Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin

This was our day yesterday….

We are headed to Prairie du Chien to meet the police chief there. We met Detective Polodna first and he went in to find the Chief. Chief Abram came out and we told him what we were doing. We talked at length and he told us about the police department there and how it was founded in 1673. One of the first officers down was shot by an arrow in 1844. This was the memorial set up for him.

We traded patches and coins

and took a picture outside their beautiful building. Thank-you officers for your generosity and the job you do!

Then it was on to Madison to meet Gordon Govier. He was an announcer on the Christian radio station back when we did our first trip 27 years ago. He did weekly updates on the radio and interviewed Bill over the phone. And that was pay phone days! LOL! He has followed this trip on Facebook and since we are so close, wanted to see him. We messaged back and forth and found out his brother was the retired sheriff of Prairie du Chien! So Gordon called him and we arranged to meet in the parking lot of a local motel. When we first arrived, we saw a couple on a Harley and Bill flagged them down thinking it was the man we were supposed to meet. It wasn’t him, but we talked for a bit and found out we both have sons in the military that we are proud of. Bill gave him one of our military challenge coins for their son and a patch for them.

They rode away just as Keith Govier drove up and we talked for a bit. We gave him a patch and got a picture and were on our way.

We saw a police car parked on the side of the road in Fennimore, so Bill stopped and talked and said Thank-You. Thank-you sir!

Bill drove into Madison and it was a good thing as it was really tricky pulling our little beach house on wheels through the city. We met up with Gordon Govier at his work

and we walked over and had lunch together at the local supermarket. How nice it was to reconnect after all this time. While we were catching up, a female officer walked by and Bill and I walked over to thank her. Officer Corcoran, or Queen CC, is with the K-9 unit and was moved by what we were doing. Thank-you for the job you do!

We were glad that we could be an encouragement to her. After lunch, we parted with Gordon to meet later for dinner. We found the police department and there was a place big enough to park right across the street. Had to pay 3 meters we were so long. After wandering through the halls for a bit, we found the office of the Assistant Chief of Police, Randall Gaber. After talking with him, he expressed how much he appreciated what we were doing and how much his officers needed to hear it. He gave Bill a water bottle, me a coffee cup and we traded patches and coins.

I shot a photo of him and Bill together,

and he handed us over to Lt. Kelly Donahue. Thank-you sir for your generosity to us and for the job you do! One of the officers had called 27 WKOW and they were sending someone over to do a story in about an hour. We waited inside and Officer Donahue checked in on us once in awhile until the newsman arrived. Hunter Saenz was the reporter that came by and he did a fantastic interview and did some great filming. Thank-you Hunter, great talking to you!

He interviewed Officer Donahue too, but it was unfortunately cut from the final clip.

She is a kind and caring officer and it was a pleasure spending time with her. Thank-you dear lady for your generous heart and for the job you do!

We said heartfelt good-byes and headed to Lake Farm County Campground in Madison. After cleaning up, we met Gordon Govier for dinner and more catching up. It was good to see him and he had been quite helpful in notifying the media and even finding a campground for us. Back to the camper for some much needed rest and Bill will be heading south on a bike trail for most of the day tomorrow. Thank-you for reading.