Diamond Jubilee: crossing Wisconsin

The bonus of summer travel is long days, especially in the northern US. Even though the Empire Builder left Milwaukee at 4pm, I enjoyed daylight for much of the journey. The weather had improved, too.

I visited Wisconsin twice before with Brian and liked it. Brian always loved Pennsylvania and, after visiting Wisconsin, I understood why. Minus Lake Michigan, I think Wisconsin most approximates the state where I grew up.

The journey passed many lakes as the rails diagonally crossed the state. We came near Ixonia, where I had a university friend with a farm. Had it not been during COVID, I would have loved a visit. I do remember sending her a message telling her that the area looked lovely. Just dropping in on old friends those days was not possible - what a shame.

One of the big attractions in Wisconsin for local tourists is "the Dells". The train made a stop there after it passed some cliffs overlooking the Wisconsin River. The place has great natural beauty but these days has been built up as a "destination" where nature is the backdrop rather than the main event. I had to admit that what I could see from the train looked lovely. Most locals view the Dells as a "used to be great" location. Side note: I saw a man ejected from the train for not holding at ticket - a first for me.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the journey was farmland. Rolling hills dotted with copses of trees, the landscape looked like Lancaster or York Counties, Pennsylvania, but it was Wisconsin. No wonder the Germans came in droves - it, too, looked like southern Germany.

Finally, the rails reached La Crosse on the Mississippi. Filled with islands, it was an easy place to bridge the river. The city's name is derived from a Native American game played with sticks which looked like "crosses" to the early French explorers. I wished I could have stopped and explored, but there were no reasonable hotels available and I was concerned I would get stuck there due to Amtrak's limitations using the rail pass. In later conversations with my friend DV, I discovered I had sped by some very interesting architecture there. La Crosse was the first place on the trip I "missed out on" only due to travel logistics. I felt disappointed (and a little angry at Amtrak).

July 2021.

The Mississippi's main channel is surprisingly narrow at La Crosse (because of the islands). The river water runs clear and both banks are lined with hills. The scenery was beautiful - the kind of place that I would love to return.

As the light faded, I entered Minnesota - a state I had never visited (nor thought I was going to).