Madison, Wisconsin

A leisurely visit after a loooooong drive

We stayed in the Madison suburb of DeForest, Wisconson for 4 nights, after a 422 mile, 8+ hour day driving across all of southern Minnesota and well into Wisconsin (starting with 14 miles in South Dakota). That’s now the most miles we’ve driven with Lizzy in a day. Previously it was the 398 miles we drove to Grants Pass, Oregon from home, in early 2023.

We took a break in Austin, Minnesota, to…visit the SPAM Museum! Mark was SO Happy to do so…NOT! (Actually, the museum was fun, but he is NOT a fan of SPAM.)

There are now over 12 varieties of SPAM, the latest is Gochujang, which we sampled

First priority was to tour 1 new State Capitol:

Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison (#43), one of the prettiest capitols we’ve visited. We’ve driven around it multiple times, on our last 2 visits (Aug 2012, Oct 2014) and this one, where we finally got a tour. It is shaped (from the air) like an X, with 8 streets leading into it, between the wings and straight at each wing. It is the state capitol with the largest dome by volume and has 43 different types of marble throughout.

On the tour, we found out that Wisconsin is nicknamed the “Badger State” because early lead miners in the 1820s and 1830s, who lacked proper shelter, would burrow into hillsides to live like badgers, hence earning the nickname for themselves and eventually the territory and state.

Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison-View between wings
Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison-View straight at a wing
Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison-samples of several marbles used in the capitol
Areal View of Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Lake Medota to the Northwest, Lake Monona to Southeast, University of Wisconsin due west
Wisconsin State Capitol Observation Deck View of Lake Medota to the Northwest
Wisconsin State Capitol Observation Deck View of Lake Monona to the Southeast

More wandering around Madison

After touring the capitol we walked up State Street toward the University of Wisconsin-Madison, taking in the sights, including lots of scurrying & studying students, and grabbing dinner. We returned 2 days later to wander more, around the capitol and UW-Madison, including a walk along the shore of Lake Mendota, visits to the Allen Centennial Gardens and the UW-Madison Geology Museum.

Before heading back to the truck and camp we grabbed another dinner, this time at State Street Brats (at the far left/west on the ariel map of Madison capitol), where we had the “Tourist Special”, a pork & beef brat and side of fried cheese curds. Only in Wisconsin? Speaking of cheesy Wisconsin, on the way back to camp, we also did some shopping at the Eihenbach Cheese Chalet.

Walking along Lake Mendota
And another Badger, “Well Red”, walking along Lake Mendota/UW Campus
Allen Centennial Garden
Buckeye Butterfly at Allen Centennial Garden
Allen Centennial Garden
At UW-Madison Geology Museum
At UW-Madison Geology Museum
Geology Museum Flourescent Rocks, in Natural Light and Ultra-Violet…Low Frequency only, Low & High Frequency, High Frequency only