that at least 3 people would drown over the Father's Day holiday.  He was off by one as 3 men drowned and 1 is still missing as of June 22.

http://kdvr.com/2015/06/22/grim-weekend-in-colorados-fast-moving-rivers-with-two-killed-two-missing/

When we hit Kansas, people remarked how much water Kansas got this year compared the drought they've had for the past 15 years.  

In Missouri, people have said the Missouri River has been swollen to a point they have fear the levees would break.

We saw what excessive water conditions can do first hand on the Katy bike trail at the end of our ride.  Jaine and I got our first warning that there was some high water when we saw a 3 foot copperhead rattlesnake across the bike trail with high water to the right of the trail.  We swerved in time to miss it and kept riding because Jaine has a terrible fear of snakes.  After about 100 yards of riding I turned back to see if I could get a picture of it but it was gone by then,

Copperhead rattlesnake

It looked kind of like the snake above.

The next day, my Mom, Elaine, Jaine and I rode our bikes together from St. Charles towards Machens which was about a 7 mile ride and the end of the Katy Bike trail.  After 4 miles of riding, the trail was totally covered with water.

John and Jaine at end of Katy Bike Trail

John entering water                                                        John searching for end of water

Boy was I bummed.  I really wanted to complete the entire trail so I thought if I could just walk through the water for a bit, I could possibly see where the trail went, and wade through the water until I could continue riding my bike.  It was not to be.  As I turned the corner I realized the trail was inundated for at least a half a mile and we would have to turn back and pick up the trail from the other side of the water.  Also, I was barefoot and started to feel mud under my feet instead of pug which made me think I might be getting off the trail.

Time to turn back.

 

Riding on the Katy Rail Trail was a wonderful experience, but the Katy Bike Trail bit back in two places...at the very beginning and at the very end of the trail.

When I started riding the Katy at Clinton, MO, a storm came through a couple of days earlier and for about the first 8 miles there were a lot of branches of trees on the trail which made for some pretty bumpy riding.  Tough on the butt, lots of swerving to avoid the leafy branches, but passable.  After that, the path for the next 220 miles was very good with only a few rough parts that were well marked and navigable.  The people of the Department of Transportation in the state of Missouri do a great job of keeping the trail nice.  

However, even the great state of Missouri can't keep back the Missouri River when the 'Big Muddy' wants to spill its water.

If you think the high water is only restricted to the western part of the nation, think again.  The following picture is of Jaine wading on an inundated sidewalk leading to the Cave-in-Rock in the Ohio River in Southern Illinois.

Jaine wading through swollen Ohio in southern Illinois to visit Cave-In-Rock

 

Looks like the 'water bearer' is doing his job this year!

 

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