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Paddling America from border to border, four young canoeists stop in Prairie du Chien Four young men who are canoeing through the United States from top to bottom stopped in Prairie du Chien Monday afternoon for a brief respite along their 2,800-mile journey. Nathan Schuette, Adam Amundson and Jesse Kruckenberg, all of Edgerton, Wis. and Eric Goldsmith of La Crosse paddled to the shores of Lawler Park at about 4 p.m. to visit with parents and other relatives before resuming their epic adventure the next morning. "It's been an awful lot of work," said Nathan, who along with his three companions canoed against the tough, north-flowing currents of the winding Red and Wild Rice rivers for about 400 miles before finally portaging to the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca in Minnesota. The four modern-day explorers began their expedition June 3 in Pembina, North Dakota and battled flood conditions until reaching the Continental Divide. There the flood conditions turned to drought and water levels dropped drastically. "We were pretty lucky that way," said Nathan. Along the way, they have run into stiff winds, rain and swarms of mayflies and relentless mosquitoes. "You could just take a swipe of your arm and get hundreds of mosquitoes," said Nathan, who noted that repellent was of little use. They also had to get out and push their 19-foot Kevlar canoes through shallow water and over several beaver dams on the Wild Rice River. Within 10 seconds of entering the water, each canoeist would get about 15 leaches attached to their legs. Adam Amundson noted that many of the leaches were about eight inches long and that the sores they left behind itched for about two or three weeks afterwards. "They would even suck blood through your socks," said Adam. Since reaching the headwaters of the Mississippi in late July, the four canoeists have been averaging about 50 miles per day and plan to reach the Gulf of Mexico on about Sept. 3. Nathan said that they are no longer losing weight now that they are headed downstream. The four paddle in two canoes loaded with equipment and supplies at a rate of about four miles per hour for 12 to 14 hours per day. Two months into their adventure of a lifetime, the four 22-year-olds truly look like the explorers of centuries past, with grizzled beards, dark tans and weathered looks. Nathan's dad Todd Schuette said that he didn't recognize his son right away when he first saw the group up close Monday at a boat launch near the Lynxville Dam. "There's not a lot of hygiene," said Nathan, who noted that they just jump into the river to get clean. The four already look like they've become part of the Mississippi. "I picture taking a hose to Nathan," said his mother Deanna, who wondered aloud if his dark tan wasn't actually more dirt than tan. It was noted that Adam wore the same shirt every day for a month and a half at the beginning of the trip. Nobody gathered at Lawler Park Monday wanted to see it. The four intrepid explorers said that they have seen a lot of wildlife along the route so far, including a moose roaming the streets of Grand Forks, North Dakota. They have also seen numerous whitetail deer, beaver, otters, turtles, bald eagles and skunks. "It was unreal the number of deer we saw on the Red River," said Nathan. Adam noted that several of the deer were nice bucks and Eric Goldsmith said that he took a photo of one buck with a huge velvet rack. While paddling on the Wild Rice River, one bald eagle flew towards the canoeists and came within about five yards of Jesse Kruckenberg before veering off. Eric said that otters would come within 10-15 feet but would then get too far away before they could get their cameras out. The four have done a little fishing along the way and have caught and cooked some northern pike, catfish and rock bass. They cookout at their campsite each night and sleep in two bottomless Army tents. Many people along the way have helped the men by driving them into town to get food and supplies. Nathan said that one boater bought he and Eric a rib dinner one evening at a nearby restaurant. "He said, ''m so impressed with what you're doing and how hard you're working,'" said Nathan. Adam said that he and his companion canoeists don't eat very much when temperatures are high. "Eating just makes you hotter," he said. Nathan recalled a two-week period during the first part of their journey when they had to ration food because there were no towns nearby. "I could feel that I was lacking energy," he said. "It seemed as though we were pretty much starving. We took a break and Eric and I talked for two hours about eating at McDonald's." Since they've been on the Mississippi River, the four young men have also had to deal with the hazards boat traffic. Adam said that the river is especially crazy on weekends when numerous pleasure boats come too close and make high, choppy wakes. At night, the river calms down but canoeing at night is not without its perils. "It's awesome at night," said Adam. "It gets really calm." Adam recalled, however, that peace, quiet and fatigue overtook he and his canoeing partner one night as they fell asleep. He was awakened when his hat brushed up against a pontoon boat at about 4 a.m. "That's the last time we canoed at night," he said. Their journey was about three years in the planning and after they experience the exhilaration of finally reaching the Gulf, the men said that they will head back up (not by canoe) to check out New Orleans for awhile before finding a way home. Prairie native gets chance to work with country music stars During her summer internship in Nashville, Tenn., Alecia Rider has come to love Music City U.S.A. and may have plans of returning after earning her degree. Rider, a 2001 graduate of River Ridge High School and current UW-Platteville senior, is spending the summer working for Webster and Associates PR, assisting clients such as Aaron Tippin, Little Texas, Joe Diffie, Jett Williams and the Kentucky Headhunters, while working as a tour press publicist. Her most recent assignment has been getting two of her clients, Aaron Tippin and the Kentucky Headhunters, ready for the Clayton County Fair, where they will be performing this weekend. "I'm going to be coming back to my home territory," Rider, a rural Prairie du Chien native, said. The Grammy winning Kentucky Headhunters are scheduled to perform Friday night at 8 p.m. while Aaron Tippin is scheduled for an 8 p.m. concert the following night. Tippin is known for his hits such as "There Ain't Nothing Wrong With the Radio," "Kiss This" and "That's As Close As I'll Get to Loving You," along with his top-10 hit "You've Got to Stand for Something." Rider has found the internship to be anything but boring, as she stays quite busy interacting with her clients. "Some of the things I do are taking my clients to sound checks for their concerts, shuttling them around to various media interviews, assisting them with promotional contests and assisting them when they are at signing booths and taking pictures with fans," Rider said. Her duties don't end there. She also assists with day-to-day tour press activities, contacts promoters, media and artists to schedule and coordinate materials within the venue area and assists with radio promotions. She schedules interviews, sends advance copies of singles and press kits to media for review and updates her clients press kits with current clippings and releases. Rider was given the opportunity to work at one of the top music festivals in Nashville this past June, the CMA Music Festival. The event saw 200 country music artists perform over a four day span in front of a total of 130,000 fans. During the event, Rider was busy scheduling interviews and helping Little Texas and Aaron Tippin with their fans, but she didn't forget to take a step back and let it all soak in. "I was able to sit back a little bit in the artists' room [and think about what I was doing and where I was], but then I had to get back to work," Rider said. Her favorite part of the internship has been being the contact between the artists and their fans and being able to make the artists' job easier. "All of the artists are so nice, and they really appreciate what we do for them," Rider said. Scheduled to graduate with a music business degree from UW-P in May, Rider says she may return to Nashville in the future, possibly for artist management. Alecia is the daughter of Larry and Janice Rider. Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization Incorporation hires new program manager Craig Moser accepts offer for the important role Mayor Cheryl Mader announced Monday that the Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization Inc. hired a long- sought-after program manager. The group offered Craig Moser the position last Thursday and he accepted their offer on Friday. According to city planner Garth Frable, Moser hopes to begin his responsibilities during the week of September 6. The program manager position began with 26 applicants. From those, 15 were selected and then seven were chosen for phone interviews. Moser was one of three out of those seven picked by board members to have a personal interview. Frable said that the interview process consisted of an hour-long formal interview, followed by a tour of the city, including the downtown area. The applicant had lunch with board members and was then tested on his writing abilities. "It's just a great feeling when the applicants are as good in person as they are on paper," said Frable about offering Moser the position. Moser and his wife, along with their three children, currently reside in South Dakota where Moser works as a staff person for Senator Tim Johnson. His new responsibilities will include overseeing the promotion, design, organization and economic restructuring committees to make sure they are run smoothly and efficiently, as well as many other duties. Mader said that Moser and his family are excited about becoming part of the Prairie du Chien community.
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