"38 Feet High and Risin'"

Back to the river I went this morning to see how Great Flood 2016 is coming along.  I drove my truck today because I had to run an errand along the way that involved moving something.  Even the mightiest truck must defer to the whims of the mighty Mississippi River:

What we see here is a water level that measured 38.1 feet on the Memphis gauge.  Forecasters are predicting a crest of 40.5 feet this Friday, so the water should rise only a couple of feet higher than this.  I believe this particular apocalypse will be more heckish than hellish.  Here's the view from that spot on the marina:

Once in the boat I paddled for 90 minutes, heading out of the harbor and upriver, through the flooded Greenbelt Park, and a half mile or so up the Wolf River before turning around and coming back.  It was another nice January day, though not quite as lovely as Sunday was: a breeze from the east was putting quite a chill on things.  But it was still not bad for the dead of winter.