Subj : flood stuff was: Vacation To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Sat Nov 09 2019 17:22:00 Hi Nancy! BM>>> As for why Kimberly Rd. makes that right angle turn, no idea other than BM>>> a guess of finishing the street off. It's about forty blocks parallel BM>>> to the Mississippi River and has always been a major east-west BM>>> thoroughfare. Maybe years ago (before Bettendorf) it made sense to BM>>> make a turn at the end of Davenport to allow the road to finish some BM>>> place logical, or at least connect to the other east-west roads. NB>>> As good a reason as any... :) BM>> "That's my story an' I'm stickin' with it!" To me would be one of BM>> those fun side-excursions to ask/find out why but I wouldn't want to BM>> get deeper than the surface. First question would be "who is BM>> 'Kimberly'?", and then "we're off!" > style>. NB>> It's the sort of thing that a local history section of your NB>> library probably would have information on... :) BM> More than likely the Downtown/Main Library in Davenport; I have not BM> been there but have heard they have an excellent reference section for BM> Davenport history. (Good news: the Library was not affected by the BM> flooding.) NB> Very good news... and yes, that does sound like a good place to NB> look... :) So maybe some day. Would be one of those things where I need to get in the 'mood': isn't a higher priority item, nothing's going to change one way or the other (thinking along the lines of researching to fight to save for historical reasons). Actually for that specific area might be more fun to research what's there currently. Corner is essentially a tiny park, though would seem like a good place for a gas station, convenience store (there is one across the street). (We don't need another gas station/convencience store, and overall I prefer seeing the grass and trees there -- cue Joni Mitchell and "they paved paradise".) Next "lot" over is what I'm slightly curious about: largish flattened mound with a short yagi-style sticking out of it. Maybe three feet off the ground; looks like a regular TV antenna. Not-so-secret bunker?! Too far away from the creek to be monitoring that. NB>>> For our 50th we did the dinner at a party house... and had a good NB>>> time there, too... :) BM>> Good. :) ...I'm trying to think of a 'party house' around here. Know BM>> you're not implying the wild college toga event but a BM>> banquet hall type event in a home environment. ...Probably are some. NB>> Not so much a home environment... It's a banquet hall that is NB>> free-standing... and the restaurant there only used for events, such NB>> as weddings, anniversaries and reunions and the like... Around here we NB>> call such an establishment a party house.... quite a few of them NB>> around here, but mostly in the quieter areas of the suburbs... This NB>> particular one was tucked down a dead end road off a major NB>> thoroughfare, in an almost rural setting.... I'd brought my niece to NB>> that particular place for a wedding before we used it for our school NB>> reunion.... :) BM> Ah, OK. Regional terminologies. We do have similar sites locally; BM> OTTOMH not sure about the kitchen but there is essentially a house on BM> the nearby golf course and park one can rent for receptions, etc. NB> These will have an extensive kitchen, with a large room for the NB> main event, and often a smaller room for a bar (sometimes just NB> part of the main room), along with restrooms... And there is a NB> staff that runs the establishment and the kitchen, so when you NB> rent the space, you get full service with it... :) Probably the same here. The few I've been to had the event room, can't recall the bar option, kitchen area, rest rooms. Don't recall the staffing arrangements. Of two I'm recalling better both had an 'overseeing' staff member or two present: familiar with the site and helped the brought-in staff find things. BM> Davenport has the Credit Island Lodge - yes, that got flooded but had BM> been rebuilt a few years back due to a fire and the first floor level BM> is more or less minimal so when it does flood not too much to move out BM> (to upstairs) and repair. (The island was a site for fur, etc., BM> trading back in the Indian Days and hence the name.) NB> Ah, the name does makes sense with that history... :) We also NB> have lodges (generally one-story) that are available to rent in NB> the various local parks... those come with kitchen and restrooms, NB> but one has to bring in one's own food and can cook it there NB> themselves... Right: quite a few of those options around here too. BM>> They might want to get movin': the Mississippi has above flood stage BM>> by about half a foot the past couple of weeks and predicted to stay BM>> above for at least another few weeks. Some roads were closed but all BM>> have re-opened; just some land along the River is home to fishes. NB>> That doesn't bode all that well for next spring, does it.... BM> There is a current concern which I hadn't hadn't heard of until BM> lately. Some of the area rivers including the Mississippi are still at BM> flood stage and that is causing a potential problem for the roadways BM> nearby. The road bed is rock, gravel, etc., to allow good drainage, but BM> that also allows the water from the river, stream. etc., to flow in to BM> the road bed. Water expands when it freezes, so if there is water in BM> the drainage bed could expand and damage the road this winter. NB> Yet another factor.... ;( That sounds like a problem that should NB> have been thought of before.... but I suppose having the rivers NB> stay at flood stage hasn't been that big a factor up till NB> now....? The staying at flood stage for so long is extremely rare - closer to never. Normally the rivers, etc., do a normal yearly drop of their water level, which drains the water table to where it belongs and the road beds are emptied. Just lots of rain, enough to keep the water levels up near/slightly over flooding and not drop back to normal river levels. NB>>> So a certain amount of the flooding is just to be expected... It's NB>>> only when it is extra high and persistent that it really is NB>>> newsworthy... BM>> Yes: not unusual to see parks, trails, etc., along the River under a BM>> little water in the Spring/early Summer; when it starts to lap at the BM>> streets alongside we've got another major flood going on. NB>> Is the current flooding less usual, then....? BM> Generally right at flood stage, so generally no surface problems: BM> riverside parks and streets are open. LIS a bit ago, some of the BM> elevated water levels isn't allowing the road bed to dry out. IIRC BM> the Mississippi has been at or over flood stage for most of the year. NB> Maybe it IS time to move everything further uphill.... ;0 That would be quite a job! Have heard where it's been done, just not on such a grand scale as would be needed locally. Recall where a small town in the South (Louisiana?) moved a relatively short distance -- mile or two? -- just enough to be sufficiently elevated so as to not be flooded. BM>> Are you saying things have cooled off?! ...36ø this morning (Friday, BM>> October 25th); they're talking about the probability of a hard freeze BM>> late next week and maybe some snow flurries; ansiweather has a BM>> snowflake for Monday's forecast. Might be time for me to stop BM>> considering wearing long-sleeved shirts and start wearing! NB>> Just might be... I don't think we've had a hard freeze yet, NB>> although there've been some lows near-freezing... and so far no NB>> snow here, either, although the forecast for Sat night and Sunday NB>> contain the possibility of rain or snow showers.... shouldn't be NB>> sticking yet, though..... ;) BM> Still snowing; snow plow went by about a half-hour ago. BM> And yes, I did switch over to long-sleeved shirts - for some reason I BM> do feel warmer! NB> Well, yeah... one would think.... :) I know and have known a few people who never 'winterize'. One guy I know wears short sleeves all year round. OTOH I've also known people who wear long sleeves all the time and don't get hot in summer. ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... Not Quites: I'm Just Enthused about Harry. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .