The river trip

The rest of the story from August 8th:

After our hike in the Spring Green Preserve we decided to catch lunch at one of the many artisan restaurants Spring Green has to offer. Being that it was Sunday afternoon my buddy had no plans and offered to take us for a boat trip on the river. My companion and I had no hesitance in saying yes. We put the boat in at the Highway 14 landing. The weekend was coming to an end so most of the boat traffic was that of people leaving the river. Bowie the river dog was along. We first headed upriver to check on an eagle nest. By this time of year the nest is empty and this year’s chicks are the size of their parents. They haven’t been abandoned but have been taught how to survive on their own. It's believed that two more bald eagle juveniles have been added to the population from this site. This excursion took us under the Spring Green Railroad bridge and our driver/guide pointed out the huge rusted gear on the middle pier. This once turned that section of tracks to allow the riverboats through on their way upriver. I'm lucky enough to live on the banks of the Lower Wisconsin River. I've been told that the riverboats once reached as far as Prairie du Sac. What a site that would have been to watch one of them go by!
From here we passed under the highway bridge headed downriver. We had talked to a couple with young children at the boat landing; they, like us, were heading out for an afternoon adventure. My buddy had told them about a very large dead tree that was hung up on a sandbar. We spotted them there and decided to join them. This sandbar like all sandbars on the river is always in motion so if you don't already have your life vest on, now is the time to do so. We had pulled the boat in on the deeper, downriver end of the sandbar. Bowie was the first to disembark. My buddy and I decided to venture across the sand to the tree, while the slightly less adventurous passenger and Bowie explored the sandbar. Many of you may have seen this now gray skeleton of a once massive tree (I believe it to be a cottonwood) on Facebook. It's been used as a great photo opportunity. Young and old have been pictured perched on its barkless back.

From here we continued on downriver. Soon we arrived at a stream named Mill Creek. On a previous boat trip the water level was too low to navigate up to Tower Hill State Park, so this was a first for me. I was amazed at the abundance of the brilliant red cardinal flower now in full bloom along the shore. The other side of the creek was lined by a sandstone bluff; at one time the Wisconsin River flowed through here and cut away the stone face. This action exposed the many layers that had been created over millions of years and remained untouched to become this park in the Driftless Area of the Midwest. This cutting action removed the softer sandstone leaving behind pillars with hard stone caps, giving the appearance of mushrooms. A short distance downriver the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor’s Center is visible through the trees. On the way back upriver an adult bald eagle flew overhead and was later spotted perched in a tree as if waiting for us to pass by.

We surely were blessed by Mother Nature with a beautiful day, and I, by the company of good friends.
In the excitement I left my camera behind so the photos were taken by Timm Zumm.