September 13, 2020
Kentucky
Columbus-Belmont State Park Columbus, Kentucky
My morning walk took me through the part of the park that we had not yet seen. When the Mississippi River flooded in 1881 , the original town of Kaskaskia was obliterated. There were 3 cemeteries that were destroyed by the water. The townspeople gathered 3,000 boxes and carried them here to Garrison Hill and created a new cemetery.
There was going to be a fort here to protect the river. It was never completed though.
Chester is the home of the creator of Popeye.
We followed Route 3, The Great River Road, through Illinois. There were lots of places to stop and look.
Our original plan was to camp at Fort defiance in Illinois at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This was a neat place to get out and walk around. The Ohio River.
The Mississippi River.
The meeting of the two.
When we went to look for the campground, we could not find it. It may have once been in the high, overgrown grass, though we never found the electric boxes or a solid road in. We had a plan B and that first involved crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky. The bridge is under construction and no vehicles wider than 9’6” are permitted…no worries…we are 8”6”. When the light turned green and it was our turn to go, Tim said: “time to focus.” We made it just fine, though it might have been more helpful if cars on the other side were all the way in their own lanes!
Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross was designed by area churches and paid for by citizen donations.
We traveled on to Columbus-Belmont State Park in Kentucky. We got a great site with a view of the Mighty Mississippi.
This park was on the Trail of Tears. In 1838, when more than 15,000 Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their homes and lands in the east, they were marched through Columbus and then ferried across the river and then the marched through marshes on the way to Oklahoma.
We took a great walk along the bluffs.
Then among the Civil War exhibits. Kentucky was originally a neutral state but that changed during the course of the war. A Confederate general put this chain across the river to ensnare passing boats, while cannons fired from land.
The soldiers created these earthworks to protect the 17,000 troops and the weapons, including 140 cannons from the Union forces.
After dinner, we sat on the swing, drinking wine, watching a couple of barges pass on the river.
A couple of today’s critters.
