Often leaving by 3:30 am, I witnessed many sunrises and sunsets during my quest. It’s hard to explain how wonderful it is to see a full moon surrounded by wispy clouds to my west and a hint of pre-dawn pink on the horizon to my east.
I’ve found that it’s not the road itself, but the ”getting there” and what I found along the way that made traveling the Rustic Roads so important. Along these roads I found fawns with spots, clutches of young turkeys exploding into flight all around me, sandhill cranes almost close enough to touch, a bear with three cubs, eagles and a pileated woodpecker. Oh, and one badger. Along the way old school houses, barns, sunflowers and rivers became my guides, leading me from one road to the next, ’till all of Wisconsin’s 108 Rustic Roads were traveled.