Rain Rain Rain

6/27/08---It has been a little like being in slow motion as the Mississippi River continues to rise. The rain comes down and the levees give way. Low lands in Winfield, Missouri are being evacuated this morning. Flooding gets a little more extensive each day. Occasionally the TV goes blank as the sky gets dark and the direct TV signal is interrupted. The rip rap that protects the marina is gradually being swallowed up by the river. Debris floating rapidly down the river is a familiar site. Notice the tire on the old dead tree. For those of you who may be old enough to remember music in the 60's, the "Fifth Dimension" may come to mind. We went to the Argosy Casino and enjoyed a great show from the fine old group.Yesterday (Thurs) was nice after the morning showers passed. It provided an opportunity for Jeff, with Alton Electronics, to spend the afternoon working on the insallation of the GPS equipment. Maybe some day all the elecronics will be installed!

What is today? That is a frequently asked question as the days have passed with various activities since I last wrote. So if the sequence of events seem a little confusing it is okay. Tues (according to the Carol notes) was the day we drove to the town of Florrisant, Missouri to buy groceries. Yes we are still eating!

Sunshine on Wed provided an opportunity to visit the Wood River Refinery museum. It was very interesting. The refinery construction was started in 1917 and put into operation in 1918. Crude oil through put was 5000 barrels per day. During early years the town of Wood River was the fastest growing in the US. Shell owned the refinery for about 80 years. Conoco-Phillips is the present owner. Todays capacity is 310,000 BPD. A 4 billion dollar expansion is under way to handle sandy crude from Canada and boost the capacity to 400,000 BPD.

A drive back to the Polestar Marina was not a pretty site. Flooding is getting more wide spread. Notice the sign for Woodland Marina. The road is completely covered. That is the road we used when our boat was located in that marina. The picture of the boats at Polestar are notable when you realize the frame work pointing downward to the right is the walkway from the boats to the shore. Normally the walkway is fully exposed and would point upward to the bank. When we were first in that marina it was an up hill walk from the boat to shore.