On Thanksgiving Day we went south to Stoughton to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate with her family. They happen to live near the Yahara River, south of the four lakes connected by the river, so we walked over and took a look during our time there. Now, I've posted about Lake Mendota from our times out on the boat. Also Lake Monona from bike rides and trips to Olbrich Park. And mostly Starkweather Creek as it passes through my neighborhood toward Lake Monona. The next two lakes down the chain are Waubesa and Kegonsa, then the Yahara flows for some time before emptying into the Rock River. Stoughton is in the bottom right of the map, we live above Lake Monona and east of Lake Mendota.
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| Lake Waubesa, Yahara Outlet |
On the drive down we only got glimpses of the lower two lakes as we drove by so getting pictures wasn't easy, but I did get one looking out onto Lake Waubesa where the Yahara exits the lake and while not over the banks it did look very full. That's what we found in Stoughton as well, the river looked very full - and fast, it seemed to be running much faster than we've seen before. Looking at the
lake levels map, it was as expected as they continue to release water down the chain trying to get the levels lower. Lake Mendota is looking the best so far, but the rest have several feet of water to go down yet. When you think about it, it really does take a lot of time to let all that water flow.
By spring I don't think we'll have any issues, but that could change at Mother Nature's whim. I also noticed in the news that just recently all the slow-no wake rules on all 4 of the lakes have now been lifted. Of course, not many are out boating anymore at this time of year anyway. Mostly the ice fisherman are waiting for the ice to form by now, which brings another thought: What will the ice conditions be if the water keeps lowering under it?
More pics after the break.
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