Monday, March 9, 2009

Cedar Falls River Sights

my world banner

 

These photos were taken this past Sunday afternoon in Cedar Falls, Iowa, U.S.A.  The first scene shows the Ice House which sits next to the Cedar River and is now a museum.  In a former era, the building was used to store ice blocks cut from the river in wintertime.

ice house

To reach a point where the river would be in view, I had to climb up the side of the levee, made slippery by newfallen snow.  From there my footsteps went squish, squish, squish as I neared the river’s edge.  The next scene is the Cedar River dam below the bridge on County Road V-14, which becomes Franklin St. in Cedar Falls.  Clearly visible is the surging rush of early spring waters.

dam close up

Forget about sands through an hourglass……

Like muddy waters rolling over a dam in spring……

So are the days of our lives……

dam far way

Here’s the old railroad bridge, still standing after its encounter with massive floodwaters last June:

bridge bin 

Squish, squish……back up the levee I trudge.  This  charming little red schoolhouse sits along West First Street:

school track 2 

And for those of you who enjoy a little railroad track with your schoolhouse:

 

school track

Thank you for stopping by this MyWorld Tuesday post!  Please visit the official MyWorld website to find more links for your traveling pleasure.  Thank you, MyWorld team!

32 comments:

SandyCarlson said...

That is a lovely and peaceful looking farm.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed tagging along in this walk. Same time next week then?

The Good Life in Virginia said...

enjoyed the walk and the views...lovely post and photos.
thanks for sharing and have a good week.

erin

Leenie said...

I thought the ice house would be a skating rink. Looks big enough. Thanks for squishing about to show us a part of your world.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Sandy,

Yes, it is quite peaceful here. Thanks for stopping by and for your work on the SWF and MWT teams.

********

Hi, ewok1933,

Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I'll try to make it a date for next week, too.

*********

Hi, Good Life,

Thanks for visiting! I enjoyed seeing the rushing river, too.

*********

Hi, Leenie,

Cool....I've never thought of that....it would have made a nice round ice rink. This building almost didn't survive the flood last spring. Thanks for stopping by!

Guy D said...

Thanks for the tour, those are some great photos.

Have a great week!
Guy
Regina In Pictures

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Jeannelle: What wonderful photos from your part of the USA, thanks so much for sharing. That was a fun walk. I really liked the ice house, I remeber when the iceman used to go up and down the streets of my youth.

Gail said...

I thought you were going to say and the next picture is me sliding in! Wonderful photos.

Mojo said...

You could have doubled this up as a Ruby Tuesday with that school house in the mix. Great shots!

Suzanne Casamento said...

Hee hee hee. Your Days of Our Lives quote cracked me up. And thank you for including the railroad track with the schoolhouse - that's just how I like it. ; )

Country Girl said...

Well, yes, I always did like a little railroad track with my schoolhouse. A nice Reisling to accompany it . . .

Ha! Jeannelle, thanks for trudging to get these pics. That water is really something, too.

Carver said...

Great shots. I love places with history and that's great that the ice house is now used as a museum. I love the little red school house next to the railroad tracks. I enjoyed all of these shots.

Louise said...

This is a truly picturesque post! Everything there is photogenic. I hope your feet didn't get too cold! The "squish, squish, squish" made ME cold!

Unknown said...

Lovely post, I can't believe they could actually cut blocks of ice out of a river!

Reamus said...

Farm Wife,

I love the ice house. Saw many in Vermont near Lake Champlain that still were about when I lived up there. I too, the NYC kid, had no idea what they were.

Thanks for climbing the levee! Be careful out there!

Lilli & Nevada said...

Thanks for taking me along on your walk, you have captured some beautiful photos

Swarna said...

Thanks for sharing - the pictures, your thoughts - and your acrobatic efforts! The railroad next to such a place makes it extra special.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Guy D and fishing guy,

Thank you guys for stopping by!

********

Hi, Gail,

Haha, if I'd have slid into that raging river, I'd be blogging from the great beyond now.

*******

Hi, Mojo,

Yes, but the red was not showing up very well in the cloudy conditions.

********

Hi, Suzanne,

Yeah...I used to watch Days every day....a long time ago.

**********

Hi, Country Girl,

My daughter likes Reisling, too....she can join us.

********

Hi, Carver,

Thank you for the kind words. I'm so glad, too, that the Ice House is being put to use as a museum.

********

Hi, Louise,

Fortunately, it wasn't too cold out. The snow melted shortly after that.

Thanks for your work with MyWorld and SkyWatch!

MAYBELLINE said...

Love taking the tour. Thanks.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Brit Gal,

Yes, my grandma used to tell me about the ice truck which came around delivering ice blocks to put in the "ice box" (refrigerator, now). Grandma always called the fridge, "the icebox".

*********

Hi, Reamus,

I wonder if the icehouses you recall were round like this one? I grew up on a farm with a round barn somewhat similar to this icehouse. It blew down last spring in the tornado.

*****

Hi, Lilli Nevada,

Thank you for taking time to come along on the walk.

*******

Hi, Swarna,

Thank you for visiting, too. "Acrobatics" made me laugh!

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Maybelline,

Your comment was hiding in between the others....

Thank you for stopping by!

Janie said...

Yep, my life feels much like muddy water rolling over the dam about now.
I like that little red schoolhouse.

EG CameraGirl said...

Aren't you glad that now we don't have to cut and store ice to keep our food safe? What a lot of work! I'm always fascinated by old schools and railroad tracks. ;-)

antigoni said...

Amazing photos. You still have snow! The river and the bridge are so beautiful and the buildings are very good looking.

Reader Wil said...

I remember seeing an ice house in one of the American series of the 19th century. Could it be "Little House on the prairie"? It's a very nice post! Thank you!

rhymeswithplague said...

I enjoyed trudging around Cedar Falls with you, and especially your one-of-a-kind photos. I am not old enough to be your Grandma, or even the right gender, but we had an icebox until I was about twelve and had a 25-pound block of ice delivered every week. Emptying the pan full of water under the icebox was one of my chores. I lived in fear of its overflowing, not that it would have harmed the ancient, cracked, nondescript linoleum.

Thanks for the memories.

Kat Mortensen said...

I looked for this post yesterday, but somehow missed it - I got caught up in the theatre one.

Hey! You be careful! We don't want you getting swept upriver just so you can get photos to show us!

(They are great shots, though.)

Kat

??? said...

Thanks for the tour :) I've always been fascinated by icehouses (which is probably the fault of writer Minette Walters).

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Janie,

Oh, I hope the water is not too muddy.

*******

Hi, EG Tour Guide,

Ice-cutting sounds like dangerous work to me.

********

Hi, antigoni,

That snow didn't stay long. Thanks for stopping in....from Greece, I think!

******

Hi, Reader Wil,

You could very well be correct about that, an ice house in that show or mentioned in the books.

*********

Hi, rhymsie,

Thanks for your interesting comment. I hadn't thought of that task which would obviously accompany the melting ice block.

**********

Hi, Poetikat,

Thanks for your concern. I was careful.

********

Hi, Jedediah,

Thanks for visiting. I've not heard of that author....I'll have to look her up.

Barb said...

Your photos and the story you tell are wonderful. I especially like the metaphor about the dam. It seems like life does rush by just like those muddy waters!

Unknown said...

Great captures. Thanks for sharing.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Barb
Hi, John

Thank you so much for stopping by on your MyWorld tour!