Welcome to Wisconsin

Greetings from Prairie Duchien, Wisconsin! I'm happy to report that Dad and I have made it here safely, despite the fact that we stayed in a motel last night where I feared for my life. "Tower Motel" was our lodging for last night in Dickeyville. This place was probably built in the 1950's and...that was probably the last time it was cleaned. The curtains were broken, the shower was absolutely DISGUSTING, and there was no phone. So, if you get shot in the middle of the night, you wouldn't even be able to dial 911. Great. It cost $45 which should tell you something. Tonight we are in the Super 8 Motel which seems like "The Hampton" compared to last night. Anyways, we are getting closer and closer to Minneapolis! We are hoping to be on the outskirts of the twin cities by Saturday. This means a lot of hard work for the next three days, but I'm looking forward to a much needed rest day. (You may be thinking, "Why would she need a rest day? Isn't the trip over?") NEWSFLASH: We are no longer ending the trip in Minneapolis, but going further north to Lake Itaska, the source of the Mississippi River! It will take another 5 days of riding, but Dad and I are ready for the challenge! Let's talk about some of the conditions we've been facing the last few days! WIND, WIND, WIND mixed with RAIN, MORE WIND, and DOGS THAT WANT TO KILL ME!!! I don't know WHY, but for some reason, dogs tend to gravitate towards me when they are looking for someone to attack. The other day, we were riding down a hill and this crazy dog comes up to me and Dad barking loudly and frankly, being a little obnoxious. I had my feet ready to kick it whenever it would try to bite me. Dad had trained me to do the whole "look it in the eyes, yell, slap your leg" thing, but I panicked and just started making this random squealing noise and let Dad handle it. Anyways, we survived. Then, TODAY this dog jumps out of the bush and starts semi-attacking me. Dad was back taking a picture about a 1/2 mile back, but my survival instincts kicked in and I started yelling, "C'MON CHOPPER!!! YOU WANT TO TRY AND ATTACK ME, DO YA? C'MON, LET'S GO!!!" multiple tiems. Like father like daughter, I guess. We are in Wisonsin, and still facing STUPID HILLS that make me want to swear!!! In our guide book, it said that once we made it to Cassville, it would be flat terrain for the rest of the way. I was VERY excited about this. (See picture). However, the author simply lied to us. Flat out betrayed me. Not only were we facing hills, but they were MASSIVE and it took every fibre in my being not to say the F word. I confessed this to Dad. He said he was proud of me for keeping the profanities to myself. One of the highlights of the past few days has been the beautiful trees that we've had the pleasure of riding underneath because of the bike path. I've decided that I will be having my wedding photos done in Fulton, Illinois because of this. Don't even worry about it.
Tomorrow, we are heading to Onalaska, WI. It's a longer day today, but I think we will pull through!!
A
P.S Dad and I have realized how much we LOVE ice cream! We eat it at least once a day and we seriously CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT!!!!


Our first break of the day. Of course, we were eating ice cream!

Stoked to be in Wisconsin!!

Wedding Photo Trees...I'll work on finding a husband later...


All ready for the rain!!