Back to the Wisconsin
Published September 16, 2011 | 
Tomorrow morning I’ll be joining a group of paddlers on a day trip down the Wisconsin river put on by Rutabaga Paddle Sports Shop of Madison, Wisconsin. The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway is one of the state’s most popular destinations providing some 90 miles of paddling from below the dam at Sauk Prairie south-west until reaching its confluence with the Mississippi near Wyalusing state park. Our day trip will only cover about 14 river miles, but should offer plenty of opportunities to enjoy all that the Wisconsin has to offer. Continue reading
Walking The Wisconsin
Published October 7, 2009 | 
Taking a break from walking our kayaks down the Wisconsin River…
Paddling down the Lower Wisconsin River is one of the most popular trips in our area. Walking down the river is another less popular option. Of course most people, most sane people, run the Wisconsin in early summer. Earlier in the year the water is higher, the current is faster and the hot summer sun makes an occasional wade across a sand bar a joy. I on the other hand, am simply horrid at doing things the way they’re normally done. For good and bad, this personal defect usually sets me up for some unique experiences. The reward is simply being right there in the moment which is often harder to achieve than one might think.
Wet Feet
Published October 5, 2009 | 
i can’t walk on water with these dirty feet – Stephen Speaks
Every so often your Monday goes nuclear and you just have to do other more pressing things than blog. Still I thought I’d break away for a moment to share a picture from our little adventure down the Wisconsin River. The funny thing about the trip was that we really spent almost as much time walking as we did paddling. Have you ever walked your kayak down a shallow river in the middle of nowhere while the rain poured down on you and the wind howled around the trees? Cool isn’t it?! More later…
Go Slough
Published September 29, 2009 | 
So deep, so wide, will you take me on your back for a ride
If I should fall, would you swallow me deep inside
– gabriel
In yesterday’s post I mentioned stopping along the roadside to wrangle some apples only to end up cleaning up a bunch of trash. The photo above is from that very spot. What looks like a swamp in the image is part of a vast network of small streams, bogs and sloughs that make up the lower Wisconsin River valley. Somewhere out there past the swamp is the river proper.
The Alien & The Wandering Tome
Published September 28, 2009 | 
I HAVE been in a multitude of shapes,
Before I assumed a consistent form.
I have been a sword, narrow, variegated,
I will believe when it is apparent.
I have been a tear in the air,
I have been the dullest of stars.
I have been a word among letters,
I have been a book in the origin…
- the battle of the trees, book of taliesin
Just a few words seem to tie all my recent and approaching days together. Each sub-set of ideas fly around them like ribbons around a single maypole. The holiday adorned children dancing beyond I fear, represent a sanity long gone. Skipping backwards through their common cloud to the foundation left apart, the words I read have little in common; Wisconsin, Scotland, Muir, monster, architect, Wales & fudge. Yet they keep coming up. Together they become one… Continue reading
Posted in My Weird Life, Paddling, Quixotica, Random Thoughts, travel | 
gordon brown, spring green, wisconsin, wisconsin riverPaddle Scrabble
Published September 25, 2009 | 
Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
– pink floyd
O.K., so I have to give a shout out to Sharon, Alec and the gang since I was so mean to them recently.. oh, and because they used the word “caguole” in their blog which is at least 45 points in paddle-blogger scrabble. (There’s a bonus for using a real words that sound made up outside of the paddling world) Meanwhile I’m still planning to paddle… Well, by planning I mean loosely considering what I’d need to paddle, down the Lower Wisconsin in the next week or so. It always comes down to where the child will go. Yeah, he could go along of course, but as the song says, “to everything there is a season..”. Sometimes it’s the season to leave little Billy at grandmas.
Posted in Kayaks, My Paddling, News & Print, Paddling | Delphin, P&H Kayaks, wisconsin, wisconsin riverlooking down possibilities
Published September 21, 2009 | 
I just heard that whistle blow. Gonna go down the river once more.
Well, I’ve got my bag and I’m ready to go. Gonna go down the river once more.
- Kinston Trio
The lower Wisconsin was a canoe trip that almost made Justine Curgenven‘s up-coming DVD. It’s certainly a legendary paddle trip around here. As I stood on this ridge looking down into the valley I suddenly wondered how I could fit it in myself before the snow flies. Kayaking the Wisconsin probably doesn’t quite live up to Wisconsin’s “Canoeing Heritage” Meme but still…
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