One day not to long ago, I stood on an Iowa ledge overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers....wow what a sight! I had a tourist take my picture there....can you see the rivers meeting off to my right and left? You may want to ZOOM the picture out 200% ... WOW, what a sight it is way above the meeting of two great rivers!!!!
Let me tell you what I was feelings when I looked down the bluff at that beautiful sight for the 3rd time in 40 years. It was:
A spectacular physical sight ... one river meeting another and the sand from one dropping out as it was being slowed by the stronger current of the other ... forming a gigantic sand bar, making Wisconsin fatter!!
A beautiful sunny day ... streaks of light flashing up at me as the two rivers formed waves that intermingled randomly ... forming a frothing mixture of soil, sand and wooden debris now heading to New Orleans and out to sea.
Soaring Bald Eagles above the conjoined rivers ... seeking fish for their hungry chicks in nests atop the Cottonwoods lining the river's edge....no longer threatened by man's pollutants spewing from factories upstream.
A marsh beside the joining rivers, filled with every species immagineable ... jumping fish, wading herons, rasping snails, siphoning clams, trolling humans, diving ducks, winding snakes, and stabbing kingfishers ... all peacefully doing what they do best ... surviving to the next meal.
The bluffs on the Wisconsin side ... rounded by erosion over the centuries, covered by elms, oaks and maples, and majestic in their valley crawl both up north toward Minnesota and easwards towards Wisconsin's center.... the two magnificant rivers flow from their lakes of origin, down these valleys of glacial splendor.
Winding rivers flowing downstream ... forming oxbow lakes, shallow marshes and splendid new beaches ... hundreds of years in formation and useful living systems for spawning fish, egg-laying birds, and frollicing bathers.
Just a few observations from your ole biology teacher ... the beauty of our country is everywhere to be seen ... I love it all the best!!!
Nice, J. You are a bit of a poet and troubador.
ReplyDeleteYou are the road poet, Daddio. "On the Road With JimPat" will be the name of the new National Geographic special. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I barely even heard of the Wisconsin River so thanks for improving my geography. Love ya Daddio!
ReplyDelete~Michael