If ever there was a day I wish I could bottle and savor again and again, it would be today. The weather was perfect, virtually cloudless, and with low humidity. We spent the day on two rail trails, which sheltered us from any wind, and offered frequent shade.
Leaving Reedsburg.
The first was the 400 Trail, 22 miles from Reedsburg to Elroy, Wisconsin, named for a train that ran from Chicago to Minneapolis, Number 400, and that covered 400 miles in 400 minutes. We were quite taken with the little towns along the way, especially Wonewoc.
We saw some curious signs.
And several, which we failed to photograph, that we read as saying the night time speed limit for snowmobiles was 55. How fast do those things go anyway?
Union Center's post office wasn't much larger than a flat rate box.
The second rail trail, the Elroy Sparta Trail, claims to be the country's first rail trail.
Ice cream break and work interlude in Kendall. Thought you might want to see Roy's office on the road. We also saw Amish/Mennonite men selling fresh strawberries here.
Wilton's welcome wagon chronicles the history of the trail.
Three tunnels provided chilly relief from the heat of the climbs up to them.
The tunnels had doors on them to keep the winter warmth of the tunnels from melting the snow around and above the tunnels and causing problems for the trains.
The animals of the day were butterflies and moths of every color and size. Sometimes we thought we were seeing piles of leaves on the trail and they'd suddenly flutter to life and fly away.
The trailside wildflowers captivated us.
We are now on the outskirts of Sparta. It looks like two more rail trails are in store for tomorrow.