From the Myers' place in Dakota, MN, we continued down the Missisippi to La Crescent, MN, where we turned east to the bridge over the Big River and across the state line (pictured) into "America's Dairyland" Wisconsin and the city of LaCrosse. LaCrosse is the home of LaCrosse beer and the World's Largest Six-Pack (pictured) outside the brewery. For some reason, the town seems to be in a state of perpetual bliss.
Once out of blissful, but homely, LaCrosse, we entered the gorgeous, lush, hilly farm country of Vernon County in Southwest Wisconsin. It was fun, challenging riding with lots of elevation gain and truly spectacular scenery. I didn't want it to end. As a side note, the farmers in this area use a lot of contour farming methods which is not only a smart use of the land, but adds scenic patterns to the already beautiful country side (pictured). Our 70-mile ride ended at Viroqua, WI, a beautiful small town with a great organic food co-op for dinner.
On Day 31 (July 25), we left Viroqua for Madison, WI--a full century ride. The gorgeous, hilly terrain continued for about 30 miles, then flattened out the rest of the way into Madison. We wrapped up the day's ride of 112 miles at our camp in a rural area just outside of Madison. I am disappointed to report that since we did not travel through the center of Madison, I could not take a photograph of the Wisconsin State Capitol to post on this blog--and explain to you the origin of its name. I heard something about its being named for President James Madison. How far-fetched is that? Some people will believe anything.
More to come.
Marty
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