STOUGHTON, WI

Pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111166&id=672758511&saved#

I headed south into downtown Stoughton and I was amazed. The town is as beautiful as Red Wing; with all the well maintained buildings from the late 1800s to early 1900s, but is comprised mostly of boutiques and art galleries. This is interesting for a small town which is so removed from a large city. Stoughton reminds me of Milan, MN in that respect.

As I walk all the way to the end of town, I find the Chamber of Commerce and feel compelled to walk in and let them know how I didn't take the time to visit their great little town because I was stuck out on the highway and there was no indication, marketing, or information provided to let me know that this amazing main street was only 3 miles away. It is almost the same experience I had in Red Wing, except local people in Red Wing openly told me all about their historic downtown district.

The folks at the Chamber were receptive to my input and we visited about my trip and their town and after a quick snack I was back on the road feeling dismayed at not taking or having enough time to visit and thoroughly enjoy their historic donwtown. I will have to attempt to revisit Stoughton sometime. Thank you, Erica, for your help in explaining the history of your town.

Today was only supposed to be 14 miles, but it felt like 140. About 8 miles from my destination, Edgerton, my body started to break down. I stopped every 45 minutes to change socks and rest. It was extremely humid and hot. The temps reached 85 degrees with NO wind or even a slight breeze and as I got closer to town, the elevation must have changed because it just became too oppressive (817 ft elev).

At dusk when I got within 2 miles of town, a man named Randy pulled over in his Jeep and mentioned he saw me walking earlier near Stoughton and inquired as to what I was doing. We spoke for several minutes while the mosquitoes had their way with me and as I said my farewells and began to trudge (literally) toward my destination, he offered a ride. I couldn't believe it; my first ride in WI from a WI'ite!

As he drove he asked about my trip and where I was going for the day. I talked with him about my change in plans thru southern WI; having to stay in hotels due to no parks readily accessible and/or near town. The only hotel he knew of was still another 4 miles out of Edgerton and near the Interstate! I was very grateful that he picked me up. I don't think I could have walked another 6 miles from where he had stopped to pick me up. Thank you Randy!

Speaking of my change in plans; normally I enter a town, ask a few questions, explain my situation, and a solution presents itself. This is not the case thru WI, so I now take the time to plan ahead. This is unusual for me and was not an initial plan for this journey. I preferred spontaneity and happenstance to planning and coordination, but I had suffered in the Marines and now I prefer a few creature comforts like a shower and food. This involves a little research on the internet followed by phonecalls to the local chamber of commerce, so we will see how this works out for Janesville, WI.