Day 4 Illinois to Wisconsin



Day 4 Illinois to Wisconsin

We left Merrillville in light rain this morning and used the major highways through Chicago.  By the time we reached Madison Wisconsin Gloria was tired of the highways and took us off 90 and on to rt 33 to a little town called Baraboo.  Consistent with our other experiences off the interstate, this little jaunt made our day.  The picture above was taken in one of the little surprises, a Baraboo restaurant called the Log Cabin.  It was so corny it was fun.  Nearly every piece of wood was carved with an animal face or shape.  Bears were favorites, and deer and eagles in ample profusion.  BTW the strawberry short cake on the table was just a prop, really. The food and service were outstanding.

A few miles north of Baraboo on Shady Lane Road, off RT 12 is an inspiring facility run by the International Crane Foundation.  The ICF has created a crane habitat and educational facility. Beautiful giant birds, manicured grounds, an air conditioned gift shop (it was 92 degrees today) and pleasant staff made this a great visit.   We have lots of pictures of the cranes but decided to share the graceful crane sculpture on their front gate.

We were having so much fun on the back roads that we continued on RT 12 all the way to Tomah, our destination.  Along the way we came across an unexpected playground called Wisconsin Dells.  Part Tampa, part Disney world, part Ocean city, part six flags, this town is wall to wall water parks, roller coasters, museums, water sports and hotels and motels. It seemed to appeal more to families and teens so we coasted through.

The road our hotel was on was too new for Magellan to recognize, and Rand McNally could only get us close.  A Trip-tic from AAA got us close, and in the end we just drove around the neighborhood until we stumbled into it.  We are getting better about being lost and enjoying it.  While we were walking in a local family spotted our license plate and gasped. Another recognized my UCONN cap and remembered that the basketball team had very good year.

Gloria and some of the bears at the Log Cabbin in Baraboo.

See you along the way.