When I travel, I am always looking for pies, but on a recent trip on a recent trip to Madison, Wisconsin I was also looking for prairies. Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin which has done the pioneering work in Forest Ecology and Prairie Restoration, and since it was late summer, the fields of grasses and prairie flowers were showing off their best colors and designs.
People: Landscape architects and prairie conservationists such as Aldo Leopold, John Curtis, and Darrell Morrison. Establishing or restoring a prairie is both art and science requiring an understanding of the history of the land, soil requirements, specie selection and esthetics. The prairies we visited drew on the expertise of these scientists and landscapers.
Places: Prairies. With sister, granddaughter, and cousins who had gathered in Madison, we started our prairie experience at the Curtis Prairie at the UW Arboretum. This prairie was a vision of Aldo Leopold whose idea was to restore a prairie that included native prairie species. His work was implemented starting in 1936 as John Curtis began his research on the process of restoration and plant ecology, and we enjoyed a hike on the trail that winds through this oldest restored prairie named in his honor. 
In Verona, just outside of Madison, we visited the Epic Systems Campus of the woman-owned company that develops software for health care agencies. Using the readily available bicycles, we took a self-guided tour of the 1,000-acre prairie which is designed to inspire its 10,000 employees. 
We ended our Prairie Journey at the Elvehjem Museum on the UW campus. The site-specific installation, Ode to a Prairie, was a fitting finale to our prairie explorations. 
Pies: On our drive from Indianapolis to Madison, Jill remembered that the Steam Plant Restaurant in Belvidere, IL had a refrigerated pie case; we immediately took the exit. The oatmeal pie and a cup of coffee hit the spot. And while we were looking for prairies, we also found a chocolate pie to celebrate a birthday and an Oreo cookie pie to finish a lunch. On the day when there were no pies in sight, we had a cup of Pie Overload ice cream!
