Ste Genevieve bike ride to the river

After a busy day of shopping, visiting and windshield bustin' I took a 7 mile ride down the old main street of Ste Genevieve all the way to the Mississippi River. I was surprised to find a ferry there. It was small but large enough to get most vehicles across the river in quick fashion.

I didn't really notice the flood gates until I took the return trip. The gates were at least 20 feet high and covered the railroad tracks and the road. There were stone levees on either end of the gates. They are quite serious about flooding here as you can see from the historical marker next to a bridge about a quarter of a mile closer to town from the gates.
The town was founded in 1735 and it looks like they would prefer to keep it functioning for quite some time.