Let's take a ride: on Highway 131 through Crawford, Vernon and Monroe counties in southwest Wisconsin.

First, if you want to travel 65 miles per hour and drive a straight road, don't bother reading on. But, if you're willing to negotiate a few curves and hills in exchange for an 82-mile drive that will reveal some of the best scenery and interesting places in Wisconsin, continue to read and gas up the car.

The suggested way to catch 131 is to take Highway 60 west along the Wisconsin River. That route will provide you plenty of scenery in itself. Just north of Boscobel, you intersect 131. You might want to go across the river for a look at Boscobel, which includes a historic hotel, said to be haunted, and other attractions.

Once you head north on 131, you will climb out of the Wisconsin River Valley, into the hills of the Driftless Area. Take time to stop and take photos either to the west or east. These are the Ocooch Mountains, the closest thing we have to mountainous terrain in the state. They tower above the Kickapoo River Valley, one of the most scenic in the state.

You'll travel by Mt. Zion and eventually come to Gays Mills, recently in the news for flooding in August. You'll see very little evidence of that disaster now though, as the hardy folks there have been busy rebuilding and cleaning up.

A definite must at this juncture is to take a side trip up Highway 171. There you will find apple country, as hundreds of acres of orchards provide dozens of variety of apples. This is a spectacular drive in the spring, when the apple trees are in bloom, and a great route if you love good, crisp apples, especially in the fall. One of this writer's personal favorites is Plum Nuts, run by a fellow named Dick Wilson, who raises apples in Wisconsin and nuts in New Mexico. He sells both from his farm on 171.

After you return to 131, continue north to Soldiers Grove, known locally as Solar Town. When another flood damaged the town years ago, much of it was rebuilt on higher ground and many of the buildings use solar energy.

Not far north of Soldiers Grove is Readstown. There you can rent canoes or shop at Crazy Franks, a liquidator who sells things "for peanuts" and apparently has collected enough peanuts to have recently moved into a new building. A new motel is also under construction in Readstown. The Kickapoo Inn provides good home cookin' for any meal.

You'll be driving quite close to the Kickapoo as you continue north along 131 to Viola and La Farge. Watch out for wildlife, since it abundant in this area. You also will be traveling near the Blackhawk Trail, a route Chief Blackhawk took as he was pursued by the U.S. military. That exact route will be detailed in a future Let's Take A Ride column.

Just north of La Farge is the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, which has been profiled by this writer before in OMC. You can stretch your legs on a good hike there, and learn more about the unique geology and geography of the area in the headquarters interactive educational facility.

If that hike worked up an appetite, stop at the Rockton Bar, which has fish fries on Fridays, prime rib on Saturdays and during the summers a chicken Q which draws hundreds on many Sundays.

As you continue north from Rockton, you'll be driving a part of 131 that was "straightened" a few years ago. It still meanders like the river that runs next to it, and at times under it. This part of the river is prime canoeing area, and you can see why from the road, as limestone cliffs and woods line the waterway.

The tiny town of Ontario offers a couple places to eat and canoe rentals. You have to spend some time in Wildcat Mountain State Park just outside of Ontario. From the main observation point in that park, you can see for miles down the Kickapoo Valley and get almost an aerial perspective on the very terrain you have been driving through. Also visit the ice cave in the park.

North of Wildcat and Ontario, you encounter Wilton, one of the towns on the Sparta-Elroy bike trail. If you are a biker, this is a must.

Continue north to Tomah, where 131 ends. Here you can jump off on Highway 16 and head west to Camp McCoy and other places. Or head north to Warrens and cranberry country. Or, if you have now tired of country roads, jump on I-90 to head back to Madison and Milwaukee.

Highway 131 hooked this writer years ago. My wife and I traveled it as weekend visitors, eventually bought 12 acres only a few miles from it and now live in Westby, west of 131.

The winding road brings you through some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. You also should take time to make stops and talk with the folks in the area. They are friendly, interesting, often creative people.

You can find motels and B&Bs throughout the route. Perhaps the best place to find information on these is at hiddenvalleys.com.