Big Country

Wisconsin – Eau Claire and La Crosse

Day Five

We left Chicago in a slow crawl, not exactly eager to leave a place that we’d enjoyed so much. We figured that the drive from Illinois to Eau Claire, Wisconsin would take us about four hours and change, depending on traffic. Unfortunately, having yet to replace the atlas that we left at home, we were forced to do some guesswork once I-90 split off from I-94. The Google Maps directions that we’d copied down weren’t exactly helpful, either, and so in a split-second decision, we chose I-94, which supposedly went to Eau Claire.

While this was true, we eventually learned that 90 would’ve cut off about two hours of driving, and that the drive would’ve taken the four hours that we’d anticipated. Instead, we had the pleasure of driving for six hours through Wisconsin. While it wasn’t exactly a welcome change, the drive wasn’t terrible, and we arrived in Eau Claire to a homecooked meal and cold Wisconsin beer, care of our good friend Meredith. We also had the chance to head over to the local bar that Meredith and her friends often frequent, called “The Joynt”. It was a pleasant surprise to see a packed bar in a little town, full of good people and with a neon sign on the wall that read “No Light Beer”. It was our kind of place — not to mention 75 cent drafts and 5 dollar pitchers of local brews. After tossing back a few drinks, we headed back to the apartment and went to bed.

Day Six

We woke up relatively late, as we have been making an awful habit of doing nearly every morning. Living out of a car is somehow incredibly exhausting, and so we’ve been waking up to eachothers’ snoring every day. After some coffee, breakfast, and planning, we hopped into Meredith’s car to drive up to La Crosse, where the mouth of the Mississippi is. It was a lengthy drive, but the long fields and scenic views made it all worth it.

Before getting on the road, however, we made a quick pit-stop at the Savers thrift store in Eau Claire, to stock up on some more cold-weather clothing. Brian found a flannel (see video) that seemed to suit his needs, and I bought a couple of cheap sweatshirts.

There is something interesting about driving along backroads in Wisconsin, where you become sort-of hypnotized by the seemingly endless fields. There isn’t much to listen to on the radio, as we soon discovered, but there is plenty of time to talk and think. Amidst all of the pretty empty space, we stopped into a Norwegian restaurant called the Norske Nook (pronounced ‘nor-skee’). After a big helping of what was essentially Norwegian meatballs, potatoes, and gravy in a wrap, we had some of the best pie we’ve ever tasted, and got back on the road.

As the sun began to go down, we arrived at the Mississippi in La Crosse, and went for a quick walk up and down the water. Determined to make it to the La Crosse Bluffs by nightfall, we packed into the car and drove a detoured road up to the top, for a great view of the city at night.

After a long day, we drove back to Eau Claire, and went to sleep.

Day Seven

We woke up late again, and elected to stay in-town for the day, to photograph and, essentially, stay away from long drives.

Meredith showed us around her town, taking us over to some parts of the Chippewa River. We rolled up our pant-legs and took off our shoes to go for a walk in the shallows, which were ripe for photographing. It was a generally cool day outside, and there was a cool breeze, making for comfortable walking. I brought my view camera out into the river with me to take some pictures and I realized how good it felt to be out on the road, experiencing all of these places for the first time, soaking up everything that we could with good friends. The United States looks a whole lot different from the ground, that’s for sure. The people in the midwest have been some of the most kind and hospitable folks that we’ve met so far. Certainly leaps and bounds from the bitter moods of the Northeast.

Don’t get me wrong, I love New England like none other, but it’s sure nice to gain a sense of understanding of the rest of your fellow people. People are a whole lot more kind than we’re led to believe these days — far more likely to offer a smile in passing than a scowl. While we’ve certainly felt our share of judgement here and there, our trip on a whole has been a comfortable experience, like eating a big meal, or having a good conversation.

After wandering about, we headed back to the apartment to settle in, electing that on Day Eight, we’d be driving across the entirety of Minnesota and into South Dakota, the state where I’m currently typing from. We’re now two timezones away from home, and it’s hard to believe that we’ve come this far (over 2,000 miles to date.) We certainly have a lot of road left, but morale is very high, and this landscape just keeps getting more and more amazing.

Some people have been asking about why we don’t update more frequently, and the simple answer is that we can’t. Now and then we find some wi-fi to leech off of, or our place of residence has it, but we’re doing most of our typing, image editing, and video editing from the road. Having a laptop on your lap while piecing together video from the passenger seat of a small car is always interesting. Feel free to send us any other questions, and we’ll be sure to respond to you as soon as we are able. The updates regarding our South Dakota should be up in a few days — we’ve got the Badlands National Park to explore today, which has been the most incredible thing we’ve seen yet. It just keeps getting better.

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