Rest and Recuperation

Some of you consistent readers may be wondering where we have been the past few days,  if you’re like my grandma Annie, you were probably scanning the obituaries for our names. We are however, alive and kicking, or rather, paddling. After serving the debacle that was Lake Pepin, as well as as being roadblocks to amorous endeavors, we pressed on down the river, inching closer to getting out of this state.  We had a host waiting in the town of Winona, about 30 miles downriver, a distance which usually takes around 6 to 7 hours.  We intended to wake up early and be there in the afternoon, but a rather enormous storm rolled in as we were packing our gear.  Both toby and I were in the bathroom when the down pour came, the force of the rain against the roof echoing  loudly inside. We not only extended our stay in the bathroom, we extended our stay at camp.

                We were not on river until around 11:30, much much later than what we hoped. Now our estimated arrival time had shifted to anywhere around 6 and 7 O’clock.  We also knew we had two more locks between us in Winona, Lock and Dam 5, and Lock and Dam 5A.  Locks basically work by the principle of “first come first serve”, servicing anyone like us canoers to the huge barges we are now encountering every day. These barges are so long and large that at times they must split the barge in half to fit through the locks. While the process for a canoe takes at most 15 minutes in our experience, a barge will take anywhere between 1.5  to 2 hours. Needless to say, getting stuck in line behind a locking barge can screw up any plans.

                Up ahead in the horizon, the sky was black and churning like a boiling cauldron We prepared ourselves for rain. The storm quickly came over us, lighting began to flash and it was only then did we realize we did not know the proper protocol on handling lightning while canoeing.  Ignorance is bliss they say, so I decided not to think about it.  We arrived at the first lock, cold, wet, hungry and rather stressed about getting to Winona. . Although it was already 5 O,clock and the next lock was 10 miles away.  If we could hurry, we would get past the next lock and into Winona before dark. While we could paddle in the night, we have deemed that a not too prudent idea.  However, there was a problem. A rather long barged was parked in the middle of the first lock, I looked at the clock, I knew then we could not make it too Winona in time. We would be arriving close to when the barge would get to the second lock, meaning we would have to wait 2 hours for it to lock, on top of that, it takes two hours or more to travel 10 miles.

                I phoned our host Jeremy and told him that we were not going to make. Our plan was to find a good camping spot between the two dams and hunker down or cold wet night and make it to Winona in the morning. Jeremy however asked a friend to host us in a little town between the two dams.  Fountain City, is a small picturesque village on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, it sits below tall mountains on the edge of the river.  Jeremy called and said his friend was going to be late so he would come get us for dinner at his place, a cook out sounded great.  It was incredibly relieving knowing that we were going to receive a hot meal and a warm bed.  Before long, after showers, we were sitting around a table with Jeremy and a group of his friends and friend’s friends. It felt great to sit around and talk, especially with people so hospitable and friendly, that you forget you only met them 20 minutes ago. Two of the guests were a Danish couple, Klause and Anna. Klause having a beard any man would be jealous of and Anna having a great career as a midwife, a job which I told her, I would probably be bad at. They were going to go sailing in the Caribbean with Jeremy’s friend twiggz, quite the interesting nick name if you ask me. Before two long, Jeremy’s friend arrived and we went back to fountain city for a restful and much appreciated night’s sleep in a warm bed.  Hearing the rain outside made me enjoy my warm pillow much much more.  Steve our host that night, gave us a great breakfast of yogurt and granola,  we decided that today would be a rest day, but we would travel the short trip down river to stay with Jeremy.

Jeremy had left his home open for us, so we parked the boat at a nearby landing and made the short walk to his house. With a whole day to ourselves, we lounged around then walked 2 miles to the coffee shop where twigz worked. I always enjoy these semi small towns, they are big enough to feel secure, yet small enough to not be overwhelming.  We passed a movie theater, and low and behold, Godzilla was playing. Both of us were waiting for this movie to come out, what better way to take your mind off the river than mindless entertainment, air conditioning included. Our rest day was just what we need to lift our weary spirits. We went to bed again, grateful to have a roof over our heads and a belly full of food.

The day today could not have been more pefect for canoeing, sunny, a high of 75, a wind at our back and a scenic and changing river bank. We had finally acquired a new radio and new music allowed us to forget the constantly of paddling and keep a consistent pace.  It was easy to forget about the hard times, the cold rain, the wet mornings, today was just enjoyable. We are currently camping on an island mostly made of sand, across the river is a camp ground, however, they wanted $20 us to sleep oustise. We weren’t gonna have any of that.