Mississippi River's Slush Floats Past Bellevue

Yesterday with temperatures in the 50s, it was time for an afternoon road trip. My wheels aimed us to northeast Iowa and into the scenic driftless area. The 42N vehicle climbed a steep hill to get a bird's eye view of Bellevue, Iowa, revealing more of the statewide snowless condition.

That's the mighty Mississippi River flowing relatively ice free. See those ripples on the river above and below Lock and Dam No. 12? They are actually floating chunks of clear slush. Not quite icebergs. Iowa is on the left side of the river with Illinois on the right.

The late afternoon, low sun angle lighting was fantastic. Golden rays illuminated the area and the clear skies produced a deep blue color. No photo color enhancements were necessary to make this scene look good.

Tonight the first snowfall of the season is moving through and will bring up to 4 inches of snow to most of eastern Iowa including Bellevue. It was a nice winter (snow free) until now. Know that.