Day 81, Thursday May 23, 2024: Baraboo, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin
- Mark Carl Rom
- May 24
- 2 min read
Carnegie libraries visited: Berlin and Columbus, Wisconsin
Last night I chose to camp at the Devil’s Lake State Park. I couldn’t find my National Parks pass, so I had to pay both the day use and camp fees, totalling $53. Had I known it was that expensive before the park ranger filled out all the paperwork, I probably would have gone back to the hotel parking lot. I did take advantage of the park’s resources, eating dinner in the picnic area and climbing a trail to a bluff with a stunning view of the lake at sunset. I was hardly camping, though. I passed up the opportunity to build a campfire and instead watched another episode of Crash Landing On You from the front seat of Goldfinger. Instead of making myself a pot of coffee in the morning – I have all the necessary accoutrement – I drove back into town to grab a cup at the hotel. Was this just laziness, or was I treating this like another work day and not a vacation?
I’m not looking forward to my therapy session this afternoon (I attend solo sessions every other week and group sessions on the off weeks). My reluctance doesn’t have anything to do with difficult subjects I wish to avoid. It’s more along the lines of “I’ve been getting therapy (albeit off and on) for years, I don’t feel like I need it today, and how much longer will I need to be in therapy, anyway?” It’s like I want to go to the doctor more often when I’m sick than when I’m well, and today I’m not feeling sick. I know, I know, I should treat my therapist like a personal trainer (and I usually feel this way) rather than a doctor. One goes to the doctor when one is ill; one goes to a personal trainer to become yet stronger.
Devil’s Lake is only 40 miles from Madison, my destination. Rather than making a beeline there, I drove a 150 clockwise north, east, and then southwest. After the storms, the midwestern May day was crystalline, and I took pictures of libraries in Portage, Kingston, Green Lake, Berlin, Ripon, Waupun, Beaver Dam, Columbus, and Sun Prairie. Each library’s face smiled joyfully under the bluest of skies.
I didn’t go into a Carnegie today, as I wanted to be sure I was close to Madison by the middle of the afternoon. My therapist appointment is at four, I’m bringing takeout Indian food to my friends Jason and Julie in Madison at seven, and I’m planning to go to the Y for a good long workout between those events. I did stop for a while in the Sun Prairie library on the outskirts of Madison. The central hall has cathedral ceilings, and being inside I felt as if I were in a spiritual place.
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