Hayward, Wisconsin

We just spent two days in Wisconsin's North Woods. The topography's a little different for a New Yorker. We associate forests with mountains; here its forests & lakes and pretty flat land (at least where we are). Where we've been staying, Hayward, is a big vacation area (maybe year round). We're on the Namekagon River, which is part of the St Croix National Scenic Riverway, a big canoe area and even bigger fishing venue. In the Winter they hold what looks to be a major nordic ski marathon.

One thing that struck us about the Midwest, is how friendly and happy folks seemed at just about everywhere we stayed. (This might just be a lame tourist observation, but we wouldn't say the same thing about the West, for example, or for the part of the world we come from).

So we think there must be some good things going on in the Midwest, since people seem so agreeable even in places where the climate is just awful. Another tourist factoid: the Minneapolis area has extremely aggressive drivers, almost as bad as NYC. A little odd, since it's hard to figure where they're all rushing to.