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Exit 113 |
N 43° 25.260' W 89° 28.492' | Poynette |
Poynette
This is a landscape heavily influenced by glaciers, and dominated by farms and small towns. You will see cows along this road. It is stereotypical Wisconsin. The Poynette stop is one of the busier rest stops. This stop and its sister stop of Portage, are the only Wisconsin rest stops that sit on three major highways, I-94, I-90, and I-39. Additionally, the busy highways 51, and 18 intersect within sight of this stop. Then there are the busy tourist areas to the north and the proximity of the state capital. In recognition of this, the Poynette site is one of the larger rest stops. It is also one of the few remaining stops that still offers racks full of assorted This is a rather transitional area. The prairie of the east and south begins to give way to the driftless area of the west, and the more wooded areas to the north. It is an area of countless small lakes and little rivers. This is the Wisconsin of cabins, resorts, tourist traps, and attractions like the Dells, Devil's Lake, and Parfrey’s Glen. The Poynette rest-stop has a tourist information center with reams of papers which will be glad to tell the native or transient visitor all about these places. |
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Parking
For automobiles, there are two parking areas adjacent to the freeway. This is angle parking, and sits right in front of the pavilion. The inner lot gives easy access, while the outer lot by the freeway takes up the overflow. The automobile area is far busier and more transient than While this is a rest area, and exists to prevent the danger of over tired drivers on the road, there are some limits. The limits are necessary to keep the facility available to those that need it. Most are a matter of simple common sense. Many are also the result fo federal regulations that define what services may be offered on federally funded highways. While there are picnic areas, camping here is strictly prohibited. This is in part to keep the parking and recreational areas open and free of campers, it is Needless to say, hunting is not permitted on or from these areas. Geocaching is also not allowed, and is treated as littering. So in addition to not being campgrounds, these are also not really recreational areas. The state tries to tread that fine line between allowed these to be areas to be used for multiple purposes, and restricting them so that they may be preserved for their primary function. At the same time, they must keep in mind the Like the freeways they serve, these lots are slabs of concrete rather than the asphalt or gravel of a typical parking lot. These are generally considered safe, far safer than the streets of most cities, and are regularly patrolled and monitored. This particular stop is also quite busy, so a fatigued traveler taking a snooze is unlikely to ever be isolated here. Overnight parking here, as well as sleeping are looked down upon, but are permitted as long as the 24 hour limit is not exceeded. While these spots are not meant to be campgrounds, safety is the top concerns, and I have never heard of anyone being harassed for sleeping here. Nobody wants tired drivers on the road. |
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Picnic Areas
This is a great place to stop for a picnic, weather permitting. The recycle stations make handy places to dispose of wrappings and garbage, so that it does not travel with you on your journey. The rest rooms are handy for washing up, and the vending machines are there to provide much of what may have been forgotten. The picnic tables are substantial, and are mounted permanently into the ground. I suspect this is due to the often un-staffed nature of these stops, and the requirement that they never close. I doubt many people would drive all the way out here to steal a picnic table, but dragging one off into the woods, where it will never be seen Some of the picnic benches and tables are mounted right on the wide walkways surrounding the pavilion. Others are mounted on individual concrete pads, set out onto the grass. This helps with ant and tick control, and reduces the possibility that a picnicker will be enjoying their meal in a puddle of mud or dust. While I see no signs or regulations against barbecuing, I see no place to dump hot coals, and suspect such a think would be difficult even if permitted. Of course, there are always those little gas grills. |
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Special use
Most rest stops feature areas where there are natural plantings to showcase the look of the land before settlement and farming changed everything. The natural growth areas lend themselves to walking trails. In the case of the Poynette stop, this is off behind the pavilion,. This spot takes advantage of a natural growth of spruce on a nearby hillside, to place a sign indicating the contribution of the spruce to the local geography, and to give some details about its properties. Another sign indicates the contributions to the founding of the nation, by veterans of the revolutionary army, who ended up living in the area that is now the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin did not exist as a territory until 1836, and did not become a state until 1848. So these men fought for a nation that did not yet exist, and then settled in a state that did not yet exist. Another marker honors Wisconsin members of the military, and recognizes that this freeway is the Wisconsin Veteran's Memorial Highway. Soldiers from Wisconsin, or the area that would someday become Wisconsin, fought in Every war the nation has ever fought, including the Revolutionary war. Also honored by a historical marker is Wisconsin's circus heritage. When circuses were in their prime, over a hundred of them started in Wisconsin, with many using the state as winter quarters during the seasons when travel was difficult. Most rest stops have pet walking areas. This gives pet owner an alternative to soiling the lawns or picnic areas. There are also some limited trails that could qualify as people walking areas, to let tired drivers stretch their legs a bit. While there is no camping, the picnic areas here are extensive. The Poynette picnic grounds were showcased in more detail above. Playgrounds are getting to be a more common feature at these rest stops. As these are rest stops and not public parks, the playgrounds are not particularly elaborate, but they are a welcome break for kids cooped up in a car for hours at a time. The little play area at Poynette consists of a padded ring within which is housed a kind of a climbing gym with slides. Outside of the padded area is a circle of concrete,and benches for watching parents. This will not be too thrilling to older children, who should be off on the walking trails in stead, but will be a treat for younger ones. |
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Pavilion
There are several public entrances, as well as a service entrance in the back. The main entrance is a well sheltered arcade, opening onto a vestibule with double glass doors. It is pleasantly shady in the summer, and helps quite a bit with the blustery winds and snow of the winter. I am always impressed with the massive construction of these places and the high build quality. The high ceilings and generous windows of the skylights, along with the glass of th The building is surrounded by walkways and has planters and even a couple of small lawns. A half wall separates the pavilion from the picnic, parking, and special use areas. It may also help to act as a partial windbreak. This massive structure, is overbuilt in the style of all government buildings, and cuts no corners. It will doubtless outlast those that built it. All entrances and areas are handicap accessible. All facings are made to require little maintenance. Stone and brick require no paining and do not rot. The metal roof will not leak or require shingling. The interior is similarly low maintenance. |
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Inside
As one of the larger rest areas, this stop has one of the larger pavilions. It is also somewhat unique in that it features a large collection of tourist literature. As a general rule, only the welcome center rest areas on the state borders offer this; but there are a couple of reasons for this. The Poynette rest These stops are also very busy.Not only are they in close proximity to Madison, the state capital, they are also on three Interstate highways, I39, !94, and I90. This is the route taken to the Wisconsin Dells, one of the big attractions of the Midwest. In addition to racks and racks full of brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and guidebooks, this stop offers the expected vending machines, rest rooms, message boards, and weather information. In common with many other roadside stops, there are pay phones with TTy capability. Literature is replenished daily, and is stored in closets behind the display racks. In basic design, this pavilion has a very high ceiling with skylight openings. and a bit of a tower, to let in even more light. This is supported by stone columns. This is one of the more striking designs, with an interior of stone and brick, with lighter colored walls higher up, and a ceiling lined with windows. Inside, the centerpiece is a large clock that takes full advantage of the high ceiling of the interior.The clock features a hammered metal profile of the state of Wisconsin. The interior is light enough, and large enough, that there are planters and trees, as well as benches. The design is a basic rectangle with wings, allowing for vending machines, restrooms, phones, and some other building features to be out of the main flow of interior traffic. In common with all of the rest stop pavilions, this building is built to last. It is a steel frame structure with poured concrete and then faced with stone, tile, and brick. A maintenance and utility section sits in the middle of the building, restricted to employees. This building is kept spotlessly clean and well maintained by a state program that uses various non-profit groups. These are paid through taxes and somewhat subsidized by profits from the vending machines. Many of the workers are supported by the American Council for the Blind, though other organizations are also represented. Drinking fountains, and tap water fill ups are located in several areas near the literature displays, as well as in the restrooms. Though not an official welcome center, this stop is so busy, that it seems to be regularly staffed, in contrast to most of the rest areas which are only intermittently staffed during cleaning or maintenance operations. It also seems to be a popular hangout for state highway workers, and is a regular stop for the State Patrol. . While there are vending machines available, Wisconsin, unlike some states, keeps commercial services and public services completely separate. This means no fast food, groceries, gas stations, or other commercial ventures are allowed at rest stops. Wisconsin also separates services for the opposing lanes of traffic, so that easy access is only available for one direction of traffic. This generally means that such stops are set up in pairs, usually in close proximity to each other, with each serving a single direction of traffic. While I noticed no diaper changing stations in the men's room, there are special family and assisted rest rooms that have them. The entire facility is handicapped accessible, and sits on one level. |