The Glacial Drumlin Trail
By Kathy. Filed in Uncategorized |
A farm along the Glacial Drumlin Trail.
August 27, 2010
I am on another rail-trail in Wisconsin, the Glacial Drumlin Trail. The trail follows an old Chicago & Northwestern rail corridor which stretches for 52 miles between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The landscape along the Glacial Drumlin Trail was formed twenty-five thousand years ago, when much of Wisconsin was under a great continental ice sheet. As the sheets of ice bore down on the area, they created wetlands, ponds, and rivers, and hundreds of low, cigar-shaped hills called drumlins.
I picked up the trail in the small town of Cottage Grove and cycled east along fields of corn. I ducked under a canopy of trees and skirted by wetlands full of tall green grasses. I stopped for a minute to rest and was attacked by a flock of no-see-ums. At mile 7, I arrived in the town of Deerfield.
For people’s enjoyment, the trail was lined with benches and picnic tables. I rode in an open field by marshland lined with yellow ragweed. At mile 15, I arrived at picturesque Rock Lake where people were just “messing around in boats.” Some were fishing, some rowing and others puttering around. The trail continued behind cottages sitting along the lake.
I cycled through Lake Mills and rode under a thick canopy of trees. A long wooden bridge escorted me over the Crawfish River, and then I skidded into the town of Jefferson, where I picked up the second half of the trail.
I rode by a field of Belted Galloway cows (Oreo Cookie Cows). The cattle had a wide, even band of pure white fur completely encircling their midsection. The rest of their body was solid black with no white anywhere else. They were awesome to see.
Finally, outside the town of Dousman, mile 38, the crushed stone surface changed to paved asphalt. I rolled down the trail into the town of Wales, our destination. Later that evening we met Howard Thiel, Executive Director of ST/Dystonia, in Mukwonago for dinner. We enjoyed a Wisconsin fish fry at Fork in the Road restaurant. It was a wonderful way to end our day. Thanks Howard!
God Bless,
Kathy
Proverbs 3:5
A weathered barn along the trail.
A field of harvested hay.
Guernsey cattle munch on wildflowers.
Belted Galloway cattle (Oreo Cookie Cows).
