Looking downstream toward Prairie du Chien from Effigy Mounds National Monument
Truthfully, I was wondering how much more of the river I could take if the days continued like yesterday. I warmed up in my tent in my sleeping bag in my sweat pants and long sleeved shirt and thick socks and hoodie, but was never so warm that I needed to shed any of those layers. The morning was still chilly (50s) but the three of us were in high spirits because we could see blue sky between the puffy white clouds. We cheerily made breakfast (I overheard Jake say to Julie, “Tell me how that coffee is, and if it’s no good, well, you’re stuck with it”), broke down camp and dried our clothes in the sun, and set off. It was the first time that we all paddle together, chatting as we went, mostly remarking on how gorgeous the day was, how we didn’t expect the river to be so lovely for so long, and how much better it was to be warm and dry than cold and wet.
With west winds, we were able to sail some of the day, J & J with their tarp (with Julie as mast and boom), and I with my umbrella. Their tarp was much larger than my umbrella, and they had Jake to continue paddling, so they flew past me. We all tucked into Yellow River to see if we could find the effigy mounds. We ended up tying up under a foot bridge, and clambering up the side. We walked up to the Effigy Mounds National Monument visitor center, watched a 15 minute film on the effigy mounds, got a good lay of the land and hiked up the mountain to see what we could see. The effigy mounds are in the shapes of circles, wide lines, eagles, and bears. It is unknown specifically who made them, but they’re 1000-3000 years old and are often funerary mounds. The Effigy Mounds are a sacred native site. This was the first touristy excursion I had taken for myself and I was not disappointed. A mid-day hike was really wonderful to take, especially in such a beautiful and interesting spot. The top of the hill boasted some incredible vistas of the river, and J & J and I enjoyed the invertebrate life in the park, too (stink bug! Millipede! Fuzzy caterpillar!) By the time we were finished with our sylvan jaunt, it was nearly 5pm, and we opted to camp on the beach just north of Prairie du Chein, WI (“pray-d’shayn”).
I made some quinoa and mushroom masala for dinner, relaxed a bit, and then we headed into town to see if we could find the Tavern, a bar, purportedly owned by a fellow adventurer named Pat. We enjoyed the walk past old train depots, forts and other old buildings (Prairie du Chien was the 2nd European settlement on the Mississippi). Sure enough, we found Patrick Igou, manning the bar. With his bearded face and long braids, wide smile and the adventurous twinkle in his eye, we knew immediately we were in the presence of a friend. First round of drinks (just juice and soda water for me) was on him, and we enjoyed the bluegrass music and stories of his journeys down the Mississippi, the Missouri river, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. He said when he and his buddy did the Mississippi River, they did it in 89 days, and only wore a tee shirt and shorts, and brought no other clothes. He brought a tarp and his buddy had a hammock, but down south, there were no trees on the sandbars, so his buddy had to sleep in his hammock on the bare ground. They never used a toilet the whole time, and kept trying to one-up eachother to see how extreme they could be, paddling earlier in the morning and later at night, camping in evermore uncomfortable spots, etc. He and his other bartender were both mighty glad to have us there for the evening and we were glad to be in a place where we were welcomed!
Walking home after midnight, we marveled at the starry sky. The big dipper was sitting in the sky like it was on a stove instead of how I usually see it farther east, like it’s hanging on the wall. The milky way was thick, and the entire sky was dotted gorgeously with pinpricks of light. The river was so glassy that the stars were reflected in it.
With west winds, we were able to sail some of the day, J & J with their tarp (with Julie as mast and boom), and I with my umbrella. Their tarp was much larger than my umbrella, and they had Jake to continue paddling, so they flew past me. We all tucked into Yellow River to see if we could find the effigy mounds. We ended up tying up under a foot bridge, and clambering up the side. We walked up to the Effigy Mounds National Monument visitor center, watched a 15 minute film on the effigy mounds, got a good lay of the land and hiked up the mountain to see what we could see. The effigy mounds are in the shapes of circles, wide lines, eagles, and bears. It is unknown specifically who made them, but they’re 1000-3000 years old and are often funerary mounds. The Effigy Mounds are a sacred native site. This was the first touristy excursion I had taken for myself and I was not disappointed. A mid-day hike was really wonderful to take, especially in such a beautiful and interesting spot. The top of the hill boasted some incredible vistas of the river, and J & J and I enjoyed the invertebrate life in the park, too (stink bug! Millipede! Fuzzy caterpillar!) By the time we were finished with our sylvan jaunt, it was nearly 5pm, and we opted to camp on the beach just north of Prairie du Chein, WI (“pray-d’shayn”).
I made some quinoa and mushroom masala for dinner, relaxed a bit, and then we headed into town to see if we could find the Tavern, a bar, purportedly owned by a fellow adventurer named Pat. We enjoyed the walk past old train depots, forts and other old buildings (Prairie du Chien was the 2nd European settlement on the Mississippi). Sure enough, we found Patrick Igou, manning the bar. With his bearded face and long braids, wide smile and the adventurous twinkle in his eye, we knew immediately we were in the presence of a friend. First round of drinks (just juice and soda water for me) was on him, and we enjoyed the bluegrass music and stories of his journeys down the Mississippi, the Missouri river, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. He said when he and his buddy did the Mississippi River, they did it in 89 days, and only wore a tee shirt and shorts, and brought no other clothes. He brought a tarp and his buddy had a hammock, but down south, there were no trees on the sandbars, so his buddy had to sleep in his hammock on the bare ground. They never used a toilet the whole time, and kept trying to one-up eachother to see how extreme they could be, paddling earlier in the morning and later at night, camping in evermore uncomfortable spots, etc. He and his other bartender were both mighty glad to have us there for the evening and we were glad to be in a place where we were welcomed!
Walking home after midnight, we marveled at the starry sky. The big dipper was sitting in the sky like it was on a stove instead of how I usually see it farther east, like it’s hanging on the wall. The milky way was thick, and the entire sky was dotted gorgeously with pinpricks of light. The river was so glassy that the stars were reflected in it.
We found this nice landing just downstream of the lock you can see. Sleeping on flat grass instead of tilted sand was awesome.
Even a porta-potty. It doesn't take much to really please me.
Packing away camp for the morning
 Hood for warmth. Another chilly morning. |  People keep asking whether I have shoes. Yes, I do, here they are. They're falling apart Keens. They'll last until the end of the trip. I am barefoot in my kayak, but wear these in camp and when I'm in town. |
SUCH a beautiful day
On the Yellow River, trying to find the entrance to the Effigy Mounds National Monument. We ended up tying up under the bridge, clambering up the side of the bridge and following the trail. I don't think they have too many river-access visitors.
 Really interesting museum at the visitor center |  Finally, a close-up of a bald eagle! It's taxidermy, but oh well. Beautiful creature. |
Marching bear and eagle effigy mounds. Aerial photograph
What the effigy mounds look like from the ground
Millipede
Cool to see the river from an elevated perspective. You can see how the sand builds up in front of the islands under water, and why the beginning and ends of islands make such great camping spots.
 River family photo! |  Camp above Prairie du Chien. Plastic water bottle in lower left corner of photo. Makes me sad to see them everywhere all the time. |
Prairie du Chien was the 2nd European settlement on the Mississippi, so there's some really neat old buildings here on the water.
Julie, Jake and Patrick Igou, owner of "The Tavern" and extensive adventurer himself.
Incredible stars tonight
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