Country Yuppie

Thursday, December 03, 2020

Going through a phase?

Breath in, Breath out.

Ernest and Juanita Nelson home. Dodgeville, Wi. Circa 1972.

Koller house at 241 North Baltimore Street, Spring Green, WI. Circa 1937

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Sugar River above the Albany Dam

It's a 2.24 mile upstream paddle to Rueben's Cave on the West Branch of the Sugar River. I put in just above the dam at Albany and paddle upstream where early on I encountered a lot of sediment from years of holding back the river by the dam. The first mile or so is an area where at one time a lake deep enough for recreational use but now the sediment has filled in the lake and there are places where you can't navigate even with a kayak. Once I entered the flow of the river channel the depth the rest of the way to the cave was not an issue. I saw Eagles, Seagulls, Robins, Blue Jays, Ducks (not sure type), and other water birds that sadly I have seen all my life but haven't taken the time to identify. The stream to the cave was amazing. As I wound my way upstream their were many trees down and you could just get by with a kayak. In some places I noticed where a chainsaw was used to cut away larger trees. The cave itself was pretty small. I understand sometime in the recent past the City of Albany dynamited the cave to prevent access so what I saw was only the entrance. The trip back was an easy paddle as the stream pushed me along nicely and all I had to do was steer my way around the fallen trees and the natural curves in the river. On the way back I had some Woodford Reserve whiskey and a couple of beers which seemed to enhance my already wonderful state. Near the end I drifted while listening to Kirsty McGee's newest album "The deafening sound of stars". As light light approached I slowly drifted down the Sugar River and experienced such a calm and blissful state.