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Old 09-25-2016, 07:41 PM   #181
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Beautiful sunset tonight!

We had a gorgeous sunset at Thomson Causeway that lit up the whole sky!
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Old 09-25-2016, 08:21 PM   #182
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I'll wait till it shows up here in BC....
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Old 09-25-2016, 08:28 PM   #183
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Mississippi River Flood

Chris from Whitewater Wisconsin was so kind to bring me up to speed on the coming threat of flooding on the Mississippi River. As you may know, there have been a series of storms dropping large amounts of rain across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa this past week. Well, this rain has started to make it way to the Mississippi River. For those who live along the river this is a common occurrence, more so in spring with the snow melt but at other times of the year as well. There is a very high likelihood that the river will reach flood stage.

Here is the situation at Thomson Causeway. The river at that point is behind dam #13 that in turn forms pool #13 on the Mississippi. This pool is really a lake behind the dam. The measuring point for the pool is the dam at Fulton, Illinois about 15 miles downstream from Thomson Causeway. These are the latest predicted levels at the dam:

Predicted Levels:
Today 13.4
Thursday 16.0
Saturday 16.6

The Thomson Causeway website lists some specific criteria for the campground, here is their information:

Thomson Causeway
Major Flood 16.7
Causeway Closes 16.9

From the information we have at this moment we see the levels are such that it is not a major flood, however these are estimated numbers and they certainly will be refined as time passes.

In addition, we have our man on the ground in the form of RedDog, who is currently camped at the rally location. In talking with him there has been no notification given of the possibility of a campground closure but being there he will be monitoring the situation and let us know the status.

Tomorrow we will begin a search for an alternative location, in the event Thomson Causeway is closed. Obviously this will not be on the river and we will keep you informed of that progress.

In the meantime do keep a close watch to the forum, I have most attendees email and will mail an update if necessary.

If you would like to follow the forecast for flooding use this link to the Quad Cities NOAA River Forecast and click on the icon in front of Fulton under the Mississippi River section.

NWS Quad Cities Self-Briefing

[/SIZE]
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Old 09-25-2016, 08:30 PM   #184
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We had the same out here in the country. The Cold front pushed through mid afternoon and dropped the temp about 10
DegreesF . About a half an hour before sunset the sky started to clear in the west so the under lighting by the setting sun was spectacular and prolonged. Hope we get a
Couple next weekend. Good sleeping tonight and too breezy here foe bugs to fly.
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Old 09-25-2016, 08:31 PM   #185
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I vote for Iowa Dave's farm.....
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Old 09-26-2016, 05:36 AM   #186
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Jim,
Give us daily updates on your pick up and locations as you head East.
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Old 09-26-2016, 08:01 AM   #187
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I hope to, on the way out I had issues with no cell coverage in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and the internet I subscribed for with "UConnect" for the car was also very sketchy out west.
I'm also thinking of changing return route to US#2 over Cascades, I90 east to I25 south to I80 east to Thomson, 35 hours driving time which is about 2 more than normal but hopefully will get better cell coverage.
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Old 09-26-2016, 08:40 AM   #188
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Paul thanks for staying on top of the flood situation and Reddog for the on site reports.

Those storms have been massive with flooding in areas I have never heard of flooding before. One small town along the River in southern WI (Victory) had huge amounts of damage and a man was killed when his house collapsed. The areas that have been deluged this past week (on top of a very wet summer overall) all drain into the Mississippi.

Let's hope the predicted flood levels are correct. If they are the campground should stay open.
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Old 09-26-2016, 10:38 AM   #189
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom and Gay View Post
Hi Tash
Hopefully we can see you during the open house Saturday. Gay's 87 yr young dad will be with us as he is interested in doing some travel with us and has much more RV experience than me! Thanks again for showing us your 21.
Yes, we plan to arrive for a visit during the open house time...we will be sure to look for you!
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Old 09-26-2016, 12:04 PM   #190
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Rough waters on Mississippi River

It is a bit breezy today!
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Old 09-26-2016, 12:19 PM   #191
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The reports I saw were of expected flooding all along the Missississippi at Iowa/Illinois from Dubuque to Burlington by Friday. Some today.

We have high water here on our rivers and creeks.
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Old 09-26-2016, 12:22 PM   #192
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High water

The Cedar River in Cedar Rapids will crest very late tonight or to tomorrow morning. it will be the second highest crest in 165 years. It has never been in major flood level in September before. So this is a rare and exceptional year. We live about ten miles west of Cedar Rapids now. We had 18 inches of rain here in August and about 11 so far in September. This in an area with about a 33 inches per YEAR average. So we're watching the Mississippi even though the Cedar comes in Well below Thompson after it joins the Iowa at Columbus Junction. Can't do much about it but listen to J. Cash How high's the water Mama or The Bottle Rockets doing Get Down River. Looks like the Gulf of Mexico down at the Texaco. Now those are lyrics.
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Old 09-26-2016, 01:38 PM   #193
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Thomson Causeway Closes

We have received word from our man on the ground, RedDog, that Thomson Causeway campground will close tomorrow (Tuesday) due to flooding on the Mississippi River. Because of this we have implemented Plan B and will be moving the rally 45 minutes west to Pine Grove campground in Scott County Parks in Eldridge Iowa.

This is a very nice county park with five campgrounds. The park does not accept reservations but contains 310 sites with 37 in Pine Grove. Today that campground is empty but by the weekend it will fill with fiberglass RV's. We choose Pine Grove because it is the only campground with electric sites, the others have water and/or sewer thus making them more popular.

The address for the park is 18850 270th St in Eldridge IA. Since the park does not accept reservations there no need for you to do anything other than put in a different address into your GPS. I assume there will be some refund system from Thomson Causeway, if anyone finds anything regarding that let us know.

The park and campground has a locked gate system after 10:00 PM. The method to register is to proceed to your campsite, drop your trailer or set up and then return to the contact station to register. In speaking with the contact station they state that you should arrive by 9:30 PM to complete that process.

We have secured a pavilion with electricity so the pot luck dinner remains in the plans. The Lug Nuts Contest will proceed as planned.

RedDog is making the drive from Thomson River to Pine Grove as I write this, expect a report from him after his return.

We will keep you abreast as more details become available. Here are some park links if you would like more information on the facility.

Scott County Parks

Park Map
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Old 09-26-2016, 01:44 PM   #194
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Paul - yet again, thanks for all the time and effort you are putting in on our behalf.
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Old 09-26-2016, 02:40 PM   #195
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Thanks for the heads up Paul, as well as organizing everything!

I was going to be arriving later on Friday (7-9pm), should I anticipate problems getting a site?

I burned up all my vacation time on a few big trips this year, which is much better than letting it go to waste
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:13 PM   #196
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Thanks for being on top of this, Paul. We are still meandering our way west and will arrive in Eldridge on Thursday. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
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Old 09-26-2016, 04:19 PM   #197
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We were planning to spend tonight at Thomson on our way to Des Moines to visit my brother for a couple of days before the rally. We are now diverting to the Scott County location. We will stay there tonight and head to Des Moines in the morning. Will look for Red Dog there tonight.
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Old 09-26-2016, 05:10 PM   #198
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Scott County Park

Hi Paul/
Thanks for the quick action on booking
a pavilion and getting the word out to the rest of the campers. I tired this park a few years back wen I was at a park conference in Bettendof Iowa. It's a very nice park , well maintained and popular. I see the lake ever time I'm cutting down to 74 on 280 and it always looks inviting.. There's a golf course at the park too and while I don't play others might to.
Dave
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Old 09-26-2016, 07:33 PM   #199
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We arrived at Scott County Park for a one night preliminary visit before going to Des Moines to spend a couple days with my brother. Very well kept park, and fairly large. As Paul mentioned, Pine Grove is the electric only section, another has water and electric, and a third has all three. Ours is the most wooded with only two other campers plus the host. Big rigs were at the section with all three amenities. Pine Grove has a single water supply that is threaded for a hose but we have our own and you might want to bring your own water since there was a water quality notice at check-in. Price is $20 with a dollar less if age 62.
Good call to suggest this park. Don't forget to cancel Thomson Causeway at recreation.gov

Bill
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Old 09-26-2016, 08:38 PM   #200
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Hi Bill and Earline:
Sounds like you found the park ok and got set up for the night. I'll have my water bandit with me that allows a hose hookup to about anything I've found in the parks. I'll also have three 5'gallon potable water jugs along if anyone needs to haul some water. Water warnings are fairly common in this country depending upon the aquafer being tapped, purification process being used and nitrates from farm runoff. We usually use bottled water for ooking and drinking plus the 26 gal we bring from home as our wells are tested regularly and always have passed with flying colors. We do have high iron content which goes right to your arms as Tennessee Ernie said so many years ago. See you on Thursday evening. I'm reasonably sure we'll all get spots together and in the park for sure.
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