Monday, December 10, 2012

Crossing the Mississipi river - Dec 2012 & looking @ MS outcrops

Whenever I go across the Mississippi River I always like looking at it.  To me its always so intriguing to see.  You never know what the level is going to be.  I went on a short trip with my spouse and since I wasn't driving I was able to get some pictures of it on these particular days.  We were on Interstate 20 heading East.


Mississippi River as seen from I-20 heading east and looking south
 Since I was seeing so much sand I could tell the river was lower than it normally is.  This didn't surprise me since most of the mid-west had been dealing with a drought for most of the summer.


 We crossed over into Mississippi, and since I had my camera out I decided to try to take some pictures of the loess outcrops since it was in the wintertime and a lot of the foliage was not as heavy as it normally is in the summertime when I usually see it.
 I've traveled this road numerous times and have wanted to get some pictures of the outcrops.
The thing about the loess deposits is that they are very clayey and as such they have a characteristic look to them where the walls stay straight and don't crumble away.

 But they do erode down and they are good for supporting vegetation so they are not always ease to see. 



  It wasn't long before we were into what I call regular shale looking formations.

We spent a couple of days in South Carolina and then it was time to head home again.  These are the photo's of the return trip on I-20 heading west. 
 


 I always get excited when I see these bridges because I know on the other side is Louisiana and I feel like I'm almost home again.
Heading west you end up looking upriver to the north.  Next to the bridge is a railroad bridge that hinders the view.   Its always fun to see the river traffic that is going on in the river.

Railroad bridge over the Mississippi River as seen from I-20 heading west.
 Again with this image you can see how down the river was on this day.
Its so great to be home again and off the road.   Now to get ready for the holidays..

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