In the fall of 2022, it was a regional sensation when hundreds of people were able to literally walk across the Mississippi River to Tower Rock near Chester in southern Illinois for the first time in years..Grandchildren were being taken on the hike by grandparents who had only had one or two opportunities for the trip over the decades themselves.

The uniqueness has worn off a bit now that the river has receded for the fourth year in a row.

The rocky path to the island emerges when the river level falls to a depth of 1.5 feet on the Chester gauge. That gauge, earlier at 3 feet on Sunday, dipped below 1.5 feet on Tuesday, and as low as 0.9 feet on Wednesday before rising slightly on Thursday.

The natural landmark is usually surrounded by water hundreds of feet from the Missouri riverbank

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