Day 24 - Hurry up and Wait

River Mile - 722

Today’s Distance - 38 Miles 

Total Distance - 619.9 Miles 

Great nights sleep last night. Temps cooled into the lower 50’s.  I had a really hard time getting out of my sleeping bag this morning. It was chilly and damp outside. Packed up a wet camp again this morning. It was very foggy, which I didn’t think much about until we got our boats to the river. Gray fog, gray water, no visible landmarks. After packing up our boats and consulting the maps, we decided to follow the shore on the right and go slow. When we were just a half a mile in, the fog cleared and it was a beautiful morning, sunny with a slight breeze.

We had about 7 miles to Lock & Dam 4. As we approached, we saw an 8 barge two moored off to the side. Just when we thought we might be able to beat it to the Lock, the tug fired up an we had to wait, and wait. After 90 minutes floating in our boats, we got the green light to paddle into the lock. While waiting, we ate, read, told stories and drifted around.  

Once through Lock #4, we spent hours paddling in the main shopping channel. We saw a few fishing boats, and one other small barge, but for the most part, it was a peaceful, but very warm day.

25 miles into our day, we approached Lock #5. Sure as shit, there was the same barge that held us up at #4. Again we had to wait, This time only about an hour. Still, by this time we were itching to get through and arrive in Fountain CIty, WI where cousin Hanna and her boyfriend Hunter were planning to meet us for dinner. Those last 5 miles, were difficult to focus on. All we wanted was beer

The town of Fountain City is very quaint, testled between the bluffed and the river it looks straight out of a postcard

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After checking to to the Fountain Motel we got our tents set up so they could dry.There is a little Irish Pub, the Monarch a mile north of our hote. They had really good food. The owner was also our server. They brew their own beer. They also make their own sausage. The bar was first opened in 1894 and is one of the oldest pubs in the state of Wisconsin.