Callie would happily go along on Meetup hikes. Unfortunately, she does not play well with others, and I knew that one of the hikers was bringing a large dog.
As a compromise (yes, Callie negotiates), we got up early and hiked 2.5 miles in the dark before the sun came up.
This is the intersection of Columbus and Main Street in Lodi. It's a strange place. Highway 113 (Main Street) northbound is to the right, while southbound is to the left. Main Street has the right-of-way and has no stop signs. Columbus Street ends at Main Street and has a stop sign. There is a slight bend to the left as one moves northbound on Main Street.
Without explanation, northbound drivers often stop even though there is no stop sign. This confuses the the drivers on Columbus Street who sometimes then pull out from the stop sign without having the right-of-way.
To make matters even more confusing, there was a long time tradition in Lodi for southbound drivers to do a U-turn in the middle of the intersection in order to pull around and park on the east side of Main Street. My coffeeshop customers often did this. At least one police chief tried to stop the practice, but that did not go over well, so the custom continued.
Despite all of the confusion, I've never seen an accident here. People are moving at less than 25 mph, so traffic manages to sort itself out.
That little pink blast of colors from the sunrise was gone in just a few minutes. The rest of the day was cold and overcast. Eight people ventured out for the Meetup hike in Middleton, Wisconsin. I usually like to hike alone, but I've been forcing myself to get out into more social situations, as it's clear that some of my social skills have deteriorated during the pandemic.
It was a good small group of mostly older people like myself. We put in six miles on the paved trail running along Pleasant Branch Creek in Middleton. Temps were in the low 30's, and the hike took about two hours, including a break at the half-way point. Rain and Snow is expected for the next three days.
