Madison, Wisconsin. Wednesday, June 30, 2021
The last day of June, and the 75th day of the trip. Something of a milestone, it called for a momentous day, and Madison did not disappoint.
My friend and former resident Darren Knox, who had hosted me in La Crosse, did most of his schooling in Madison and was very proud of it. He put together a scavenger hunt of Madison “must sees” on Google Maps, and I was happy to be guided in absentia. When I was teaching, I would often say that I learned more from my students/residents than I taught them, and this was a supreme example.
Darren said one of the Madison highlights was the Saturday farmer’s market. This was Wednesday, but there was a small market near Mary and Charlie’s house, and walking there gave me a chance to get some pictures of my hosts, and their captivating grandson Ezra.
Charlie is a retired city bus driver, Mary was a psychiatric nurse, and we had so much to talk about. But I had to get going, Darren had a full agenda for me.
Madison is in a beautiful setting, on an isthmus between two lakes, Mendota and Menona. Here is the overview map of my ride.
First stop was the Capitol, which looked impressive enough from the outside, but the rotunda was overwhelming, frankly more impressive than the US Capitol.
Darren directed me to the Old Fashioned, for the best cheese curds in the state, but I got there too early, and when I came back in the evening, the line was too long.
Next was Bascom Hall, the centerpiece of the University of Wisconsin campus, with its iconic statue of Lincoln, gazing towards the Capitol.
Bascom was up a steep little sucker of a hill, but Darren knew I’d be hot and hungry by then, so he directed me to the Babcock Hall Dairy Store, where, as ordered, I had the orange custard chocolate chip ice cream. Heaven. Thence to his freshman/sophomore dorm, on the banks of Lake Mendota. Aren’t the classy dorms supposed to be for upperclassmen?
Madison is full of bike paths, and I followed a beautiful one along the lake to Picnic Point, with a view of the Madison skyline, the U right in front of the Capitol.
Next Darren led me up Pill Hill, where the impressive West High School is, along with the Eugene Gilmore house, courtesy of my main man, Frank Lloyd Wright.
My colleges (MIT, George Washington, UVM) didn’t have football teams, so I am envious of those that do, like Wisconsin. Darren couldn’t help rubbing it in.
Speaking of badgers, I haven’t seen one yet. Next on the agenda was the zoo, with its two famous badgers, Dekker and Kaminsky, but the guard was closing the gate as I arrived. Google Maps said it was open until 5, but the sign clearly said it closed at 2. All I could get was this shot.
Mickey’s Dairy Bar, a keystone of Darren’s agenda, was closed also, as were the botanical gardens. Oh well, you can’t win them all. There was lots still to see.
Lake Wingra had a beach that brought to mind that Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, although this photo doesn’t capture it.
A bike path led down a creek of the same name, to Lake Monona, where a bass fishing tournament was underway, with a view of the Capitol from the other side of the isthmus. I later learned this was the lake where Otis Redding’s plane crashed, just three weeks before the release of his greatest hit, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.
Another great bike path led around this lake to the Essen Haus, where I had Jaegerschnitzel to the tune of live music and in view of a beach volleyball game
How to cap off this wonderful day? How about another ice cream at Union Terrace, to watch the sunset. The woman was a biochemistry student working on her PhD, waiting for her classmates, who didn’t show until the sun went down. We shared stories of majoring in the life sciences.
Got back to Mary & Charlie’s after dark, but not too late to watch a baseball game and have a third (!) dish of ice cream. In the bathroom was a great bust of Ronald Reagan.
Thanks Darren, Mary, and Charlie, for a memorable day!
Distance 26 miles, 3,306 total. Time 7 hours with stops. Elevation gain 727 feet.
©️ 2021 Scott Luria
The Ends of the Earth 