A Little of This and a Little of That...

Locks & Dam #15
Rock Island Arsenal
Rock Island, IL

The is nothing quite like the evening in the Midwest for all the fireflies/lighting bugs blinking in the gathering darkness.  Arizona is a little short on lightning bugs.  Growing up in Muscatine gave me the chance to spend an evening just watching the little guys/girls light up all around us.  It is great to see them again. Did you know that the lightning bug is actually a member of the beetle family?  According to the Wikipedia: "They are winged beetles commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their use of bioluminescence, as the evening turns dark, to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or untraviolet frequencies."  It's pretty technical for something so cool.

While the locks outside the Mississippi River Visitor Center are primarily used for commercial barge traffic, they are also capable of dealing with smaller vessels.

 Three folks traveling down river in their canoe.  Heading out for a holiday?

Or how about an adventurous sort...

Her name is Janet Moreland and she is traveling by kayak in an attempt to complete, source to ocean, the Missouri River, the Mississippi River and the Yukon River, the three longest rivers in North America.  The Mississippi is her second river in the list.  She is traveling the length of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.  She completed the length of the Missouri River beginning on April 24, 2013, from the source of the Missouri River in Brower Spring, Montana, to the Gulf of Mexico.  She arrived at the Gulf of Mexico on December 5, 2013, about seven and a half months later.  You can follow along on her Facebook Page  (LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition) or on her web log/blog 1woman3greatrivers.  On this paddle down the Mississippi River, she began her journey on May 24, 2016, at the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota and hopes to complete her trip to the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the summer.  She paddled through Lock #15 on June 20th.

I still haven't gotten any suggestions for this summer's search.  Last summer I was on the Pork Tenderloin Trail searching for the Ultimate Pork Tenderloin Sandwich.  This summer I asked for suggestions for my 2016 Summer Search.  Not one reader offered any suggestions!  Let me know your thoughts.

Until next time...........