Jane and Jim were our landing chairs at Osterdock, and presented Rumble shirts to the owner of Osterdock Store and her sister (the cook). When I asked how many of the 52 residents of Osterdock were related to Elaine (owner of the store, on the right) no one would give me a straight answer. But the waitresses were Elaine's nieces and the owner of the campground was her brother!
Larry sold some paddles and lifejackets this morning, at a really reasonable price. The white boat with mango stripe (behind him) is our tandem kayak, on the trailer now since Bill's shoulder is so sore he can't paddle any more. Larry is going to provide me with a rental boat for as long as Bill is driving.
It was silly hat day today, and we lined up for a photo in front of the store.
It was raining lightly when we launched, but there was no active lightning in the immediate area.
The sky lowered and lightning and thunder were close enough that I took the metal watering can off my silly hat, but not close enough to get off the river and take shelter.
We stopped for lunch at the confluence of the Turkey and Mississippi Rivers. It was so muddy that people lost their shoes trying to walk from the boat to the shore.
I still wore my silly hat, minus the watering can; Julie was happy to have her knee-high boots.
It continued to rain, and I commented that I was getting cold. Daren said he had something that would help me stay warm, and he brought out his Bothy Tent and let me camp out in it until I warmed up. It really works! This is definitely going on my list of necessary equipment!
We left the confluence of the rivers and paddled against the strong gusty wind and roily waves to get across the Mississippi River to Cassville, Wisconsin, about a mile down the river. After dinner the storm was gone and the water was as calm as could be. Below is the ferry boat that Bill and the rest of the drivers used to get across the river.
Walking back from dinner we heard a gunshot, and then I saw this sign on the restrooms in the park where we are camping.
The wind stayed calm and the sunset on the Mississippi River was a beautiful sight.
Our landing chair had told us that there would be no band tonight, but lots and lots of trains... he was right. There were 6 to 8 trains per hour, just 30 feet from the park, and they all sounded their whistles repeatedly. Not a good night for sleeping.
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