Bridge near Alton, IL.
A heron alongside the water.
Lock and dam not far from the bridge. We were aiming to see the new confluence park, but it turned out it wasn't open yet.
People were fishing there.
After reaching Alton we drove up the river road. The Piasa (pie-ah-saw) bird painted on the limestone bluffs is based on an Indian legend.
There are small caves in the limestone. Birds (sparrows?) really seemed to like to be inside.
Water near one of the caves.
Deer were nearby too once.
There are a few little towns along the river road. This is outside one of them.
In Grafton, the Aerie Winery is way up above the river. Nice view.
We took the ferry into Calhoun County.
Calhoun County is between two rivers. Here's the road to a boat launch of
one of them.
There are a number of roads like that.
On the way back we took this "covered" bridge instead of the ferry. The mechanism lifts the center of the bridge to let river traffic through.
As we were passing Pere Marquette State Park we decided to stop and take a look. We did a short, but slightly steep trail near the Visitor's Center. It had a view.
A marker for the Illinois River Survey was near the high point of the trail.
We decided to visit the lodge - unexpectedly, Tom Curry was walking toward us. He and his brood were camping there for a long weekend.
There is also a scenic drive in the park. Rhubarb?
Eagle Roost Overlook - yes, eagles do come here.
Another overlook.
