The plan for Labor Day was to spend a day in Muscoda, visit with Abby and Jason and the family and kayak a stretch of the Wisconsin River which runs practically to the door of their dairy farm. The drive to Muscoda is beautiful - we took the road which skirts Madison to the north and winds among the hills past Spring Green, across the river and then along its northern bank to the western part of the state.

On arriving, Jason took us on a tour of the farm - my apologies for being inattentive, Jason - I started snapping pictures as soon as I got out of the car. The farm is beautifully situated with fields that slope up to a wooded ridge behind the property. A field to the west provided a great backdrop for the sunset that evening. Alice told me about her favorite cows (was "flutterfly" the new calf?) and then she and Sam and I had a little walk in the adjacent field. Paul and I set up our tent while we waited for the rest of the party to get there.

I think Johnny and Kersten were the last of the canoeing party to arrive. Once they'd had a chance to decompress, we piled back into the cars and drove over to the camp/outfitter/tour place to sort out the boats.

The outfitter/camp/shop/excursion/wotsit place ("Bear Cave Camp"? - can't remember) was a short drive from the farm. There were old/recent photos of the cave in the little shop - the cave looks worth a shufti. More impressive even than Spook Cave, and we all remember how jolly impressive THAT was ("Do not touch the stalactites or they will diiiiie-uh!). Perhaps on the next trip. The staff was very friendly and helpful - the logistics were accomplished fairly quickly and we were off in the van to the launching point. I didn't have COMPLETE and UTTER confidence in the frayed, knotty ropes that were used to secure the kayaks to the trailer and I have to confess to looking around a good deal to check they hadn't fallen off (the boats, not the ropes).

Launching was accomplished without mishap. Sam went with Jake in one boat, Alice with John and Mary in another. Alice was "like that" about the motion of the canoe (makes hand gesture to show how she was with it) but she kept it together like a champ. Brian and Lizzie had some sort of minor crisis - their boat became involved with a sandbar, or something. The weather and scenery were lovely. We paddled (and drifted - mostly drifted, actually) past wooded islands and huge sandbars. I suddenly noticed that Paul was getting outside of one of those new "Lime-A-Ritas" so, naturally, I had to have one as well.

After a bit, it was decided that some sort of halfway time was reached so we landed on an immense sandbar.

The sandbar was, as I've said, immense. The downstream end, where we landed, was liberally decorated with goose droppings but they left off after a few yards. Johnny produced a fishing rod and walked over to the south side of the island to fish. Sam and Alice and I went exploring and found some fishbones.

Eventually most of us ended up in the water. Johnny and Lizzie gave Sam and Alice rides on their shoulders. The current was lovely - if one pulled up one's landing gear one could float downstream a bit.

After passing an hour or so on "Goose Poo Island", we got back in our boats and set off once more downstream. Strange to think that the sandbar would, eventually, be shaped differently or gone altogether. Puts one in mind of something or other.

Sorry about the lackluster commentary. Too much time has passed since the trip - I really have to jot down more thoughts sooner after outings. I spent the rest of the journey goggling at the beautiful setting: the remains of huge trees rocking gently in the current, eagles soaring overhead, intriguing inlets and sandbars, cascades of foliage overhanging the water and backlit by the afternoon sun.

Disembarking involved the usual rituals of stretching aching legs and backs, fiddling with equipment, hoisting boats onto the trailer. In what seemed like no time we were on our way back to the farm.

The lonely tree at the end of the field that I photographed earlier had become a wonderful focal point for views of the sunset. The trunk and foliage stood out in black tracery against the changing colors of the sky. Light from both the sunset and a fire provided light for our evening picnic. We sat and conversed and shared stories into the evening.

I'm always pleasantly exhausted after a kayaking trip and that day was no exception. Paul and I retired to our tent before it got very late. The next morning we had the Big B - I volunteered to cook the bacon which is a pleasantly contemplative task.

Thanks again to Abby and Jason for bringing us all together in a beautiful setting for a very enjoyable Labor Day weekend.