madison to la crosse to minneapolis. miles 1237-1557.

after the brilliant breakfast at lazy jane's, i bid dan farewell and hit the road again. i entertained the idea of trying to head down to spring green for a brief look at taliesin/ house on the rock, but by the time i got on the road and filled the tank, i decided that i'd really much rather be on my way to an afternoon with cousin liz.

after another lovely drive through wisconsin farmland, liz and i went out for lunch in downtown la crosse, followed by a brief tour of the city on the way up to granddad's bluff, one of the bluffs looking out over the city. it was another scorching day, but it didn't take long to see the gorgeous view from the bluff. liz pointed out iowa, off tot he southwest, minnesota directly ahead and to the east, and the flooding in wisconsin all around.

so much crazy flooding.

plus, look at these equally gorgeous ladies :)

after just a few minutes in the sun, though, those gorgeous ladies needed to cool down. and what better way to relax and cool off than a bloody mary at the bar near the top of the bluff? liz's roommate bethany happened to be bartending that afternoon, and made us the best bloody mary i've ever had - complete with cheese and olive and jerky and pickle! and with such great company? nothing to complain about there.

all too soon it was time to be back on the road, but this time headed up to minneapolis to see brian! i managed to miss the storms, and most of the traffic, and made it up to brian's by early evening - *phew* i'd only been on the road since saturday, but after a whirlwind through lake michigan territory, i was definitely ready to settle in and relax a bit for a few days. thankfully, brian was more than willing to help :)