It was laid back kind of afternoon when I decided to take a drive along the Mississippi River in Illinois. Needing a break from the fast pace of the highway drive, I asked a local resident where to find the scenic drive along the banks of the river.
Looking at a map, she pointed at the dotted lines, the official route. “If you really want to see the river, you need to stop along the way and take a few of these roads,” she said. I must have looked a bit skeptical, as she followed her comment , “it’s safe, just be sure you are back on the main road by dark.”
Viewing the waters at one of the official visitor centers a photographer can capture post card images. It is along the edge of the river, on that road less traveled, unofficial images tell a different story.
Bare tree branches and underwater plants dotted the surface as the receding waters revealed the remnants of past floods. The haze in the air signaled summer’s arrival as the sun began it’s evening decent.
No signs or historical markers were at this stop, only the view through my lens. Just one of the many untold stories captured on a lazy afternoon drive along the banks of Old Blue.
