McDonald's WIFI
Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin
June 4, 2022
Yesterday was quite a day of experiences.
I headed south from Stevens Point and hit farm country. As opposed to the farms in say Kansas where there are few trees, these farms seem to be broken up with trees. And I am guessing the farms are smaller as there seemed to be more farm houses. Not many towns/villages/hamlets though. Wisconsin seems to have a below average number of what I would call "communities."
Any village named "Friendship" I am going to go visit.
Someone in Stevens Point had mentioned Wisconsin Dells to me. It brought to mind The Dells, except I guessed they would be white as everyone in Wisconsin seems to be. I was wrong --Wisconsin Dells is a summer amusement area -- think a small Myrtle Beach. Waterslides, boat rides, souvenir shops, mom & pop hotels and restaurants offering all you can eat. I didn't stay long.
Back to the farms -- still haven't seen a lot of cows. The terrain is hilly so many of the farms are not on flat land as I saw in say Kansas.
How would you like to live in a place named "Plain." Plain was small; it did have a nine-hole golf course. It was. very windy day so I chose not to partake.
I did not take any photos in Spring Green although I thought it is a wonderful name for a town. It lived up to its name -- it was pretty and green. It also had a golf course -- 18 holes -- which was busy on a Friday afternoon so once again I passed.
I was surprised to find a town sign for Paris -- in my mind I had decided it was so small that there would not be any signage. I get the feeling a "town" in Wisconsin might be like a "township" in other states, although I could be wrong. Turns out there was also a community called Paris in what is now the town of Paris. The community is no longer there and there is no sign that it ever was. Other now, there is a photo of Buddy where I think the community might have been. That's another Paris I did not know about to add to my universe of Paris'.
Having stayed in a hotel the previous two nights, I next went looking for a free place to lay my head. I picked Prairie Du Chien as it has a Walmart that allows overnight stays and it seemed like a good location for me to decide where to go today. I did not realize until I got there that it is so close to the Mississippi River.
Now an admission. First, isn't admission a funny form of the verb to admit; I would think it would be admittion. My admission is that I was in this area last summer. I remember being in DuBuque, Iowa -- which is 70 miles south of here across the Mississippi. I was so focused on going to the Paris' in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana that I did not realize how close I was to the Paris in Grant County, Wisconsin. Oh well -- I would have had to come back to Wisconsin anyway.
Big fan of the beer signs above bars.
On the way to Prairie Du Chien, I came across a town named Potosi. I recalled earlier in the day seeing a beer by that name -- when I saw a billboard advertising the brewery I just had to go by -- and pick up a case, a hat and some stickers. The brewery is in a hollow down from the town (and a small town it is). The pub and the gift shop were very nicely done -- I gather the brewery has been there since 1852 although not in continuous use.
I am surprised you didn't go by Dodgeville, Home of Land's End! We went there as a pilgrimage because of all the kids' clothes we bought.... Neat town . . . and the company had just built a yuge athletic/recreation facility for its employees!