There’s nothing remarkable about this photo, nothing at all. It’s like any other view of a quiet lake in summertime, but that’s where things get complicated. This mirror like surface isn’t a lake, it’s a river. in fact, it’s a big river; the Father of Waters, Old Muddy, the Mighty Mississippi River.

I’ve seen and crossed the Mississippi hundreds of times, but I can’t think of any other time when I’ve seen it so tranquil as it was here, just outside of Clinton, Iowa on July 7. Thirty miles down river, at Davenport, Iowa, there’s a flood going on, but in this quiet little cove, all is peaceful; if I would turn and look the other way, well that would be a different story, and it’s a picture for another time.