Rain, rain, go away

Downtown Hannibal, Missouri

It's just my luck. After a summer-long record drought in Nebraska, I head out on the road for a few days to take photographs and it won't stop raining. It wasn't until I was driving back to Omaha that the sun decided to come out for an extended period of time. 

Cloudy weather is something I've learned to deal with (and even embrace) photographically and rain is usually little more than a minor annoyance that makes things a little more difficult. The rain on Sunday, however, was about as obnoxious as weather can possibly be.

At times, it would cease and I'd get out of the car to walk around. Then, as soon as I'd get a distance away from the car, there would be an absolute downpour. This went on for most of Sunday afternoon, all the way from Hannibal to Keokuk, Iowa. After crossing the Mississippi to Illinois, the clouds welcomed me with a deluge of rain of which I've only seen once or twice in my life. State Highway 96 was unable to cope with the excessive amount of rain water and its edges became deep pools that lurched the car sideways. I pulled off of the highway not once, but three times, as the rain let up momentarily before resuming the downpour just a minute or two later. For reference, this was my view of the Mississippi River through my windshield at a roadside turnoff near Nauvoo:

The rain ultimately didn't let up for good until I had reached my destination in Burlington, Iowa. I was ready to admit defeat and seek refuge in a hotel room before heading home today. Instead, I looped back around through Fort Madison and took a couple of very good photographs before calling it quits. It ended up definitely being worth the second effort.

Today was another story. I did a little exploring but chose to start the long trip home without much to show for the day. It's as if I was creatively exhausted and ready for a break after a few days of constant image searching. And now it's time to get back to the reality of a full time job and classes. Such is life, right?

Also visited Sunday: La Grange, Canton and Alexandria, Missouri. Quincy, Hamilton, Niota, Dallas City, Lomax, Carman and Gulfport, Illinois.

Also visited Monday: Gladstone, Oquawka, Keithsburg and New Boston, Illinois. Muscatine, Nichols and Lone Tree, Iowa.