On the second to last day we were in Wisconsin we had a river boat cruise to begin in Rhinelander.
It was a beautiful day: a little cloudy, but not really a significant chance of rain. The temperature was perfect. The boat pulled off the dock and promptly began to turn around so we could head the right direction down the Wisconsin River.
We soon realized the boat did not turn quick enough. We smoothly slid into the weeds, downed trees and mud of the bank on the other side of the river.
About 15 minutes after we got to that side of the river, they finally admitted we were stuck and reported to us they had "called for help" they said. About 10 or 15 minutes later, we saw this across the river:
The two owners loaded into a canoe and paddled over to us. I'm pretty sure everyone on the boat was laughing, if not out loud, certainly under their breath.
This was the help they'd called! Were they going to take us back across the river one at a time? And certainly no more people would fit in the canoe along with these two, so would we have to paddle ourselves back across the river one at a time?
So we waited...
And waited...
By about 45 minutes in, we had free drinks. And they found a log to try, unsuccessfully, to push us out of the mud.
The kids indulged in bomb pops on the house. And they ran the motor on and on, obviously turning the rudders in different directions.
A little snooze in the sun. And they finally decided to let out some of the fresh water they had just filled to capacity.
And more waiting. And more water draining, trying to allow the boat to float higher up in the water, which would hopefully allow us to rise above the mud and float free.
After about an hour and a half, we were finally free!
We made our way back across the river to the dock so those who now no longer had time to take the cruise could get a refund. We, however, did have time. And would not be back to take it another time, like they offered. We were four of only eight people who ended up staying for the
actual cruise.
Here we go!
That hair!
The clouds were fantastic!
See the bald eagles in the right side of that tree?
Maebelle caught me getting my hair stuck in my sunglasses. She was most definitely laughing at me. :)
The longer we floated, the cloudier it got.
The perspective from the river was one I enjoyed very much. I feel like it would be similar to that from a train. A different perspective. Land owners have a different relationship with it than the road. There were houses with docks, some in good shape, some not. There were houses with For Sale signs - maybe the river has high enough traffic that it's worth it. You could tell the houses that use the river regularly by the condition of the dock.
There were all kinds of cool things to see from the river. At one point, there was a tree that had fallen, but floated right beside where it originally fell, which made a great rest are for about six or eight turtles. The binoculars came in handy, certainly.
There's an eagle nest in the tallest tree below.
I imagine if I were a kid, I'd like to spend a lot of time on that small island. It seemed like a magical little space where no one would interfere with your imaginary world.
More eagles.
The patterns the boat created were repetitive, soft, drawing me in to where the clouds meet the trees meet the water.
The river boat cruise down the Wisconsin was eventful at first, but ended nice and peaceful, just before the rain hit.
This boy. And his glasses.
So that was the last of the family photo, documenting-our-trip type blogs. I still have some photography-for-Sarah blogs to post, so watch for those, up soon.
Then, obviously, I have lots more in between last June and now to be posted. Hope to get caught up soon!
