You're My Forever: The Flood Of 2013

On the morning of April 23, Alex, the kids and I woke up at Grandma Ann's house in Carrollton. We got ready quickly, then loaded up and headed over to Kampsville to help Grandma and Grandpa get there house ready in case the river decided to rise just that far.

It was raining and cold outside... a far cry from Sunday which had been beautiful. We got some food and groceries and took them to Grandma's house with us. Mom was meeting us there with more food and more help. Grandma had told me that she didn't want to move anything around in the house bc she just knew the water wouldn't get high enough to do damage but I just told her that we didn't need to take that chance. I told her that Alex and I were coming to just do whatever she needed help with.

The Illinois River separates Calhoun and Greene County...the two counties that my parents are from. To get from one Grandma's house to the other, we only have to take one highway. The only way to get across the Illinois River is by taking a ferry. The closest bridge is 10 miles South. (20 miles out of the way roundtrip.) Here was the view of the river as we sat on top of the levee waiting for the ferry to pick us up.

It felt like the Illinois River was never ending. The current was swift. It was insane. I had never seen it like that. There was so much debris flying down the river. It was just crazy. It almost looked like the ferry was just going to be swept away.

The playground that Grandma and Grandpa worked hard to get set up in town.

The legendary Kampsville Inn... it has been underwater more times than anyone can imagine.

Check out the basketball hoop.... just to give you an idea of how high the water was.

This is the road we take to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

The view down one of the main streets heading toward the river.

We had to come to Grandma and Grandpa's house from the back way. Here we are driving from the opposite side of town to get there. This is taken from the edge of their driveway.

When we got to their house, Grandma and Grandpa were gone. They had headed to Hardin (the town of 1100 that is 9 miles away...when you take the highway.) Grandma and Grandpa had to take the backroads to and from Hardin. It took an hour Grandma said. The weather was horrid. However, when we showed up at their house, Grandma had provided a list for us. She wanted her windows washed and her curtains fluffed. If that is what she wants, then that is what she gets!!!

Grandma and Grandpa showed up after we had been there about an hour. We had a delicious lunch and we hung out. We got all of the important stuff from their sunroom moved into the main part of their house. We made sure it was on the elevated side of things. When our work was done, Alex, Grandpa and I headed out on a ride in Grandpa's truck. Grandpa wanted to show us the damage thus far.

We met a nice guy... driving a four wheeler....pulling a boat. Naturally.

I think this guy forgot his truck.

That is a bad day.

The North-South road through town.

The road ahead. The River runs a parallel to this road...as you can see.

I don't know why but I love this picture.

The road behind us that we had just driven through.

This was the road ahead of us... which we clearly were not going to be able to navigate. This road was flooded for miles and miles...very deep.

Even the birds were almost flooded out.

Hope they took all of their belongings.

Grandpa took us up to the Catholic cemetery so we could get an idea of how wide the river was. I couldn't get a good picture of it...but here is my Great Grandparents' headstone.