Once again, I have to apologize for the lack of pictures. Since we spent most of the day on Interstate 90, there was literally nothing interesting to see.

If you’re only here for the pictures, the above is all I can supply.

One of the fine attributes of the Dunewood campground that I forgot to mention yesterday was the 9:00AM checkout time. Normally, this wouldn’t be any sort of trouble for us. We have been getting up between 5 and 7 AM every day. Wake with the sun, sleep with the stars. Except we had made a late-night trip to Chicago to see Kelsey, and we were tired. Because of the cool reception we had received from the camp hosts, I was pretty sure that the checkout time would be pretty strictly enforced.

It didn’t end up mattering, I was up at 6. For the last few months I’ve been getting up much earlier and feeling well rested. I don’t know why, but I’ll take it. We packed up our things (today this was a fairly involved process, since Paul used the time before we left for Chicago to unload and consolidate his belongings in the back), and took off. Because we were headed out of the Midwest as fast as possible, we ended up back on Interstate 90 West. Kelsey had mentioned a place called New Glarus, Wisconsin. New Glarus is Swiss settlement known for its meats, cheeses, and wonderful beer supplied by New Glarus Brewing, so we pointed Adelaide in that direction.

Getting through Chicago morning traffic with an overheating Buick (the radiator fans haven’t worked in a few days, likely a fuse) took longer than expected. By the time we got to New Glarus it was almost dinner time. The New Glarus Woods State Park (conveniently located near New Glarus Brewing) is a wooded area just out of the small town. We set up our camp in campsite 8, a nicely wooded spot, directly across from the restrooms. Paul wanted to try a traditional Swiss restaurant in town, so we drove back in and parked. The Swiss place was closed so we made our way to Paul’s second choice, Sportsman’s Bar and Grill. When we walked in I was hesitant, it was clearly a locals hangout. Turns out the natives were friendly, and they had nearly the full compliment of the brewery’s beer on tap. The bartender brought us (unsolicited) samples of every beer. A few of the specialty brews weren’t available in draft form, but everything that we did try was awesome. No one would mistake me for a big beer drinker, but I can admit to enjoying every beer I tried. Paul enjoyed himself, and bought tons of beer.

We headed back to the campsite, and I went to bed very early and read until I fell asleep.