Day 26: Rock Island, Barges, George Eaton
Posted on 17. Jun, 2009 by carlos in Touring
On the morning of Day 26, we received a tour of ‘Rock Island‘ by George Eaton, our host and a military historian/documentarian. He is a recently retired 22 year veteran of the force and a house filled with military history books. He non-chalantly brings up history on any topic at hand as though it’s normal conversation.
During the tour of Rock Island we saw the second largest federal house, right under the White House. We saw an atomic cannon, a power plant that powers the entire island, and a blacksmith shop that has been out of commission for many years because of the use of chromium.
One of the best stories came from the confederate cemetary we saw. George mentioned that the tombstones were peaked and explained the origins in one quote. “We never want a damned Yankee sitting his arse on these stones.” I’ll never forget that one.
The bridge below spins a full 360 degrees to let the barges through. It doesn’t have to wait for the entire barge to pass for it to start closing (hence the 360). To say the least, it was an Ordeal to have this ship move along it’s route. Every 10 to 20 miles it had to pass some form of lock and damn system. It was also one of the only valid excuses to be a few minutes late for work. “Bridge open,” one would say.
Angela
19. Jun, 2009
Now I kind of miss Rock Island. It’s cool that you guys had a tour of it from someone who could show you some great stuff. As a resident (esp a teenager) one doesn’t get into that .
Be safe!
Sam
22. Jun, 2009
Love it, Carlos!