Wisconsin Round Barns

I had the good fortune to be invited by two friends to take a trip recently to Viroqua. After driving around for half an hour I remembered she moved about five minutes from my house.   
Oooops.  We made a couple of stops to shop and look at things before having lunch.
I was suspicious when she offered to pull ahead so I could more easily get into the car as I've been ditched before this way....but she really did wait for me.  The Viroqua area is known for it's Norwegian heritage and love of art. We stopped at the Viva Art Gallery and drank in the beauty. My favorite was the photography by Jamie Heiden.

It's also known for having one of the remaining round barns in Wisconsin, which apparently was part of their mission.  After traversing the countryside back and forth...and back and forth....we finally found it.  I jumped out of my car seat and landed in three inches of soft gooey muck, but avoided sliding completely down into the ditch.
Wanting to impress my friends with my knowledge of this bit of history I pointed out that round barns were banned after a certain period due to the deterioration of mental health among the Norwegian bachelor farmers.  It seems that they went insane trying to find a corner in which to relieve themselves.  I was very suspicious of her offer to pull the car out so I could avoid the mud after this groaner.  There was absolutely no traffic on this narrow country road the entire time we were photographing the barn and when I was trying to get into the car without tracking mud there was suddenly a major surge in traffic.  Okay, it was one car and a school bus but the red flashing lights on the bus were a little unnerving.
It was a day filled with laughter and sharing.
Long Live the Queen with Good Friends