Month: September 2010

Bark River Float

Goodes and Walls decide to float the Bark.  Our original plan was to float the Upper Dells of the Wisconsin, but there’s been a lot of rain.  Many areas of Wisconsin are flooded or under watch.  We noted the water flow, measuring ominously at 6 times the mean, and the admonition in our “Rivers of Southern Wisconsin” that this section of the Wisconsin can be “dangerous at times”.    This, we said, could be one of those times.

So the Bark River it was.   The wind was absolutely howling.  When we dropped a bike at the take-out on the Rock River, waves a foot tall were being pushed upstream, creating the perfect illusion that the river had reversed course.  We put in 6 miles above Ft. Atkinson.  The float went well, although the Bark is wide enough to lack total protection from the wind.  We were duly battered, the worst of it occurring in the last half a mile on the Rock, pushing directly against the gale.  Kudos to Cathy, a newbie kayaker who braved the elements in fine fashion.

Still, it was a good time, all in all.

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September Hailstorm

A typical nighttime thunderstorm gone terribly noisy.  This one started like any other, then built in intensity. Random loud, metallic plinking noises woke us up.  It took a minute to figure out the source.  Soon enough, hail – big hail – came down in sheets.  The noise was deafening.  It probably lasted for about 10 minutes.  We went outside to survey the scene near the end.

We were thankful our cars were in the garage!  Many, many automobiles in a wide area around us, including some belonging to friends, were battered.

Our roof has not yet been inspected, but it’s probably going to have to be replaced.

(It was, along with every single home within a five mile radius.)

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