Day 1 - leaving from home - looks like we will have perfect weather conditions. 47F as we left at 6:30am and in the 80's by afternoon.
5 miles from home we cross the Fox River and Little Lake Butte de Morts
Taking a break at Winneconne on the Wolf River, have a granola bar and change into shorts.
Crossing the Fox River near Berlin
We happened upon a great eatery - it only opened the day before
The Bearded Bison was beautiful inside - checkout this wonderful bar!
Our lunch was delicious too!
As we left Berlin we saw road works and a no thru road sign that we figured we could skirt ...
... but, not this time. Evidently there had been a break to a gas line and the fireman made us go back and take the detour
we traveled through the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area and saw a couple of Sandhill Cranes right near us trying to cross the road. They took turns at crossing and coming back and we didn't know what their issue was until I put the camera away and then the two of them crossed followed by a baby crane
Next stop - Princeton
It was 3pm and we already had over 70 miles under our belt so I felt that I deserved an ice cream reward! We came upon the Creamery Place and stopped to taste their wares.
Our destination for today - Montello - total of 85.5 miles. We stayed at the Hilltop Hotel and linked up with Wax and Sue to have supper at the Oak Tree restaurant. Terrific food and company.
Day 2 - leaving Montello at 6:20am and heading toward Portage
the waterfalls at the site of the granite quarries as we left Montello
the Fox River just out of Montello
John Muir County Park in Marquette County
A flock of Cedar Waxwings were eating blossoms in this tree
They have to be one of my favorite birds
the Fox River near the French Creek Wildlife area
Approaching Portage - we say goodbye to the Fox River
We looked around the Fort Winnebago site
the surgeon's quarters and garden
The locks on the Wisconsin River in Portage
Snack time in Portage
The Catalpa trees were in full bloom and smelled and looked gorgeous! They are so big and stately.
How about the neat brickwork on this house in Portage?
Crossing the Wisconsin River as we head out of Portage
As we begin climbing, we catch glimpses of the Wisconsin River in the rural landscape
I begin to feel the challenge of climbing hill after hill, on our way to Merrimac
How about this crazy ball of barbed wire a farmer had placed on a pedestal at the entrance to his farm?
Made it to Merrimac and had lunch here - temps are now hovering near 90 degrees
we had ice cream as we rode the ferry over Lake Wisconsin
Crossing the Wisconsin River to Prairie du Sac
We got directions to a place to cool off and headed to the VFW Park on the river.
The water was quite chilly, but Larry said he did not care, he was going to swim. Then I had no choice but to brave it too, and after the initial shock it was refreshing.
We chatted with these people who were going to do a 4 day float down the river to Gotham - they planned to camp out on islands in the river
We decided to take a break and rest in the shade and eventually found accommodation to stay over, in neighboring Sauk City
We walked back into town to find a place for supper - the river looked beautiful as we dined out alfresco at this Mexican restaurant - good meal - some of the best guacomole I have ever tasted!
As we walked back to the motel we could see the moon, so large in the sky, reflected in the river.
We ended the day at Gansers Motel after 59.5 miles and temp of 89 degrees. Total miles thus far 145.
Day 3 - Thunderstorms and heavy rain have been continuous since about 3am. We woke at about 5:30am and decided to go back to sleep. But, it didn't let up. We had to be out of our room by 11:30am so eventually got our rain gear on and left Sauk City at 11:10am
The rain let up some, but we had rain and gusty winds for about an hour. After that, we could remove our rain jackets and air out and rode towards Spring Green under overcast skies.
Weird cloud formation outside of Spring Green
Spring Green is a pretty community. We stopped at the Coffee Shoppe and Bakery to have a snack.
We crossed the Wisconsin River as we neared the Frank Lloyd Wright visitor center
These guys were going for a float for quite a few days too, by the look of all their baggage. I wondered how our other friends survived the thunderstorms and rain last night?
We parked our bikes near the outlet of the air conditioning unit at the visitor center, as it was blowing warm air and could help dry our shoes - they were quite squelchy!
Frank Lloyd Wright visitor center - we did not take the tour - perhaps another time when we have more time to soak it all in and give the tour justice - we will have to come back
Crossing the Wisconsin River again to get to Avoca
We had asked several people about accommodation and they pretty much said "there is none".
As we got near Avoca we saw this sign and jotted down the phone number.
Joy rented us the cottage for one night and we cleaned up and went into town to Joni's for a fish fry ...
... and sampled some of the regional beers
That night, it began storming and raining by about 10:30pm and continued to rain and storm all night. [I still wonder how those river floating people managed with all this terrible weather for camping?] Today we rode 50.47 miles ... trip total of 195.5 miles
Day 4 - We didn't leave Avoca until 9am and it was still raining, but letting up. We plan on reaching Prairie du Chien today.
As we rode along Hwy 133 towards Boscobel we could see much evidence of the heavy rains
In Muscoda we took a small break and I had a voice message from Joy advising HWY 60 was shut before Boscobel - how nice of her to check the info and let us know what she could to assist our travels.
After Muscoda, the rain let up and we took our rain jackets off. We must have been catching the wind from the back end of the storm, because we rode for miles at about 20mph with little effort - it felt wonderful!
We came upon a road crew clearing debris and water from the road and guiding traffic through. This young man shared info on the road closings that he was aware off.
The railway tracks had been washed out and only the rails were left. Railroad sleepers were dumped where ever the flood waters took them.
The train would not be passing through here again for some time. We did hear it go through at about 11pm last night.
We continued to Boscobel where the community was cleaning up from flooding. The downtown had been flooded and the water had receded quite a bit by the time we got there.
The floodwaters came right up to the relatively new fire station and seeped under the doors. There were numerous emergency rescue people from Boscobel and neighboring communities.
These gentlemen were wearing neoprene suits as they engage in rescuing people trapped in the fast rising waters in their homes. They said they rescued 8 or 9 people in chest high water.
We detoured a little, but got to the main street area and had a delicious brunch at the Vale Inn Cafe and then set off for Prairie du Chien via Hwy 60, as it was open from Boscobel on.
Crossing the Wisconsin River for the last time on this ride.
There were various signs of rock and mud slides. In this section there were some hills that we had to pedal down to even have a speed of 10mph, due to the prevailing winds - that was a disappointment!
Almost there now - it is about 90 degrees again. From here we link up with Hwy 18 for the last few miles
Had supper at Eddie's Irish Pub - good food and some good beer to celebrate! Total miles thus far 250.89. Again tonight it stormed and rained heavily - Northern Iowa and south western WI must be absolutely soaked by now.
Day 4 - we have accomplished our mission, but have today to use until Jake arrives to drive us home - we anticipate about 5pm. We slept in after another stormy night of heavy rain. We rode downtown Prairie du Chien and then across the Mississippi River to Marquette - the home of the Lady Luck riverboat casino.
As we crossed the Mississippi the signs of high water and flooding were evident. The flotsam drifting in the water was interesting.
Larry wanted to do another bike loop along the river in Iowa - I passed and said I would sit it out in Marquette, as I knew there would be more hills not too far from town.
He rode about 13 miles and said he went up a hill that lasted for ever! It kept going up and curving for over a mile - but he conquered it!
The Great Race - a car race from St Paul MN to Mobile AL for older cars was coming through town - more info at this site
http://www.greatrace.com/news/great-race-2013-day-two.html#more-4687
Larry enjoyed watching the cars come through
We rode a mile downriver to visit McGregor IA. A very quaint historic community.
They had sand bags ready to protect the cobblestone streets from floodwaters.
These rooms were built into the cliff, I believe for storage areas originally.
We walked along the river's edge and the damage to docks and marinas was very evident.
A Nessie sighting? Back to the Loch for you Nessie.
After playing some cards in the park at McGregor we did take a ride up the river a few miles.
No hills here, it was easy going and was pleasantly cool riding between the bluff and the river.
The Pinta and Nina were available to tour at the marina in Marquette.
Jake and Sarah picked us up and chauffeured us home. Total miles for the trip Deb - 263.89 and Larry - 277.89. We were very pleased with our adventure.
