Nine Miles of Mounds

"It's too bad it didn't clear a little sooner and we might have had blue sky over the Mississippi," said Andy.

But the view at Hanging Rock was spectacular, regardless. We watched a riverboat paddle past, and a tug pushed a barge below us. The ancient peoples, who lived here at least 10,000 years ago, buried their dead at Effigy Mounds National Monument. They must have been struck by the same awe when they came here thousands of years ago and created a sacred burial ground by mounding dirt in animal-shaped effigies.

After eight miles of wood-chipped trails in the monument, we walked the boardwalk mile in Yellow River Bird Sanctuary, amazed at the level of the river after five days of rain.

"I heard the park ranger say the Mississippi is 17 feet over flood stage and still rising. It's not supposed to crest for another four days," Andy said as we walked.

"My friend Shannon reminded me to think of Mark Twain when I crossed the Mississippi. Instead, I see Huck Finn on Jackson's Island in the rain every time I look out across the water," I told Andy.

And the boardwalk at the bird sanctuary offered evidence of the devastating water level. Muddy sludge oozed over some boards. Little waves lapped when boats passed mid-river a couple football fields away. Other areas were impassable under a foot or more of the muddy Mississippi overflow.