Tuesday, June 28, 2016 – Heat & No rain, “Sunset” halfway point, Stone Arch Bridge

Today was the first day in two weeks that the daytime high temperatures were not in the 90’s. It has also been a month since our last significant rainfall. Both, high temperatures and no rain are very unusual for Central Illinois this time of the year.  Last year they said it was one of the wettest Junes on record, this year it’s been one of the driest. 

This evening marked the halfway point of our Summer season of “Sunset by the Mississippi” performances. Sis. Johnson and I only have 8 shows left. Time is sure flying by fast.

After our performance in “Sunset by the Mississippi” Sis. Johnson and I took a sightseeing detour.  We’ve seen the signs to “The Stone Arch Bridge” beside the road but we didn’t know what is was.  So, we decided to check it out. There is so much to see and do here in Nauvoo. There is always  something new to discover and learn about.

 

The Stone Arch Bridge spans one of nine original ditches built in 1839 by Mormon pioneers to divert runoff water from upper Nauvoo that was settling in the flats creating swamp-like conditions. To make the future City of Nauvoo inhabitable, a solution to the waterlogged soil had to be found. Under the direction of Joseph Smith, the first Mormon settlers drained the marsh, which turned this undesirable and uninhabitable place into a beautiful and prosperous city.

Today, water still runs through the ditch, under the bridge and out to the Mississippi River after the rain. The old road that passes over the bridge is no longer used. Although I suspect this old stone arch bridge was built strong enough to handle modern traffic.