Day 25: Sn 10/7- Lake Pepin, part 1

The next day we had to brave Lake Pepin, a 20 mile lake that stood between us and the next dam. It's a narrow, winding lake nestled between the hills and bluffs. We made great time through the 11 miles leading up to the lake. The wind was mild-ish in the river and it was a good deal warmer and sunnier than it had been.
As we came into the lake itself we began to feel the wind that was blowing across such a large body of water. We had to paddle hard to get to the W shore which was a bit more sheltered. As we made our way into the lake proper we passed a sandbar covered with big white birds. We thought they were pelicans at first, then storks, but honestly aren't sure. If someone could look up if either (or both) of these are found in southern MN, maybe we could clear up the debate- a Mr. Terpstra's class assignment perhaps? We took a couple pics of them, but i don't think they're real clear.
After we made the W bank we were fairly sheltered, but the lake was full of coves and bays nestled between the hills. To stay out of the wind we had to go a fair bit out of the ways of the main channel which slowed us down, of course.
We stopped for lunch at a pleasant little beach in the sun on a stretch of state land in the late afternoon. There was a but of sun and quite a few sailboats out playing on the waves. We decided we really liked Lake Pepin, with its high bluffs and quiet coves.
The rest of the afternoon we crossed a couple more bays, always fighting a cross wind from the right, the west. The last, and longest was exhausting and we just got across it before dusk. We were so focused on getting as far down the lake as possible we failed to check if there was suitable camping. After the last cove, 2 miles or so at the town of Pepin, MN, we realized we were in a tight spot. There was a steep embankment, then a railroad then a major highway running along the remaining 8 miles of the lake. We checked google maps, yay iPhone. And found a little spur of land about a mile down that might work. It turned out to be a creek that ran under the road and tracks and formed a small peninsula into the lake. It was only 100 yards or so long and about 50 across, but the trees and such gave enough cover to set up the tent and build a snug little fire. Even with the train running close by we were quite cosy.


**Just a quick aside. We'd just like to thank everyone who is following out progress! The support for our trip from our family and friends has been unbelievable and we really appreciate. Just so you know, every view and comment encourages us in our trip. We know we've had trouble keeping up-to-date and we appreciate your patience with us. We try to at least let our folks know we're still hanging in there and if there's a gap it's just a lack of energy, for the phone or for us. Anyway, thank you all, it means the world that you're along with us for the ride and please drop us a line when you can.