Wisconsin Bicycle Trip, Day 12,, Thursday, July 25,2013

Wyalusing State Park to Muscoda  75 ½ km in 4 hrs.

I was up at 5:30 and out by 7. I was real careful going down the hill that I had to climb yesterday. --afraid of hitting animals, sticks or rocks. Yesterday a small stick made Silver jump. I rode back over the Wisconsin River and back east on hwy 60 again. The morning was very good today. I took lots of breaks. At first it was mostly farmland but later the river started showing. It has lots of sandbars which people camp on. Apparently the water levels are good for all the canoeists and kayakers. I stopped by a road railing for stretches and snack. I stopped in Wauzeka to ask about the weather and the distance and road to Gotham. I was to expect some hills. Lunch was by a cemetery in the country. Around this time I passed a hug convoy of army trucks.The sky was very dark. A short stop in St. Andrew and the bar/motel at the corner of the bridge going to Muscoda. The motel was 40 dollars, Gotham apparently didn’t have much and there was a campground right over the bridge alongside the river in Muscoda and it looked very much like rain so I decided to check out the Riverside Campground. It was very nice.I met Jim and Debbie who are on a canoe trip and waiting for friends to join them for the next section. . I wasn’t sure where tents were supposed to be set up until Paul, a local who also sells firewood here showed me the sign and the area away from the electrical sites. I set up in the middle of the field but later someone came by and said a severe thunderstorm was predicted so I called the park attendant number and asked if I could move under a big empty canopy. She said yes and was there in a couple minutes to help me lift and carry the whole tent to the shelter. Paul helped me tie it up to the benches. He stayed and talked for a long time. He worked for a local foundry for 38 years until he had a heart attack. He told me about the sawmills here and the Meister cheese factory and ordering on line to send gifts to friends. THANK YOU DEAR LORD JESUS for watching out for me for it rained and thundered for about 4 hours. I would have been a drowned rat.  During the rain, 2 kayakers came in. Ken ,63 and Rob,49 are boy scout leaders doing a kayak trip of their own. They paddled 2 hours in the rain, brought their kayaks ashore and waited under my shelter for the rain to subside to set up their hammock and tent. They were almost hypothermic but eventually got set up, into warm clothes and had their grilled steak thanks to some dry wood that Paul brought. I was so THANKFUL to be dry.