TRAVELING THE 100 MILES or so between Tomah and Oshkosh, Wisconsin, can get downright tedious.
My husband and I have driven that stretch of narrow Wisconsin State Highway 21 numerous times in the past three years en route to and from Appleton, where our second eldest daughter lives.
With lots of small towns to filter through—and you know how much I appreciate small towns, unless I’m on a schedule, which we typically are—and a roadway that rates as heavily traveled and usually impossible to pass slow moving vehicles, this section of the trip is often taxing.
So we divert ourselves by trying to appreciate the sites around us, although not always pleasant. The shoulders and ditches of Highway 21 are often littered with deer carcases. Better a dead deer than one walking/running into the path of our van.
Sometimes we play a game, seeing how many dead deer we can spot. Yes, I know. Whatever works to pass the time.
I typically rest my camera in my lap, too, ready to capture whatever I find intriguing, in other words potential blog material.
My single Wisconsin Amish photo during our most recent trip shows an Amish buggy in a farmyard and an Amish teen standing next to a small outbuilding.
Typically I am on shutter button alert around the Coloma area, home to many Amish.
But anything out of the ordinary can cause me to raise my camera and shoot.
Photographed just east of Coloma.
How often do you see a pink semi cab?
The weaving truck, right, in Wautoma.
Or a truck with boats aboard weaving through traffic in Wautoma like some some speed boat on an area lake?
I really should have photographed the crazy multi-lane roundabouts near Oshkosh. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation seems to fancy these traffic intersectors with more than 200 constructed in the state, many in the Fox Valley area where we travel. In contrast, Minnesota has about 120.
While I understand how roundabouts enhance safety, that does not make them any less scary, especially during rush hour. Suffice to say, you best know which lane you need to be in, something not in the knowledge bank of out-of-state drivers like us encountering a particular roundabout for the first time.
In summary, though Highway 21 proves a long drive through central Wisconsin, I manage to keep it semi interesting by scouting for blog material.
FYI: These photos were shot during a March trip, thus the snow you see in some of the images. Check back for additional posts this week from that visit to eastern Wisconsin.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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