ESSENTIALS - Wisconsin - page 801

Drivers in the state are very courteous. In fact, many acquaintances (like a brother in
law) of this author have grumbled about the, er, methodical pace of Wisconsin traffic. The
interstate arteries surrounding larger cities, especially Milwaukee, are the only places con-
ducive to speeding.
Road Conditions
ThestateDepartmentofTransportationmaintainsa road condition hotline [phone],
www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel ) detailing the conditions of all major roads across the state;
it also lists construction delays. Hit 511 on your mobile phone to get it.
It's important to winterize your vehicle while driving in Wisconsin. Always keep your
antifreeze level prepared for temperatures of -35°F (half water, half fluid usually suffices).
Most important: Keep a full tank of gas. It helps prevent freeze-ups in the line and lets you
run your car if you're stuck in a ditch.
BY BUS
You can always hop aboard Greyhound, but only as long as you're traveling to communit-
ies along very main highways. Lamers is a bus service traveling to and from central Wis-
consin to Milwaukee through the Fox River Valley.
The communities of Janesville, Beloit, Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Bayfield Pen-
insula have bus systems linking nearby communities. Madison and Milwaukee are linked
by the oft-running Badger Bus (608/255-6771, www.badgerbus.com ).
Outdoor Recreation
STATE PARKS AND TRAILS
“Work hard, play hard” is the ethic in Wisconsin. There's always a trail, a lake, or an
activity within shouting distance. Wisconsin contains a fairly remarkable 95 state parks,
forests, and trails, varying in size from Green Bay's 50-acre living museum Heritage Hill
to the 225,000-acre Northern Highland American Legion State Forest near Woodruff
and Minocqua. A state park lies within an hour of every Wisconsin resident, a deliberate
feature of the state park system; they've been dubbed the most diverse in the Midwest. A
fewofthem,like Devil's Lake State Park, Peninsula State Park, andthe Kettle Moraine
State Forest, for example, rival other major state parks in the nation. Since 2000, Wiscon-