Cool old bridge and an anxiety producing route… Prayer and Clay.
The Grand River Bridge is a historic bridge located west of Leon, Iowa, United States. It spans the Grand River for 235 feet. The bridge is technically a 7-panel Pratt Pony truss bridge (I have no idea what that means) spaning the main channel of the river, with a 4-panel Pratt pony truss/bedstead and timber stringer that forms the approach span on the west side. It was built by bridge contractors Daniel and Webster for $2,980 and completed in 1890!! The bridge is no longer in use for vehicular traffic. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
So as I find these interesting sites sometimes I just need to find an address that is as close as possible. So I dropped a pin in maps and off I went. I could see from the map this bridge was in a remote area. What I did not expect is that it’s in a rock quarry or rock pit. As I was driving on what I thought was just a country road with some steep down hill sections, suddenly I realized that the road was clay and I was fishtailing and making huge ruts in the road. Actually sinking in the clay. This realization came to me on a steep down hill section. I slowed to a stop at the bottom of the hill on what looked like solid ground. I looked back and “I thought there is no way I am getting up that slippery clay road. I will be stuck here until the clay dries. How will I explain this to Margery?”
So I flew the drone (I was already there right?) and looked at my clay covered car. The wheels and wheel wells were caked in thick clay. My brand new Chevy Equinox. So I put it in off road mode (didn’t really ever anticipate using that mode). And it powered up that clay hill! But the real power had to be the anxious prayer I spoke outloud the whole way up. The next big town had a car wash and a Starbucks (to calm my nerves). Not sure Margery will let me go on road trips by myself again!
