Two More Days in Cross Plains

Returning to the Ice Age Trail Alliance Headquarters on a sunny Wednesday morning, Greg and I set out to complete the next part of the Cross Plains segment. Leaving the beautifully landscaped building, we crossed a bridge over Black River Creek, walked along a paved trail and through some neighborhoods before entering the woods at the John I. Hillebrand Glacial Valley Conservancy. It was a peaceful, hilly, and very pretty trail that led us to Highway P.


 Crossing over the highway, we entered a large cornfield that brought us to Mammoth's Back Preserve, an area "covering over 100 acres of remnant bluff prairie, an essential habitat for native plants and wildlife communities" according to the Ice Age Trail website. The trail dropped us off at Stagecoach Road, a connecting route that led us past turquoise colored Lake Katherine that reminded us of the water we saw when we vacationed in Aruba. Eventually, we turned right onto North Birch Trail, passing more farms and some private homes before reaching our second car which we had parked at the Glacial Passage Area trailhead.




On Monday, July 14, we were determined to complete the Cross Plains segment. We left one car at Shoveler's Sink off Timber Lane before driving back to the Glacial Passage Area. It was warm, muggy, and buggy as we quickly discovered. Greg had been carrying insect repellant in his backpack for over a month now, and today was the first time we really needed it. We had some rain over the weekend, and the mosquitoes were out. We hiked through muddy woods and fields of wildflowers before taking Timber Lane back to the parking area. 



We ended our morning with a delicious lunch at Crossroads Coffeehouse in Cross Plains.



"Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson



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