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- Today we are pleased to 
introduce, Lynne Diebel,

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as part of the Wisconsin 
Historical Museum's

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History Sandwiched In 
lecture series.

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The opinions expressed today,

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are those of the presenters, 
and are not necessarily

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those of the Wisconsin 
Historical Society,

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or the museum's employees.

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Lynne Diebel grew up 
in southern Minnesota,

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and has lived in Stoughton, 
Wisconsin since 1974,

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with her husband, Bob, 
and their four children.

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Her many books, are 
centered on the landscapes,

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and natural world of 
Wisconsin and Minnesota.

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Lynne has been canoeing 
lakes since childhood,

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and as an adult she learned 
to canoe whitewater

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rivers with Bob.

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Together, they've peddled almost

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3,000 miles on the 
rivers of Minnesota,

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while researching 
their two guide books.

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Here today to discuss her book, 
"Crossing the Driftless"

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please join me in 
welcoming Lynne Diebel.

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(audience applause)

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- Well, hi everybody,

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and thanks so much 
for being here.

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I'm honored to be 
part of this program,

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it's a really cool program. 
As Katie mentioned,

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I did grow up in 
southeastern Minnesota,

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and...

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then living most of my 
adult life near Madison,

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I always spent a lot 
of time traveling,

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back to visit my very 
large extended family,

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who stayed in 
southeastern Minnesota.

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Which means that, we 
traveled occasionally

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by train or bus, but 
nearly always by car.

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285 miles, four point 
five hours to Faribault.

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(audience laughs)

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220 miles, three point 
three hours to Rochester.

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And then there was 
that one bike trip.

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(laughs) 
The land that lies between

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these two homes of mine,

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is known as The Driftless Area.

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And...

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This gives you a visual 
of what The Driftless,

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is composed of.

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Now, some people say 
that the Driftless

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is partly in, 
southeastern Minnesota,

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but officially, according 
to Carrie Jennings,

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who's the, Wisconsin, 
or Minnesota

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glacial geologist, that 
area was glaciated.

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So we're gonna 
confine The Driftless

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to southwestern Wisconsin,

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a teeny bit of 
northwestern Illinois.

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But you can,

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You'll note, you can 
see that you are here,

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and all the lakes 
that extend above

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the, you are here,

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and then look at 
the Driftless Area,

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the rugged land there.

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No lakes. Just rivers.

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So...

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That's a geological reality

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that, comes from the fact 
that, all of this land,

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was an ancient 
Paleozoic Plateau.

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That's how it was formed.

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Layers of limestone 
and sandstone

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that were once a vast sea bed,

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covering much of 
the Upper Midwest.

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And since that time, 
the rivers have,

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in the Driftless Area, only,

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dissected the landscape,

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creating those deep valleys,

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and those coulée's 
that are so beautiful

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in that land.

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They've had 
millennia to do that,

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in the glaciated 
area, by contrast,

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you find lakes, 
marshes, drumlands,

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eskers and post glacial rivers.

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So, we have the contrast

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between those landscapes.

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Now I'll show you 
where we traveled,

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and why we traveled.

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How many times has an adventure 
been launched by a map?

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It was in small history 
center in Minnesota,

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that we first thought 
of traveling back

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to our Wisconsin home by canoe.

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The center stands near 
Traverse des Sioux,

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a shallow river crossing

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on the lower Minnesota river.

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And it was a Frenchman 
who drew the map

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that so intrigued us 
on that hot summer day

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that we visited the center.

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From 1836 to 1840,

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commissioned by 
the newly created

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U.S. Army Corps of 
Topographical Engineers,

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astronomer and cartographer, 
Joseph N. Nicollet,

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traveled the rivers 
and prairies by canoe,

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and ox cart to survey the land

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that would become 
Minnesota territory.

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Wisconsin territory was surveyed

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in the early 1830's, and thus,

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Nicollet used that data as well

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to create this map, 
which the war department

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published in 1843.

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This map became somewhat 
of a real estate map,

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for settlers who were looking

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to move into the 
Minnesota territory.

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Because he had not 
only done the map,

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but he did notes on 
fertility of soil,

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on existence of arable land.

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There's a ton of praire

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in southwestern Minnesota.

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So he observed all of that.

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And...

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He...

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This map, there's a digital 
copy I got from here

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at the Historical Society.

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It was seeing this map 
that made us decide

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to paddle from 
Faribault, Minnesota,

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where my family has a 
house on Cedar Lake,

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and the house is a settler cabin

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that my great grandparents 
bought in 1883,

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back to our Stoughton, 
Wisconsin home.

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There are no roads 
on Nicollet's map,

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as you can see, just rivers.

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And the Madison 
Lakes are perched

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on the very eastern 
edge of the map.

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You can see these 
little dots along

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the very eastern edge, 
at the, you are here.

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Some portages required 
for the trip, of course,

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but, people had been traveling

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paddle-ported style 
for millennia,

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and this had long intrigued us.

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Bob and I like paddling rivers.

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We wanted to, know what paddling 
upstream would be like.

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(Lynne and audience laugh)

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It's one thing to go downstream, 
quite another to go up.

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So he's looking at the 
map, and he's saying,

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"Well, look if we 
went down the canon,

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and then we went 
down the Mississipi,

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the Wyalusing, then we 
went up the Wisconsin

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to Arena, and then up 
cross the Black Earth Creek

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to Cross Plains, portage over

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into the Madison Lakes, 
we could get home."

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We live in Stoughton,

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which is right on 
the Yahara River.

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So, I said, so what 
are you suggesting?

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(Lynne and audience laugh)

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And he said,

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"We can do this! Come on! 
This is an adventure".

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And we had always gone 
for adventures.

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The trip in the end, 
totaled 359 miles,

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that took us 12 days,

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and it didn't come out 
exactly as we had planned,

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but, trips on rivers rarely do.

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So those are the 
guidebooks that we did

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for Paddling Minnesota, 
there's a series also

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for Paddling Wisconsin 
done by a fellow named,

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Mike Svob, published 
by Trails Books.

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So here's our route, 
on the Nicollet map.

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You can see the...

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...wide part that's Lake Pepin,

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that was an exciting 
part of the trip.

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And here's one of 
the first of the maps

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that Bob drew, for the book.

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And these are very precise,

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he's an engineer, by profession.

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But he also is kind of playful,

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so he's got all 
these interesting

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little details on the maps.

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And each, little 
drawing tells a story

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about that particular episode.

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So Faribault to Stoughton.

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And this is the first, 
day of the trip,

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we went down the canon,

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just about the Mississippi.

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To back track just 
a bit to Cedar Lake,

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where we had planned to start,

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we didn't end up starting 
exactly at Cedar Lake;

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we started in the 
town of Faribault

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about five miles away.

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This is my grandmother in 1898,

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and that's an Ojibwa 
canoe, a birch bark canoe.

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And here's the same canoe,

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in 2012, Bob renovated it 
with the help of fellow

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up in Woodruff, Ferdie Goode,

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who's an expert at these things,

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and how to dig the spruce roots

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out of the marshes.

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This is the canoe we took.

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We did not paddle my 
grandmother's canoe.

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(Lynne and audience laugh)

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This is a Wenonah 
Jensen hull, Kevlar,

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light weight, not very 
much freeboard though,

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so, that's why Lake 
Pepin got exciting.

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And, that's all of our stuff,

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please note the portage wheels,

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they're important.

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(audience member laughs)

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Here's a cropped 
version of the map,

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this is following the canon,

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this is Nicollet's research.

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He also called it 
the Lahontan River.

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The word canon comes from

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bastardization of the French,

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which was, riviere de cano,

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and that's, or o cano.

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It's river of canoes,

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because there a lot of 
canoes on the river.

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And, it got changed to 
canon and lots of people

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think that it has 
to do with warfare,

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but it doesn't.

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On our way down the canon,

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the portage wheels are 
in the front there.

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If you look at the 
bluff along the canon,

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you see a cross section 
of the Paleozoic Plateau.

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At the bottom, St. 
Peter Sandstone,

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and then a thin layer 
of Glendwood's Shale,

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topped off with Platteville 
Limestone at this point.

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There are other 
layers in other areas,

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but this is what was left there.

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During settlement times,

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a southern Minnesota 
wheat boom led to numerous

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water powered mills 
to grind the grain.

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Local historians say that 
at least 17 gristmill's

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operated on the canon 
in the 19th century.

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It's not that long a river.

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Leaving behind ruins 
like the Archibald Mill

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at Dundas, which is a really

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cool looking old building.

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Nothing's being done to it.

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Here's a little cross 
section of history.

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At the sight of Scotts Mill,

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does anybody recognize 
what that's the shape of?

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- That Goddess, 
I can't remember...

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- Shiva. 
- [Lynne] Shiva! Thank you!

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Thank you, yea.

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Nearby are the remains

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of a dry laid, of 
bridge abutments.

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But, In the 1970's, 
a St. Olaf College,

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art student carved 
this carving of Shiva

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on the bluff face, 
merging several layers

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of prehistory and history,

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the Paleozoic era stone, 
that was his material,

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Glacial era erosion, 
19th century industry,

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and ancient eastern 
religious iconography.

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So, it's also a great 
sight for young people

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to try to deface.

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Early 20th century bridges,

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add another layer of history,

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I'm very fond of these bridges,

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these truss bridges, because,

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my childhood was spent 
driving over those.

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The waters of the canon river,

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flowing over a dam at the site

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in Northfield 
Minnesota once powered

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the 1856 Ames Mill.

256
00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:41,700
This current structure,

257
00:11:41,700 --> 00:11:43,333
which is almost 100 years old,

258
00:11:43,333 --> 00:11:45,866
now serves no practical purpose,

259
00:11:45,866 --> 00:11:48,966
except to block the 
passage of fish.

260
00:11:48,966 --> 00:11:50,966
Today the Multi Mill company,

261
00:11:50,966 --> 00:11:53,966
which has owned Ames 
Mill since 1927,

262
00:11:53,966 --> 00:11:56,633
produces cereals like 
Chocolate Malt-O-Meal,

263
00:11:56,633 --> 00:11:59,166
and Coco Roos, in the 
vintage mill building,

264
00:11:59,166 --> 00:12:01,200
the original, vintage 
mill building,

265
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,100
but not with water power.

266
00:12:03,100 --> 00:12:05,966
Post Holdings recently 
bought the company

267
00:12:05,966 --> 00:12:08,333
for 1.15 billion.

268
00:12:08,333 --> 00:12:10,933
So, it may change. 
They may tear it down.

269
00:12:13,366 --> 00:12:17,600
Now this is a 
hyro-dam on the canon,

270
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:19,600
a 60 foot high, hydro-dam,

271
00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:20,700
that was quite a portage,

272
00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:22,666
'cause you go straight down.

273
00:12:24,633 --> 00:12:28,766
It impounds a lake 
called, Lake Byllesby.

274
00:12:28,766 --> 00:12:29,866
And this is the beginning

275
00:12:29,866 --> 00:12:31,966
of the portage wheel story.

276
00:12:32,966 --> 00:12:35,133
At the downstream 
end of Byllesby,

277
00:12:35,133 --> 00:12:37,800
we float quietly for a 
moment to watch laughing,

278
00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,766
shouting teenagers 
jump from a bluff

279
00:12:39,766 --> 00:12:41,600
into the water far below.

280
00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,466
And then we land a portage.

281
00:12:43,466 --> 00:12:44,666
Once again the canoe

282
00:12:44,666 --> 00:12:46,600
makes the overland 
journey on it's wheels,

283
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,400
which wobble ominously 
across the parking lot,

284
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:51,933
and stubbornly refused to roll

285
00:12:51,933 --> 00:12:54,133
when reached the grass.

286
00:12:54,133 --> 00:12:55,966
A few years ago, 
Bob tried to sell

287
00:12:55,966 --> 00:12:57,833
these portage wheels 
on Craigslist,

288
00:12:57,833 --> 00:12:59,100
(audience laughs)

289
00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:01,900
He was asking 15 dollars.

290
00:13:01,900 --> 00:13:04,866
A young man drove 25 
miles to look at them,

291
00:13:04,866 --> 00:13:06,333
and offered 10 dollars.

292
00:13:06,333 --> 00:13:07,833
(audience laughs)

293
00:13:07,833 --> 00:13:10,266
Bob was adamant about his price.

294
00:13:10,266 --> 00:13:11,933
The young man 
wouldn't budge either,

295
00:13:11,933 --> 00:13:14,033
and he drove away 
without buying.

296
00:13:14,033 --> 00:13:15,666
Which is why we 
don't have a better

297
00:13:15,666 --> 00:13:17,300
set of portage wheels today.

298
00:13:17,300 --> 00:13:20,900
(Lynne and audience laugh)

299
00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:25,000
So, moving on to Lake Pepin!

300
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,533
And you'll have 
to read the book,

301
00:13:26,533 --> 00:13:28,600
if you want to know the 
story that's associated

302
00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,833
with this particular drawing.

303
00:13:30,833 --> 00:13:36,133
This is a bird's eye-view, 
well sorta bird's eye,

304
00:13:36,133 --> 00:13:40,100
it's from, Great River 
Bluff State Park,

305
00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:42,000
of the Mississippi.

306
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,600
And it gives you a sense of how

307
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,300
the Mississippi has 
changed since the 1930's

308
00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:51,166
when it was, they 
attempted to corral it

309
00:13:51,166 --> 00:13:53,433
with the lock and dam system.

310
00:13:53,433 --> 00:13:55,200
So, what you see 
in the foreground

311
00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,200
is the, channel, 
the main channel,

312
00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,366
that's officially called 
the 9-Foot Channel,

313
00:14:01,366 --> 00:14:05,533
but is also dredged to 
twelve feet in some areas.

314
00:14:05,533 --> 00:14:07,466
And behind that, the backwaters,

315
00:14:07,466 --> 00:14:09,400
and that gives you a sense

316
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,366
of what the river 
looked like before

317
00:14:11,366 --> 00:14:15,233
it was impounded and 
before it was dredged.

318
00:14:15,233 --> 00:14:17,033
It was a very complex system

319
00:14:17,033 --> 00:14:20,100
and it got really confusing 
for early explorers.

320
00:14:23,533 --> 00:14:25,400
This one's another story.

321
00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,766
You can see in the 
foreground we have a truck.

322
00:14:28,766 --> 00:14:31,766
That one we won't 
go into either.

323
00:14:31,766 --> 00:14:33,566
(Lynne and audience laugh)

324
00:14:33,566 --> 00:14:35,700
So we had, this was in 2009,

325
00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:36,966
that we did the trip.

326
00:14:36,966 --> 00:14:41,433
And, we had a cellphone, 
it wasn't a smart phone,

327
00:14:41,433 --> 00:14:43,400
we didn't have internet access,

328
00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,833
and we decided that 
on the Mississippi,

329
00:14:45,833 --> 00:14:48,366
that we had traveled 
so many times by road,

330
00:14:48,366 --> 00:14:49,633
it would be fun to stay

331
00:14:49,633 --> 00:14:51,533
at some of the little 
places along the way,

332
00:14:51,533 --> 00:14:53,533
that were right in 
the river towns.

333
00:14:54,566 --> 00:14:57,366
But we were able to 
reach our son, Greg,

334
00:14:57,366 --> 00:15:01,000
who was dubbed our 
river concierge,

335
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,300
and he would check, we'd say,

336
00:15:03,300 --> 00:15:05,800
"Ah, we're gonna get 
to Alma tonight",

337
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,133
and he'd call back and say,

338
00:15:08,133 --> 00:15:11,433
well the Alma Hotel, 
can put you up,

339
00:15:11,433 --> 00:15:14,000
and I made a 
reservation for you.

340
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,566
And so, we went to Alma.

341
00:15:17,566 --> 00:15:20,500
And, this is the second chapter

342
00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:22,866
of the portage wheel story.

343
00:15:22,866 --> 00:15:26,233
Half way down mainstreet 
to our night's lodging,

344
00:15:26,233 --> 00:15:27,966
and soon after we 
dropped the canoe rig

345
00:15:27,966 --> 00:15:29,833
over a steep curb cut,

346
00:15:29,833 --> 00:15:31,500
our portage wheels 
being wobbling

347
00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:33,433
in a dramatically new fashion,

348
00:15:33,433 --> 00:15:35,000
not a good thing.

349
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,466
At the Alma Hotel,

350
00:15:36,466 --> 00:15:38,633
we park the canoe 
on the sidewalk.

351
00:15:38,633 --> 00:15:40,100
Still wearing his lifejacket,

352
00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:42,433
Bob walks up to the bar,

353
00:15:42,433 --> 00:15:44,666
where five patrons 
in various stages

354
00:15:44,666 --> 00:15:46,633
of Sunday afternoon inebriation

355
00:15:46,633 --> 00:15:48,900
are seated on barstools.

356
00:15:48,900 --> 00:15:52,100
"Our son called about us 
getting a room tonight",

357
00:15:52,100 --> 00:15:54,000
Bob says to the barkeep,

358
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,500
"You don't need a 
lifejacket in here,"

359
00:15:56,500 --> 00:15:59,800
offers one of the patrons. 
(Lynn and audience laugh)

360
00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,133
"I don't know about that,

361
00:16:01,133 --> 00:16:03,633
our canoe's right 
outside on the sidewalk."

362
00:16:03,633 --> 00:16:05,066
"Oh!"

363
00:16:05,066 --> 00:16:06,466
Everyone including the barkeep,

364
00:16:06,466 --> 00:16:08,100
hurries out the door 
to see the canoe.

365
00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:10,500
(audience laughing)

366
00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:11,966
"You ought to get a motor,"

367
00:16:11,966 --> 00:16:13,900
suggests one thoughtfully...

368
00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:15,233
(Lynne and audience laugh)

369
00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:17,766
...adding that he works 
on a dredging rig.

370
00:16:17,766 --> 00:16:19,566
We chat for a bit 
about the hazards

371
00:16:19,566 --> 00:16:21,333
of canoeing the big river.

372
00:16:21,333 --> 00:16:24,333
"So, about the room?" 
Bob asks the barkeep.

373
00:16:24,333 --> 00:16:26,966
"You should probably 
see it first."

374
00:16:26,966 --> 00:16:28,400
Up the stairs from the bar,

375
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,466
we see why she said that, 
as the place is being renovated.

376
00:16:31,466 --> 00:16:33,000
There's no light in 
the upstairs hall,

377
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,900
paint is peeling from the walls,

378
00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:36,733
and there's one shared bathroom.

379
00:16:36,733 --> 00:16:38,966
But the room and bed are 
clean and comfortable.

380
00:16:38,966 --> 00:16:42,100
We say yes and follow her 
downstairs to the bar.

381
00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:44,400
"How much do we owe you 
for the room?" I ask.

382
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,366
"Oh, it's very expensive, 
about 297 dollars,"

383
00:16:48,366 --> 00:16:50,200
interjects the dredger.

384
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,600
" 22 dollars and and 16 cents;

385
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:53,733
that includes the tax,"

386
00:16:53,733 --> 00:16:55,600
the barkeep concludes 
with a grin.

387
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,433
"It's just a sleeping room."

388
00:16:57,433 --> 00:16:58,600
When we lock the canoe

389
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,366
to the dumpster 
behind the hotel,

390
00:17:00,366 --> 00:17:03,766
Bob inspects the 
recalcitrant portage wheels.

391
00:17:03,766 --> 00:17:05,800
One metal support 
has buckled so much

392
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,300
that another bounce down a curb

393
00:17:07,300 --> 00:17:08,766
will render the wheels useless

394
00:17:08,766 --> 00:17:10,866
and the other 
support is twisted.

395
00:17:10,866 --> 00:17:12,866
"So what'll we do 
about the portage

396
00:17:12,866 --> 00:17:15,066
from Black Earth Creek?" I ask.

397
00:17:15,066 --> 00:17:16,733
"We'll figure that 
out when we get there.

398
00:17:16,733 --> 00:17:17,833
Let's get dinner."

399
00:17:17,833 --> 00:17:19,633
(audience laughing)

400
00:17:19,633 --> 00:17:21,466
On our evening 
walking tour of Alma,

401
00:17:21,466 --> 00:17:22,566
we have a tasty meal

402
00:17:22,566 --> 00:17:24,366
at Kate and Gracie's restaurant,

403
00:17:24,366 --> 00:17:26,733
which is no longer there, sadly.

404
00:17:26,733 --> 00:17:27,933
A session at the laundromat,

405
00:17:27,933 --> 00:17:29,833
and a trip to the 
pier downstream

406
00:17:29,833 --> 00:17:32,500
to scout tomorrow's exit route.

407
00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:33,766
As an afterthought,

408
00:17:33,766 --> 00:17:35,933
we carry the wheels to 
a municipal trash can

409
00:17:35,933 --> 00:17:37,566
and drop them in. 
(audience laughs)

410
00:17:37,566 --> 00:17:39,600
He should have taken 
the 10 dollars.

411
00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,933
(Lynn and audience laugh)

412
00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:46,633
Ah, yes!

413
00:17:46,633 --> 00:17:48,666
Alright, so, this 
is a dredging rig.

414
00:17:48,666 --> 00:17:50,666
And this is what they 
used to scoop out,

415
00:17:50,666 --> 00:17:52,666
and then they have 
an adjoining barge

416
00:17:52,666 --> 00:17:54,700
that they pile the sand,

417
00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:57,300
and then they move it to other 
places on the river.

418
00:17:57,300 --> 00:18:00,100
And they pile it in huge mounds

419
00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:01,633
in various places.

420
00:18:01,633 --> 00:18:03,033
They build islands with it,

421
00:18:03,033 --> 00:18:04,400
they do all sorts of stuff,

422
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,233
because the sand is 
always moving downstream,

423
00:18:07,233 --> 00:18:09,600
and refilling the channel.

424
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:10,933
So this is where our dredger

425
00:18:10,933 --> 00:18:14,366
was bound to be working.

426
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,366
Just on that note, on the river

427
00:18:18,366 --> 00:18:20,633
there's a continual 
tension between nature

428
00:18:20,633 --> 00:18:22,000
and man's works.

429
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,400
The river's power, 
reminds us that the things

430
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,300
we build in it's floodplain,

431
00:18:26,300 --> 00:18:29,233
the towns, the levees, 
the farms, etcetera,

432
00:18:29,233 --> 00:18:32,366
are there only as long 
as the river permits.

433
00:18:32,366 --> 00:18:34,366
Congress built the 
lock and dam system

434
00:18:34,366 --> 00:18:37,266
for commercial 
navigation in the 1930's,

435
00:18:37,266 --> 00:18:38,900
not for flood control,

436
00:18:38,900 --> 00:18:42,333
but the Army Corp of 
Enginners River Commission,

437
00:18:42,333 --> 00:18:45,066
has been messing with 
the Mississippi's flow

438
00:18:45,066 --> 00:18:47,766
and floodplains for much longer,

439
00:18:47,766 --> 00:18:49,933
building levees and wing dams.

440
00:18:49,933 --> 00:18:52,900
In 1883, Mark Twain wrote,

441
00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:54,800
"One who knows the Mississippi,

442
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,033
will promptly aver, not 
aloud but to himself,

443
00:18:58,033 --> 00:19:00,333
that if thousand 
River Commissions,

444
00:19:00,333 --> 00:19:03,200
with all the mines of 
the world at their back,

445
00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,500
cannot tame that lawless stream,

446
00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,366
cannot curb it, or confine it,

447
00:19:07,366 --> 00:19:10,266
cannot say to it, go 
here, or go there,

448
00:19:10,266 --> 00:19:11,833
and make it obey;

449
00:19:11,833 --> 00:19:15,533
cannot save a shore 
which it has sentenced;

450
00:19:15,533 --> 00:19:18,166
cannot bar its path 
with an obstruction

451
00:19:18,166 --> 00:19:19,566
which it will not tear down,

452
00:19:19,566 --> 00:19:22,366
dance over, and laugh at."

453
00:19:22,366 --> 00:19:24,800
That was from, Life 
on the Mississippi.

454
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,433
Fortunately there were those,

455
00:19:26,433 --> 00:19:28,566
who understood this truth.

456
00:19:28,566 --> 00:19:32,066
And in 1924, under 
heavy pressure,

457
00:19:32,066 --> 00:19:35,300
from the newly formed, 
Izaak Walton League,

458
00:19:35,300 --> 00:19:37,900
Congress had established 
the upper Mississippi,

459
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:40,866
National Wildlife 
and Fish refuge.

460
00:19:40,866 --> 00:19:43,533
And that's 261 miles of river,

461
00:19:43,533 --> 00:19:45,100
between the foot of Lake Pepin

462
00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:47,766
and Rock Island, Illinois.

463
00:19:47,766 --> 00:19:51,066
No new levees there from now on.

464
00:19:51,066 --> 00:19:53,600
The flood of 1965, however,

465
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,300
crusted at about 20 feet,

466
00:19:55,300 --> 00:19:58,933
mocking most existing 
levees anyway.

467
00:20:00,766 --> 00:20:04,700
Our fourth day, 
was a four dam day,

468
00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:07,533
Alma, Whitman, Winona 
and Trempealeau.

469
00:20:07,533 --> 00:20:10,800
We portaged two of them, 
locked through two.

470
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:15,266
We passed the confluences 
of the Zumbro,

471
00:20:15,266 --> 00:20:16,966
and the White 
Water, those are two

472
00:20:16,966 --> 00:20:19,400
lovely paddling 
streams in Minnesota,

473
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:20,733
and the quirky boat houses

474
00:20:20,733 --> 00:20:22,966
on Winona's, Latsch Island.

475
00:20:24,300 --> 00:20:26,300
We... 
(Lynn and audience laugh)

476
00:20:26,300 --> 00:20:28,433
Bob likes to take 
a nap in the canoe.

477
00:20:28,433 --> 00:20:30,300
And he'll have me paddle

478
00:20:30,300 --> 00:20:32,300
so that he can kind 
of stretch out.

479
00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:34,233
That's him napping.

480
00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:40,566
So we ended the 
next day, at Genoa,

481
00:20:40,566 --> 00:20:43,866
taking us past the mouth 
of the Trempealeau,

482
00:20:43,866 --> 00:20:47,333
the Black, the La Cross, 
the Root and Coon Creek,

483
00:20:47,333 --> 00:20:51,766
as well as visiting 
glorious flocks of Pelicans,

484
00:20:51,766 --> 00:20:53,333
to spend the night at Genoa,

485
00:20:53,333 --> 00:20:55,500
in another riverside in.

486
00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:57,633
We were getting 
spoiled at this point.

487
00:20:57,633 --> 00:21:01,933
And at Genoa, this was 
the sweetest thing,

488
00:21:01,933 --> 00:21:04,066
the innkeeper, whose name was,

489
00:21:04,066 --> 00:21:06,100
Ann Zebolio Meerhead,

490
00:21:06,100 --> 00:21:09,000
was standing on the 
side of the river,

491
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,033
on the riprapped river bank,

492
00:21:12,033 --> 00:21:14,366
where, just below 
where the train tracks

493
00:21:14,366 --> 00:21:17,100
go along the river there.

494
00:21:17,100 --> 00:21:20,100
She was waving a 
dishtowel, to signal,

495
00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:23,066
where we should go 
under the tracks.

496
00:21:23,066 --> 00:21:25,533
We could see her 
from really far away,

497
00:21:25,533 --> 00:21:27,866
she's standing there 
waving the dishtowel,

498
00:21:27,866 --> 00:21:30,300
and saying, "Ok, you 
go through there."

499
00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:32,300
And then she and 
her husband met us

500
00:21:32,300 --> 00:21:33,800
at the landing 
that was underneath

501
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,266
the railroad tracks,

502
00:21:35,266 --> 00:21:40,066
and helped us carry 
our stuff to the motel.

503
00:21:40,066 --> 00:21:42,800
And that was one of the pluses

504
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:44,566
of having a river concierge.

505
00:21:44,566 --> 00:21:46,533
(audience laughing)

506
00:21:46,533 --> 00:21:49,433
Next day we passed the 
Bad Axe, the Upper Iowa,

507
00:21:49,433 --> 00:21:51,333
and the elegant 
Black Hawk Bridge

508
00:21:51,333 --> 00:21:53,366
at Lansing, Iowa.

509
00:21:53,366 --> 00:21:58,300
And camped on an 
island, number--

510
00:21:58,300 --> 00:22:00,800
We're going through 
the barge traffic,

511
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,533
which I don't recommend 
hanging out with.

512
00:22:03,533 --> 00:22:06,100
Camped on island number 166,

513
00:22:06,100 --> 00:22:09,366
just upstream of Prairie 
Dasheen, Wisconsin.

514
00:22:09,366 --> 00:22:11,866
Just to back up for a moment.

515
00:22:11,866 --> 00:22:13,533
That is a lock.

516
00:22:13,533 --> 00:22:15,633
And you can see 
that they will lock

517
00:22:15,633 --> 00:22:17,900
through any one canoe,

518
00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:20,000
if the one canoe is the only one

519
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,733
that wants to get in.

520
00:22:21,733 --> 00:22:23,200
One canoe gets to lock through.

521
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,800
It's big enough to 
hold an enormous barge.

522
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:28,700
And so we're sitting 
there, you know,

523
00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:30,233
you just hold on to the rope,

524
00:22:30,233 --> 00:22:32,100
you don't tie up 
because you drop,

525
00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:34,166
(laughs) as you're going down.

526
00:22:34,166 --> 00:22:35,633
And so you just let the rope

527
00:22:35,633 --> 00:22:37,200
slide through your hands.

528
00:22:38,266 --> 00:22:39,866
So there's all the barge traffic

529
00:22:39,866 --> 00:22:41,166
and there was plenty of it.

530
00:22:41,166 --> 00:22:46,833
Here we are, at 
island number 166.

531
00:22:49,566 --> 00:22:51,300
And on the seventh day,

532
00:22:51,300 --> 00:22:53,300
and that sounds a 
little biblical,

533
00:22:53,300 --> 00:22:54,766
(Lynne and audience laugh)

534
00:22:54,766 --> 00:22:56,000
it wasn't.

535
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,233
After floating past 
Praire Dasheen,

536
00:22:58,233 --> 00:23:01,300
we turned left and 
head up to Wisconsin.

537
00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:03,133
Now, has anyone here heard

538
00:23:03,133 --> 00:23:05,300
of the Wyalusing River?

539
00:23:06,300 --> 00:23:08,066
Yes.

540
00:23:08,066 --> 00:23:11,133
- Yea, we camp at 
Wyalusing State Park.

541
00:23:11,133 --> 00:23:12,333
- Wyalusing State Park.

542
00:23:12,333 --> 00:23:15,000
Well there's a made 
up Wyalusing River,

543
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,533
it's actually a historic river.

544
00:23:17,533 --> 00:23:20,500
What direction does the 
Wisconsin River flow?

545
00:23:21,533 --> 00:23:23,066
- Southwest.

546
00:23:23,066 --> 00:23:24,933
- Southwest. Right.

547
00:23:24,933 --> 00:23:27,966
Has it always? 
This is a trick question.

548
00:23:29,166 --> 00:23:31,100
(audience chattering 
and laughing)

549
00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:34,033
That's the right answer is no! 
(Lynne and audience laugh)

550
00:23:35,033 --> 00:23:36,900
Go back almost a million years

551
00:23:36,900 --> 00:23:39,800
before the most 
recent glaciación,

552
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,333
which ended about 
12,000 years ago.

553
00:23:43,333 --> 00:23:46,900
The evidence lies along 
Wisconsin highway 16,

554
00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:48,066
near Bridgeport.

555
00:23:48,066 --> 00:23:51,066
And you can see 
Bridgeport on this map.

556
00:23:51,066 --> 00:23:54,166
Where the highway rides 
the high bedrock bench

557
00:23:54,166 --> 00:23:56,500
called the Bridgeport Terrace.

558
00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:58,466
And this is once place

559
00:23:58,466 --> 00:24:01,766
where there is glaciación 
in the Driftless Area.

560
00:24:01,766 --> 00:24:03,166
Evidence of it.

561
00:24:03,166 --> 00:24:06,200
According to Wisconsin 
geologist, Eric Seacarson,

562
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,266
the eastward tilt of 
that Bridgeport Terrace,

563
00:24:09,266 --> 00:24:11,566
plus the narrowing 
of the river valley,

564
00:24:11,566 --> 00:24:14,633
as it nears it's confluence 
with the Mississippi,

565
00:24:14,633 --> 00:24:16,166
and the shape of the valley wall

566
00:24:16,166 --> 00:24:17,966
at the confluence, suggests

567
00:24:17,966 --> 00:24:20,966
that as recently as 
800,000 year ago,

568
00:24:20,966 --> 00:24:25,000
the Wisconsin flowed 
east, probably all the way

569
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,200
to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

570
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,533
And, there's a lot of 
geological research

571
00:24:29,533 --> 00:24:31,266
being done on that right now.

572
00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:32,900
Finding the markers,

573
00:24:32,900 --> 00:24:37,966
the geological markers 
of Wisconsin's path east.

574
00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:43,900
Paddling upstream around 
the sinuous sandbars

575
00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:46,466
of the lower Wisconsin 
took some learning.

576
00:24:46,466 --> 00:24:52,233
And, this our route on 
the next day between

577
00:24:52,233 --> 00:24:55,066
that sandbar near the Kickapoo,

578
00:24:55,066 --> 00:24:58,233
the mouth of the Kickapoo 
in Coumbe island.

579
00:24:58,233 --> 00:25:00,333
This is one of the techniques

580
00:25:00,333 --> 00:25:03,300
we used for going upstream. 
(Lynne and audience laugh)

581
00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:05,133
And it was actually 
a nice thing,

582
00:25:05,133 --> 00:25:06,700
because, you 
probably also notice

583
00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:09,566
that I wear the same 
thing, in every picture,

584
00:25:09,566 --> 00:25:11,266
and that is true,

585
00:25:11,266 --> 00:25:14,166
I wore the same 
clothes for 12 days.

586
00:25:14,166 --> 00:25:17,233
But going upstream 
is quite possible,

587
00:25:17,233 --> 00:25:19,433
we were able to go 
about two miles an hour,

588
00:25:19,433 --> 00:25:22,100
upstream, against 
about a two to three

589
00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:23,700
mile an hour current.

590
00:25:23,700 --> 00:25:26,666
And, yea we got 
tired of sitting,

591
00:25:26,666 --> 00:25:28,966
because we'd be 
paddling 12 hours a day.

592
00:25:28,966 --> 00:25:31,700
And so, we periodically 
towed the thing,

593
00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:32,800
in the shallow.

594
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,133
The water was kinda 
low that year.

595
00:25:35,133 --> 00:25:39,233
This is the bridge 
near Lone Rock.

596
00:25:39,233 --> 00:25:42,866
And, that, it's a steel 
through truss bridge.

597
00:25:42,866 --> 00:25:45,833
And that means that, 
the trusses form a box

598
00:25:45,833 --> 00:25:48,033
through which the 
traffic drives.

599
00:25:48,033 --> 00:25:50,600
It's another one of those shapes

600
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,166
that I find so appealing,

601
00:25:52,166 --> 00:25:53,866
and I think it echoes the shapes

602
00:25:53,866 --> 00:25:55,733
of the hill of The Driftless.

603
00:25:56,766 --> 00:25:58,566
And all of those bridges

604
00:25:58,566 --> 00:26:02,400
have that lovely 
curved arch on top.

605
00:26:05,866 --> 00:26:08,000
This is the route between

606
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,100
Coumbe Island and Lone Rock.

607
00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:14,900
Notice the drawing because 
you'll see that again.

608
00:26:14,900 --> 00:26:16,066
(audience member laughs)

609
00:26:16,066 --> 00:26:18,533
Okay not everyone 
floats in canoes

610
00:26:18,533 --> 00:26:20,566
down on the Wisconsin. 
(Lynne and audience laugh)

611
00:26:20,566 --> 00:26:22,866
It was the fourth 
of July weekend,

612
00:26:22,866 --> 00:26:25,566
and we noted that all the way

613
00:26:25,566 --> 00:26:26,800
down the Mississippi,

614
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,166
we hadn't seen a 
single other canoe.

615
00:26:29,166 --> 00:26:30,666
Everybody we met 
and talked with,

616
00:26:30,666 --> 00:26:32,100
and that was a lot of people,

617
00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:33,966
they were all on dry land.

618
00:26:33,966 --> 00:26:35,800
But in the four days it took us

619
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:37,966
to reach the Arena 
landing, we met hundreds

620
00:26:37,966 --> 00:26:39,666
of people floating 
down the Wisconsin

621
00:26:39,666 --> 00:26:41,733
on the July fourth weekend.

622
00:26:41,733 --> 00:26:43,266
And most told us,

623
00:26:43,266 --> 00:26:44,700
we were going the wrong way.

624
00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:47,233
(audience laughing)

625
00:26:47,233 --> 00:26:50,600
Be a lot easier people! 
(Lynne and audience laugh)

626
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,866
So here's where that 
sketch came from.

627
00:26:52,866 --> 00:26:54,900
(Lynne and audience laugh)

628
00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:56,100
They weren't given any advice,

629
00:26:56,100 --> 00:26:57,833
they were just 
having a great time.

630
00:26:57,833 --> 00:27:00,633
They had actually built 
that raft in the morning.

631
00:27:00,633 --> 00:27:03,933
(Lynne and audience laugh)

632
00:27:03,933 --> 00:27:05,766
So we paddled in 
place for awhile

633
00:27:05,766 --> 00:27:07,266
chatting with them 
and they were just,

634
00:27:07,266 --> 00:27:10,233
they were great kids. 
They were really funny.

635
00:27:10,233 --> 00:27:12,600
I know, the couch 
is a great touch.

636
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,333
(audience laughing)

637
00:27:14,333 --> 00:27:16,566
So, day four on the Wisconsin

638
00:27:16,566 --> 00:27:20,833
took us to just down 
stream of Arena.

639
00:27:20,833 --> 00:27:22,500
And...

640
00:27:22,500 --> 00:27:24,700
That was...

641
00:27:24,700 --> 00:27:26,800
Passing the highway 23 bridge

642
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,433
over to Spring Green.

643
00:27:28,433 --> 00:27:31,466
and, this is Frank 
Lloyd Wright territory,

644
00:27:31,466 --> 00:27:33,933
as many of you, I'm sure know.

645
00:27:36,133 --> 00:27:39,233
Wrightson Taliesin 
is in the hills

646
00:27:39,233 --> 00:27:41,400
just south of the river here,

647
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,700
and it's architectural 
style deeply rooted

648
00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:45,466
in the landscape 
of The Driftless,

649
00:27:45,466 --> 00:27:48,800
echoes the shapes and 
forms of these bluff faces,

650
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,833
their outcroppings, and 
the low rounded hills

651
00:27:51,833 --> 00:27:53,333
that rise above them.

652
00:27:53,333 --> 00:27:55,166
An organic expression 
of this land

653
00:27:55,166 --> 00:27:56,900
where the architect grew up.

654
00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:58,700
The materials and shapes derived

655
00:27:58,700 --> 00:27:59,966
from the landscape,

656
00:27:59,966 --> 00:28:02,533
and at times from 
the riverscape,

657
00:28:02,533 --> 00:28:04,966
Wright built with 
Cambrian sandstones,

658
00:28:04,966 --> 00:28:06,933
and dolomites quarried 
from the hills

659
00:28:06,933 --> 00:28:10,233
of the Driftless and he 
mixed Wisconsin River

660
00:28:10,233 --> 00:28:13,200
sand into his plaster.

661
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,000
Which is a nice connection.

662
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:16,900
This photograph was 
taken from Bobs,

663
00:28:16,900 --> 00:28:18,533
it used to be called 
Bob's Riverside,

664
00:28:18,533 --> 00:28:21,166
now it's just Riverside Landing,

665
00:28:21,166 --> 00:28:23,633
which is a, they have 
really great burgers,

666
00:28:23,633 --> 00:28:25,033
so we stopped for a burger there

667
00:28:25,033 --> 00:28:26,966
and went up on the deck

668
00:28:26,966 --> 00:28:32,333
and I love this view 
of the Wisconsin.

669
00:28:32,333 --> 00:28:34,133
It is my favorite river.

670
00:28:35,233 --> 00:28:37,266
Another view of the Wisconsin,

671
00:28:37,266 --> 00:28:40,333
it's taken from Ferry 
Bluff and Cactus Bluff,

672
00:28:40,333 --> 00:28:43,766
so that you can see 
off in the distance,

673
00:28:43,766 --> 00:28:45,466
the highest point 
in the Driftless,

674
00:28:45,466 --> 00:28:46,900
which is Blue Mound.

675
00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:50,100
Can you see it on 
the horizon?

676
00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:51,600
Ok.

677
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:53,800
This is a...

678
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,266
A point that's about 
six miles upstream

679
00:28:58,266 --> 00:29:01,166
of where we took out at Arena.

680
00:29:03,233 --> 00:29:07,200
So, which brings us 
to the final chapter

681
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,200
of the portage wheel story.

682
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,333
And, at this point 
we had reached

683
00:29:12,333 --> 00:29:14,966
the Arena landing, but 
we were trying to find,

684
00:29:14,966 --> 00:29:16,966
there are about three 
different outlets

685
00:29:16,966 --> 00:29:18,733
for Blue Mound Creek,

686
00:29:18,733 --> 00:29:21,100
which Black Earth feeds.

687
00:29:21,100 --> 00:29:23,066
And we were trying to find

688
00:29:23,066 --> 00:29:26,100
the mouth of that creek.

689
00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:28,533
It wasn't easy 
the water was low.

690
00:29:28,533 --> 00:29:30,200
Today it isn't easy 
to find the mouth

691
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:31,933
of that cold creek again.

692
00:29:31,933 --> 00:29:34,466
The chameleon shape of 
the Wisconsin sandbar

693
00:29:34,466 --> 00:29:36,866
may be the reason, 
as the sandbar

694
00:29:36,866 --> 00:29:39,100
is always, always changing.

695
00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:41,166
So instead of searching 
for the confluence,

696
00:29:41,166 --> 00:29:43,766
we look for a proper 
place to camp,

697
00:29:43,766 --> 00:29:45,900
choosing a spot 
on a high sandbar,

698
00:29:45,900 --> 00:29:48,433
facing the back channel 
with scattered thickets

699
00:29:48,433 --> 00:29:52,033
of willow on vast 
expanses of open sand,

700
00:29:52,033 --> 00:29:54,833
so hot in the afternoon 
sun that it is hard

701
00:29:54,833 --> 00:29:56,533
to walk barefoot.

702
00:29:56,533 --> 00:29:58,900
That we cannot see the 
main channel from here

703
00:29:58,900 --> 00:30:02,300
makes our camp feel 
secluded, somehow wilder

704
00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:04,133
than our wide-open 
tenting grounds

705
00:30:04,133 --> 00:30:06,133
of the last few days.

706
00:30:06,133 --> 00:30:08,833
On the wet mud flats 
that abut the sandbar

707
00:30:08,833 --> 00:30:10,266
on the shore side,

708
00:30:10,266 --> 00:30:12,366
trails of sandhill crane tracks,

709
00:30:12,366 --> 00:30:15,500
each footprint shaped 
like the letter T,

710
00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:18,700
form intricate patterns 
of line and curves,

711
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:20,800
and loops, frequently punctuated

712
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,000
by dried droppings.

713
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,266
As it turns out, we 
are indeed camped

714
00:30:25,266 --> 00:30:27,933
at the confluence, or 
perhaps more accurately,

715
00:30:27,933 --> 00:30:30,233
at one of several points 
where Blue Mounds Creek

716
00:30:30,233 --> 00:30:32,500
drains into the Wisconsin.

717
00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:34,633
By studying the 
shoreline, Bob concludes,

718
00:30:34,633 --> 00:30:36,400
that one branch of 
Blue Mounds Creek

719
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,533
flows into Wisconsin, 
under a tangle

720
00:30:38,533 --> 00:30:40,166
of undergrowth 
that is just across

721
00:30:40,166 --> 00:30:42,800
the back channel from our camp.

722
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:44,566
To confirm this, 
we paddle across

723
00:30:44,566 --> 00:30:46,700
the narrow channel, and 
step out of the canoe

724
00:30:46,700 --> 00:30:47,966
into the water.

725
00:30:47,966 --> 00:30:49,566
It is clear and icy.

726
00:30:49,566 --> 00:30:52,233
We have discovered 
Blue Mounds Creek.

727
00:30:52,233 --> 00:30:55,033
Back in camp, we bathed 
in the Wisconsin,

728
00:30:55,033 --> 00:30:56,266
lying full length on our backs

729
00:30:56,266 --> 00:30:58,466
on the sandy bottom 
of the shallows.

730
00:30:58,466 --> 00:31:00,933
My hair floats on the 
surface, Medusa-like,

731
00:31:00,933 --> 00:31:02,533
I had longer hair then,

732
00:31:02,533 --> 00:31:05,433
as I slowly cool off and relax.

733
00:31:05,433 --> 00:31:08,333
Later we dine on oranges, 
bananas, gouda cheese

734
00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:11,033
and Wasabrod and 
toast our arrival

735
00:31:11,033 --> 00:31:13,066
at the confluence 
with cups of ice water

736
00:31:13,066 --> 00:31:14,966
from the bottom of the cooler

737
00:31:14,966 --> 00:31:16,600
and the last of the Oreos.

738
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,166
(audience laughing)

739
00:31:18,166 --> 00:31:20,100
Bob suggests that when we 
get back to the Madison

740
00:31:20,100 --> 00:31:22,066
in two days, that we 
spend the night at

741
00:31:22,066 --> 00:31:24,000
at the Edgewater Hotel 
on Lake Mendota.(laughs)

742
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,433
(audience laughs)

743
00:31:25,433 --> 00:31:28,566
"We can paddle right up to 
the dock," he says.(laughs)

744
00:31:28,566 --> 00:31:30,733
I agree, delighted with 
his somewhat outrageous

745
00:31:30,733 --> 00:31:34,466
idea of staying at a posh 
hotel on a canoe trip.

746
00:31:34,466 --> 00:31:37,166
Two sandhill cranes cross 
the mouth of the creek

747
00:31:37,166 --> 00:31:38,966
pausing to look our way,

748
00:31:38,966 --> 00:31:41,666
a few quick running 
steps and their launched.

749
00:31:41,666 --> 00:31:43,000
They depart over the trees,

750
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,533
bodies glowing softly golden

751
00:31:45,533 --> 00:31:49,533
in the evening light, 
long wings silhouetted

752
00:31:49,533 --> 00:31:52,433
against the sky, 
and that distinctive

753
00:31:52,433 --> 00:31:56,166
wingbeat tempo, slow on 
the downstroke, quick up,

754
00:31:56,166 --> 00:31:59,300
then another long, slow 
roll and quick snap,

755
00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:00,800
and then they're gone.

756
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,166
Sun drops behind the 
bluffs and the world

757
00:32:03,166 --> 00:32:04,600
slowly cools.

758
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,133
I listen to the distant 
cranes call to each other

759
00:32:07,133 --> 00:32:09,200
intermittently 
through the evening,

760
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,566
not thinking of 
anything in particular.

761
00:32:11,566 --> 00:32:13,966
Then out of the blue, 
I recall our long -ago

762
00:32:13,966 --> 00:32:16,600
abandoned portage 
wheels and feel

763
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,433
a mild sense of dread.

764
00:32:18,433 --> 00:32:20,800
(audience laughing)

765
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,333
It was justified.

766
00:32:22,333 --> 00:32:24,333
(Lynne and audience laugh)

767
00:32:24,333 --> 00:32:27,033
We made it only two miles 
up Blue Mounds Creek

768
00:32:27,033 --> 00:32:28,866
before turning around 
and back tracking

769
00:32:28,866 --> 00:32:30,200
to the Wisconsin.

770
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,900
The water was too low.

771
00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:34,133
Too many deadfalls 
cross the narrow stream.

772
00:32:34,133 --> 00:32:37,500
Too many sick blankets, 
they were this thick,

773
00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:40,666
of filamentous algae 
blocked our passage.

774
00:32:40,666 --> 00:32:43,666
We became crabby paddlers.

775
00:32:43,666 --> 00:32:45,866
The portage wheels were 
back in that trash can

776
00:32:45,866 --> 00:32:47,500
in Alma, or we 
could have portaged

777
00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:49,433
the three miles from 
the Arena landing

778
00:32:49,433 --> 00:32:52,300
to where the Black Earth 
is relatively open.

779
00:32:52,300 --> 00:32:54,100
But with no wheels 
we sure weren't

780
00:32:54,100 --> 00:32:56,233
going to be able to do 
the ten mile portage

781
00:32:56,233 --> 00:32:58,900
from Cross Plains to 
Middleton as we had planned.

782
00:32:58,900 --> 00:33:02,866
Luckily, we were 
voyagers with cellphones.

783
00:33:02,866 --> 00:33:05,900
Our son Matt, this 
is a different son,

784
00:33:05,900 --> 00:33:07,400
drove to the Arena landing,

785
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,100
and gave his crabby 
parents a ride

786
00:33:09,100 --> 00:33:10,733
to Lake Mendota in Middleton.

787
00:33:10,733 --> 00:33:13,900
(audience laughing)

788
00:33:13,900 --> 00:33:16,433
It was a role reversal.

789
00:33:16,433 --> 00:33:20,333
(audience laughing)

790
00:33:20,333 --> 00:33:21,633
This is Black Earth Creek,

791
00:33:21,633 --> 00:33:23,300
beloved of trout fisherman.

792
00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:24,833
It runs through 
agricultural land

793
00:33:24,833 --> 00:33:26,533
and thus has it's 
share of obstacles

794
00:33:26,533 --> 00:33:27,933
for the paddler.

795
00:33:27,933 --> 00:33:30,000
Fenced in cattle 
crossing, low bridges,

796
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,800
and deadfalls abound.

797
00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:33,733
But the good news 
is, it's the only dam

798
00:33:33,733 --> 00:33:36,300
that impounded the 
creek for 150 years,

799
00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:39,366
to create Lake Marion 
was recently removed.

800
00:33:39,366 --> 00:33:42,600
And a mile of stream bed, 
banks, and floodplain

801
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:44,900
restored to their 
former contours.

802
00:33:44,900 --> 00:33:47,333
Floodplain restoration 
is going on all over

803
00:33:47,333 --> 00:33:48,566
the Driftless.

804
00:33:48,566 --> 00:33:50,733
Mile by mile, stream 
banks are being reshaped

805
00:33:50,733 --> 00:33:52,666
into their natural contours.

806
00:33:52,666 --> 00:33:55,766
On the east branch 
of the Pecatonica,

807
00:33:55,766 --> 00:33:58,366
timber cooly, Sees 
Branch, the north fork

808
00:33:58,366 --> 00:34:00,900
of the bed acts warm and cooly,

809
00:34:00,900 --> 00:34:03,433
with thousands of stream 
miles in the Driftless,

810
00:34:03,433 --> 00:34:05,566
it's slow but important work,

811
00:34:05,566 --> 00:34:08,100
the best hope for 
Driftless streams.

812
00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:10,200
Just to show you in contrast,

813
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:12,266
if you look at this one,

814
00:34:12,266 --> 00:34:17,133
see how the floodplain 
goes level with the water.

815
00:34:17,133 --> 00:34:19,566
And here we have the banks,

816
00:34:19,566 --> 00:34:22,200
sediment from agricultural 
fields upstream

817
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:25,900
is deposited as steep, 
highly erodible banks

818
00:34:25,900 --> 00:34:27,433
in the canon river bottoms,

819
00:34:27,433 --> 00:34:29,166
eliminating the floodplain.

820
00:34:29,166 --> 00:34:31,800
And so, instead of spreading 
into the floodplain,

821
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,233
when the water rises,

822
00:34:33,233 --> 00:34:36,166
the water rips off 
more and more soil

823
00:34:36,166 --> 00:34:39,433
and carries it down 
to the Gulf of Mexico.

824
00:34:39,433 --> 00:34:41,600
Home again!

825
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,466
Alright, leaving 
Black Earth Creek,

826
00:34:43,466 --> 00:34:45,333
we left the Driftless.

827
00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:48,433
The lakes of Madison 
strung together

828
00:34:48,433 --> 00:34:50,133
by the Yahara 
River lie just over

829
00:34:50,133 --> 00:34:51,466
the Johnstown moraine

830
00:34:51,466 --> 00:34:53,600
into the glaciated landscape,

831
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:55,300
the land that isn't 
the Driftless.

832
00:34:55,300 --> 00:34:57,400
Almost home.

833
00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:59,900
Ok, glacial lake, Yahara.

834
00:34:59,900 --> 00:35:02,433
When the last glacier moved in,

835
00:35:02,433 --> 00:35:04,333
it covered the land 
that is now Madison

836
00:35:04,333 --> 00:35:06,000
in the Yahara River valley

837
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,766
with ice more than 
1,000 feet deep.

838
00:35:08,766 --> 00:35:11,366
Imagine that. We'd be under it.

839
00:35:11,366 --> 00:35:13,266
As the ice melted off the land

840
00:35:13,266 --> 00:35:14,933
where the lakes of 
Madison now lie,

841
00:35:14,933 --> 00:35:17,533
glacial lake, Yahara 
took its place,

842
00:35:17,533 --> 00:35:19,933
draining first of the 
southwest and west

843
00:35:19,933 --> 00:35:22,600
through the Sugar River 
and Black Earth Creek.

844
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:25,100
Glacial lake Yahara 
shrank until it filled

845
00:35:25,100 --> 00:35:27,533
only a basin bounded 
by the moraine

846
00:35:27,533 --> 00:35:29,366
that now divides 
the Yahara River

847
00:35:29,366 --> 00:35:31,666
and Black Earth water 
sheds to the west,

848
00:35:31,666 --> 00:35:35,133
and by the retreating 
glacier to the northeast.

849
00:35:35,133 --> 00:35:37,700
The lake then found a 
new outlet to the south,

850
00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:39,433
through the glacial 
debris covering

851
00:35:39,433 --> 00:35:41,266
what is now the River Valley.

852
00:35:41,266 --> 00:35:43,133
As the water moved downstream,

853
00:35:43,133 --> 00:35:45,066
and the lake level dropped,

854
00:35:45,066 --> 00:35:48,700
a chain of smaller river 
linked lakes appeared,

855
00:35:48,700 --> 00:35:51,266
the Yahara lakes.

856
00:35:51,266 --> 00:35:57,400
So this is a place 
that has been formed

857
00:35:57,400 --> 00:35:59,366
in large part by 
the glacier, I mean,

858
00:35:59,366 --> 00:36:01,100
it was the Paleozoic Plateau,

859
00:36:01,100 --> 00:36:03,233
but that's long gone.

860
00:36:03,233 --> 00:36:05,633
Our last day on the water,

861
00:36:05,633 --> 00:36:07,666
deeply familiar lakes and river,

862
00:36:07,666 --> 00:36:08,800
we landed the canoe

863
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,966
at Stoughton's 
Division Street Park,

864
00:36:10,966 --> 00:36:13,233
and walked up the 
hill to our home.

865
00:36:13,233 --> 00:36:15,566
(chattering)

866
00:36:15,566 --> 00:36:19,133
I have just one last 
paragraph to read.

867
00:36:19,133 --> 00:36:20,666
And...

868
00:36:22,466 --> 00:36:25,633
This is kind of a 
retrospective on it.

869
00:36:25,633 --> 00:36:27,500
"Sifting through the 
many mental images

870
00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:30,266
"I gathered over 
the past 12 days,

871
00:36:30,266 --> 00:36:32,800
"I'm surprised by some 
that linger vividly

872
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,533
"in my mind's eye.

873
00:36:34,533 --> 00:36:37,400
"The long, low line of 
a lock and dam ahead,

874
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,700
"slowly coming into focus 
as we close the distance.

875
00:36:40,700 --> 00:36:44,600
"The flash of a goldfinch 
in a riverside willow thicket.

876
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,333
"The bleakness of a bermed, 
and rock-clad river bank.

877
00:36:48,333 --> 00:36:50,800
"The startling beauty of 
a white steeple rising

878
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,133
"from the greenrey of a 
Mississippi River town.

879
00:36:54,133 --> 00:36:57,866
"The intimidating stoney 
hulk of burned bluff,

880
00:36:57,866 --> 00:37:00,266
"Frontenac and Wyalusing,

881
00:37:00,266 --> 00:37:03,166
"Our first glimpse 
of each secretive

882
00:37:03,166 --> 00:37:06,000
"wooded confluence, 
the wild overwhelming

883
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,700
"tumult that is a train roaring 
down the River Valley.

884
00:37:09,700 --> 00:37:12,533
"There are about 
ten of them a day.

885
00:37:12,533 --> 00:37:15,433
"The ominous power 
of a barge tow.

886
00:37:15,433 --> 00:37:18,933
"I recall with lasting fineness 
the riffles of the canon,

887
00:37:18,933 --> 00:37:20,700
"the flight of the Pelicans,

888
00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:23,166
"the grand movie that is 
the Mississippi River

889
00:37:23,166 --> 00:37:28,233
"Valley Bluffs, and the golden 
soft sand of the Wisconsin.

890
00:37:28,233 --> 00:37:32,233
"In the end I realized that I 
felt, rather than observed.

891
00:37:32,233 --> 00:37:33,833
"The sudden absence 
of the Driftless

892
00:37:33,833 --> 00:37:35,966
"following our departure 
from that compellingly

893
00:37:35,966 --> 00:37:37,800
"rugged landscape,

894
00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,633
"a passage we had so many 
times over the years,

895
00:37:40,633 --> 00:37:43,933
"but which I had never 
experienced with such clarity,

896
00:37:43,933 --> 00:37:46,866
"and such a powerful 
sense of connection."

897
00:37:46,866 --> 00:37:50,233
And, thank you very 
much for being here.

898
00:37:50,233 --> 00:37:53,233
(audience applause)