2008-12-20 43 -89

Sat 20 Dec 2008 in Madison: 43.0138231, -89.3421750 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Participants

Bill Minser and the Napping Toddler
World Travelling Sam

Plans

Ah, a spot close to Madison. So the snow is falling. It's Wisconsin and it's December.

Expedition

What a beautiful day. The snow was falling in that way that muffles sound but doesn't blow into your eyes. We pulled off the road and parked the van. Random guy with in a pickup stopped to see if we were okay. Despite the short drive, the toddler was already asleep so Sam and I had to decide. Wake the baby or take turns going to the point? We chose the latter.
The first step was getting into the cornfield. From the road, it was about eight feet up, through a ditch with eight feet of snow, and over a barbed wire fence. No problems. Then Sam crossed the field to the point while I watched him with one eye and the van(baby on board) with the other. Now I know how silly it looks when you walk back and forth trying to get the GPS to read "0 feet to waypoint." Sam waved his arms like he was landing a plane. Just a black spot barely visible through about 500 feet of blowing snow.
When he got back, I took a hike. The "flat" cornfield was really a series of ditches that were full of snow. Every so often, my foot just sunk through. The point itself was on a break between two fields. Trees. Tall grass. Just up the hill was a flock of very cold looking geese. That didn't move. I walked toward them. They didn't move. Eventually I figured out that they were decoys and that the fallen trees nearby were really a hunting blind. Is it goose season? I decided it was time to trudge back. When we opened the van doors, the baby woke up - reasonably happy. Now, where to find pie? We drove south to Oregon hoping to followup on a good recommendation for the Firefly coffee house. Unfortunately, it was closed. Across the corner was The Brounx(sp) cafe, which claimed on their sign to have the world's best pie. While our skepticism was confirmed, the pie was certainly acceptable.
Successfully reached the point and successfully found pie.