Day 53 Wisconsin

I have seen Chicago many times, so I passed up driving through the city and instead headed straight north towards Wisconsin. This path took me through Rockford, Illinois. A few years ago, my sister Ginny, an avid genealogist, traced our ancestry back many generations and found that our great-great-grandfather, Lansing Porter, was the first pastor of the Second Congregational Church in the City of Rockford in 1849. After new buildings and some fires, the parish is still active, now called the Second Congregational UCC/First Presbyterian Church. Ginny arranged for us (including brother Jim and sister Cathy) to visit the church, and the parish historian was very happy to meet us and share more of the church history. Since I was driving past Rockford, I decided to stop and take a picture. I also noticed that the city had experienced major refurbishments since the prior visit and the downtown area was greatly upgraded.

When I made it to Wisconsin, I first stopped in Madison and visited Olin Lake Park, offering a nice view of the city skyline across the lake. I then drove through the city and took a picture of the State Capitol Building. It has been interesting to notice during my trip that many state capitols are not the largest city in the state.

I continued north towards Lake Winnebago, one of the largest lakes in the country, approximately 30 miles long, with an 88 mile shoreline, with hundreds of boat launches. Three of the state’s larger cities – Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac – are on the lake, on the northern, western, and southern shores, respectively. I drove counterclockwise around the entire lake. I drove past Appleton and then stopped in Oshkosh to see the shore from next to the Asylum Lighthouse. The lighthouse was constructed near the Northern Asylum for the Insane, which was eventually renamed to the politically correct title of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, but the lighthouse was never renamed and has also never been functional. However, the site has an awesome view of the lake.

Next, I drove south to Fond du Lac (translation – bottom of the lake) and stopped off at the city’s Lakeside Park, again with awesome views. Finally, I completed the circular drive to the campground at Columbia Park on the eastern side of the lake. This is a very nice little community park, with an observation tower on the shore. I climbed the tower and took a few more awesome photos before settling in.

Photos include the Rockford Church, the Wisconsin State Capitol Building, the Asylum Lighthouse, the Fond du Lac park and the campground tower, including a view of the shoreline looking north from the tower.