Cruisin' Madison

Every city has some pretty cool things about them which are not widely known.

One of those things in Madison is the Pontoon program by the Madison School and Community Recreation department.

The MSCR is offered by the Madison School District to offer a variety of recreation and enrichment activities for all.

Their pontoon program offers rides and rentals, but its the rides which continue to impress me.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings through the end of September, if you get there 45 minutes ahead of the 5:30 departure time you'll enjoy a marvelous ride on either Lake Mendota or Monona.

It's only $5 and you get more than your money's worth.

During the summer, there are two 90 minute rides at 5:30 and 7:15. (In September, there is just one ride at 5:30.)

For our last ride of the summer, we took the late cruise to enjoy the setting sun.

From the Tenney Park boat house, we went north up the Yahara River and through the Tenney Lock onto the big Lake of Mendota.

The cruise offers a new vantage point of the city while escorted by dedicated volunteers who drive the boat and offer stories about the landmarks and some high tales of the murky deeps beneath the boat.

Perhaps there are some gold coins somewhere along the bottom of the lake if one of the stories about a perilous trek in the 1800s is true and no one ever managed to fish the booty out of the depths.

Or, maybe not.

On the warmest nights of the summer, the lake offers a cool refuge - a getaway away from the hustle and bustle on shore.


We could hear the University of Wisconsin marching band on its practice field as we skirted the shoreline in front of the Memorial Student Union, Porter Boathouse, and Medical Center.

There was the rumble of boats and splash of its wake against the side of our craft.

The boat was full, but quiet as each of us enjoyed our time on the water looking at the surrounding beauty and the end of another summer day in Wisconsin.

More looks at some of those sunsets in an upcoming blog.