26-Nov-2025 -- Lucky to have a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday, I embarked on a road trip to spend the festivities in eastern Wisconsin, where a branch of my extended family lives. It was sure to be a relaxing, joyous long weekend and would provide for a fun little road trip from central Illinois to Wisconsin, two of my favorite states! However, traveling in the Upper Midwest during the cold season is rarely safe from Mother Nature’s wrath. Waking up that morning, a forecast of an isolated snow shower along a cold front passing through eastern Wisconsin had uptrended substantially–the National Weather Service now called for an impactful, lake-enhanced snow and wind event along Lake Michigan’s western shore; much of my planned route between Chicago and eastern Wisconsin would be hampered by a couple inches of snow, made infinitely worse by frontal wind gusts of 50+ mph (80+ kph). As I sat and pondered in the Chicago area during the late morning hours, I decided I didn’t want to test my luck by heading due north. This was one of the first snowstorms of the year (and a windy one at that), my route followed snow-enhancing Lake Michigan quite closely, and I-94 between Chicago and Milwaukee is already one of America’s busier freeways–the day before Thanksgiving would bring even more cars and trucks, many of whom may have been unfamiliar with these types of conditions. That would not be a very fun drive! Instead, I decided to head northwest on I-90 toward Rockford and then head northeast toward my final destination. Though adding about 3 hours to the journey, this route would almost totally eliminate the snow and give eastern Wisconsin crews a few extra hours to tackle the roads. Helping my decision was, of course, 43°N, 89°W: an easily accessible confluence that would serve as a good anchor–from there I could either bail west to Madison for the night if the storm overperformed or head northeast to visit my relatives.

The drive northwest from Chicagoland was almost completely snowless but extremely windy–luckly, a little wind won’t hurt anyone (or at least any confluencers)! My gas mileage being about the only regret of my decision to detour, I followed US Highway 12 west toward Jefferson County, of which 43°N, 89°W lies just inside the western border. It was around Watertown where a light snow shower ensued, but the roads stayed almost free of impact. Around this time, I got a call from a relative near Milwaukee warning me that the roads were terrible, again reinforcing my satisfaction with my routing decision. Heading west from Watertown, I was treated to a far more scenic drive than I expected–having a fair bit of cheesehead family and friends, I’ve seen quite a bit of the lovely Badger State, but until today I had little (if any) experience with the area between Milwaukee and Madison; I was quite impressed! The two-lane highway wound its way through dairy farmland interspersed with rolling hills, glacial lakes, and a couple one-stoplight towns already decorated for the holiday season–the dusting of snow that had now accumulated made this landscape look straight out of a postcard. Before long, I was approaching Cambridge and Lake Ripley, the twin towns that house 43°N, 89°W. Cambridge (pop. ~1600) is the business center (hosting a grocery store, gas stations, and a traditional downtown with a few restaurants and, in true Wisconsin fashion, numerous bars) and Lake Ripley (pop. ~1900) is an unincorporated but census-designated cluster of neighborhoods sporting a mix of traditional Midwest subdivisions and modest lake homes along, you guessed it, Lake Ripley, a glacial kettle lake that used to be home to numerous getaway resorts up until the mid-1900s. Today, its shore is more peaceful, consisting of a public park, a campground, and a few of those quiet neighborhoods, including Alpine Village, which plays host to today’s esoteric destination.

The subdivision’s main street, Alpine Village Lane, directly intersects US-12, making this confluence remarkably easy to reach. Arriving around 4:00PM this Wednesday afternoon, the neighborhood felt almost eerily quiet. I saw maybe 20% of the houses I passed show any signs of occupation, lending credence to my belief that this is a summer vacation destination (you’re telling me not many folks vacation to rural Wisconsin in late November?). Alpine Village Ln is quite the twisty road as it navigates the hilly lakeshore, and it conveniently dead ends about 60 feet (20 m) northwest of the confluence, so its cul de sac served as a perfect place to park for my very brief adventure. The point itself lies toward the front (i.e. street) end of the paved driveway of house N4290, an address that, as Joseph and Barb alluded to in the most recent visit, is remarkably close to the latitude and longitude of the point the property sits on. Heck, as the house sits south of the confluence, its latitude starts with “N 42.9…”! Basking in the marvel of this coincidence, I traipsed around the house’s driveway for a couple minutes, attempting to get my GPS app to zero out, a big ask considering I was in a local valley under (admittedly mostly bare) tree cover on a day with thick low-level clouds. Accordingly, I couldn’t quite get all zeros, but I got close enough. In any case, this confluence was remarkably easy to access, and it certainly surprises me that it hadn't been visited in over a decade. A 2020s checkup on this point was needed and successful–my 23rd confluence was complete!

This was my first time intentionally standing on 43°N, my second time doing so on 89°W (the first being my previous confluence visit 3 degrees south in Illinois), and my first confluence in the great state of Wisconsin. While this special occasion certainly deserved cracking open a Miller Light and donning Packer green and gold (sorry, that was cheesy), I figured it was best to leave the neighborhood rather quickly so as not to disturb or confuse any residents who may have been home enjoying their day. Furthermore, my heated car sounded quite nice, as temperatures were a bit chilly for late fall in southern Wisconsin–the mercury sat around 30°F (~-1°C), making this not only my first subfreezing confluence, but also the first where the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit was below both degrees of latitude and longitude! Snow flurries added to the wintry feel, though luckily the wind was barely noticeable despite the area being under a wind advisory for wind gusts to 50 mph/80 kph (this likely owed to a ledge just to my west, blocking my comparatively short stature from the biting gusts). Ready to go, I took one last gaze over the still-unfrozen Lake Ripley, its shore dotted with scant remnants of fall foliage under a dusting of snow–a quintessential late November Wisconsin scene, as the state boosts over 15,000 lakes (arguably more than its lake-obsessed western neighbor!).

Satisfied with this side quest, I left the neighborhood and traveled almost due north from the confluence along a lightly traveled mix of state and county roads all the way to Beaver Dam–this segment of my trip may have been more scenic than before. In Beaver Dam, I filled up the tank at the Wisconsin staple Fleet Farm, a farm supply store founded in nearby(ish) Marshfield (not to be confused with the almost-identical Farm & Fleet, unknowingly also founded in Wisconsin in the same year!). From here, it was an admittedly hairy drive northeast (the snow was still falling and blowing in east central Wisconsin) on the final approach to visit my folks. It was well worth it, though–a rejuvenating Thanksgiving was to be had, thankful for family, friends, a strong Packers season (it was nice to leave Bears country for a little bit!), and, of course, geography!