Wisconsin

Arriving in Wisconsin, we made a brief stop in its capital, Madison, to go on a guided tour of its state capitol.

East Washington Avenue, with the capitol in the background.

Our tour group.

Office of the Governor. Wisconsin's state capitol adopted a very open-door policy: anybody can walk up to the Governor's office, and he/she will discuss with you about the problem that concerns you (provided that he/she is not too busy).

Touching the nose of this badger (the state's animal) brings good luck.

Supreme Court.

Senate Chamber.

We camped in Spring Green which is about 1 hour away from Madison to visit the former house of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which he called the Taliesin studio. Being one of the greatest architects, I guess we expected better, but the house did not impress us (Lauren was particularly disappointed). For example he had the peculiarity of liking to have really low ceilings (as low as 5'11" / 180 cm in one spot—my head touched them!) to "make the guest want to move along and go to a spot with higher ceilings."

Frank Lloyd Wright liked to have some trees close to walls, but did not think (or care?) the tree's growth would eventually push the wall. Or perhaps it was intentional given his idea that his house was just a place for testing ideas and not meant to be permanent.

Next night, we camped near a French-sounding village named Trempealeau located along the Mississippi, and went on a short hike in the morning.

Except 1 other camper, the campground was practically empty. We chose the best spot near the water. This was also our first night "dry camping", ie. without water or electrical hookups, so we used our batteries and fresh water tank.

Hiking in Perrot State Park with the Mississippi in the background. The other side of the river is Minnesota.

View from the peak of Perrot State Park.

We continued driving north on highway 35 (part of the Great River Road) and stopped in Buena Vista Park in Alma, which has another great view of the Mississippi river:

Again, continuing north we stopped in Little House Wayside, a replica of the house described in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. The house was erected on the plot where she was born:

By now we have driven 5953 miles 9580 km:

Next stop: Minnesota!