About 4:00 pm yesterday I headed from Sauk City to Baraboo on Highway 12. The rains came down in torrents and, with the rest of the traffic, I slowed to a snail's pace. At the entrance to the old Badger Munitions Plant I encountered a large pool of standing water.
The cars ahead of me went though and it looked safe, no more than five or six inches deep. I proceeded through the standing water and the next quarter of a mile to the base of the Baraboo Hills figuring the remainder of the trip would be safe as I headed for higher ground.
Wrong.
After 200 yards into the hills I encountered a torrent of water and mud. Water prefers to follow gravity and it rushed across the road with no regard for culverts or drainage ditches.
I always figured that flash flooding was reserved for low lying areas and the banks or shorelines of rivers and lakes.
Wrong again.
As I approached the second torrent, I considered the options. A U-turn was out of the question. Backing down was not going to work. Sitting in place would only worsen the situation for me and the motorists behind me as the rush of water and mud seemed to grow with every passing moment.
I had only seen rapids like this in mountain and hilly rivers filled with spring rains. As I moved forward, pieces of the road moved down hill with the water and mud.
Now I know how those "fools' on TV news ended up on the tops of their cars, immersed in five feet of water.
There were five of these torrents crossing the highway before I safely made it to the top.
I waited out the storm in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant.
Heading back to Madison was a challenge. Highway 12 and most other routes were closed, including the interstate. I headed for Portage on I-90. If anything would be opened it was I-90 and maybe I could even make it to 51. We moved covering five miles in about 40 minutes and finally the water receded to the point where one lane was open. I took some pictures with my cell phone and if I can figure out how to get them from my camera to my blog, I will post them here later. (I do not have any media phone service.)
Thank your lucky stars, Paul....
Posted by: Tim M. | June 13, 2008 at 07:31 AM
You are pretty lucky Paul. I'm familiar with that hill you were on. I've driven up it in many times. Just thinking of trying to drive that road with torrents of water rushing down it gives me the creeps.
Posted by: Mark F. | June 13, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Um. Since you were on I-94 and they shut it down, and you were on I-90 and they shut it down and you were on 12 and parts of it started to disappear, could I gently suggest that you stay home for a few days? I'm not saying it's you, I'm just sayin'.
Posted by: Jess Wundrun | June 13, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Ask a teenager. My 12-year-old figured it out on his own. It probably involves a USB cable and some software like BitPIM.
Posted by: John Foust | June 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM