I’m starting this post sitting in the Milwaukee airport. Like most big cities, Milwaukee is old, crumbling and needs an update. It looks like it’s happening, but I still wanted to leave as soon as I touched down. And that’s what I did. I couldn’t check in to my hotel so I headed north to the Kettle Moraine Forest.

This area of Wisconsin is interesting because it was shaped by glaciers. During the most recent ice age, large glaciers pushed and scraped their way across the hills. They left behind rubble fields, sharp hills and lots of ponds and the “kettles”, which are depressions in the ground. The scenic drive was not really in the middle of nowhere, but it was still rural America and I was happy to be there.

April and I often discuss just how much land we have in this country. Even just outside of the largest cities, you find thousands of acres of wide open spaces. Milwaukee is no exception. After my conference ended, I headed out northwest towards Madison and the Devil’s Lake State Park. Minutes outside of downtown I saw wide open spaces. These spaces make my heart feel good as I picture families living and working on this land.

[I interrupt this post for a public service announcement. You do not need to surround the gate entrance like it’s a bread line. They will call your zone and you can get on. The plane will not leave without you. Sit down and relax.]

Now back to my fascinating post.

Devil’s Lake is a scenic lake flanked by two high bluffs on either side. Supposedly it was an ancient river that got covered, then clogged, by one of those glaciers. I am a fan of geology, but I tend to just ignore the time they attach to everything. Millions of years is a long time and I am skeptical of anyone who tells me they knew what was going on back in the way back when.

So back to the lake. I opted for a loop hike up and down both bluffs and around the lake. Stunning views and dense forest. I finished the hike with a walk in the lake where I cooled off my barking dogs.

I spent the night in my hammock tent sleeping very little. I don’t sleep well at home and even worse on the road. I am sleeping better in our camper these days, but that’s for another post.

On the road this morning, I opted for the scenic route. I love small towns and I got to go through a few. At a glance, these little downtowns all look alike, but if you look closely, you see they are mirrors of the area and people who live in and around. Shops with local goods, bookstores, old movie theaters now hosting live music and plays fill all these areas. Granted, sometimes I see boarded up shops and dying or dead downtowns. This is life, they will spring back to life one day or, like out west, turn into ghost towns. [Stay tuned for future post on Jerome, AZ]

[Finally boarding]

As I got back on the interstate from my small town dalliance, I observed what I always observe; chains, outlets, homogenized America. If you never left these interstates, you would never know what lies just over the next hill or river or cornfield. On this trip I saw hidden parks, dozens of silos, tractors, corn and so, so much else. I could write a short book on just what I saw in the last few days.

I plan to write more about places we have traveled over the years as a family or just April and I and some of my rare solo trips. So much to see out there and so little time to see it. As my son Liam told me this morning, safe travels.

-John