#14: [30-Nov-25]

#13: [26-Apr-15]

#12: [20-Aug-13]

#11: [13-Nov-12]

#10: [20-Feb-12]

#9: [20-Nov-11]

#8: [27-Jul-07]

#6: [22-Jun-07]

#7: [20-Jun-07]

#5: [19-Jan-06]

#4: [20-May-05]

#2: [01-Jul-01]

#1: [11-Sep-99]

#3: [15-Jun-04] (incomplete)

04-Jun-2026 --

43N 88W is part of a quartet of confluence points that all occur in the suburbs of a major Midwestern metropolitan area, those being Milwaukee (wherein this point falls), Minneapolis/St Paul, Chicago, and Indianapolis. As Bailey was in Milwaukee for a conference and as we'd arranged to spend a much-anticipated afternoon exploring the city together, we were presented with a perfect opportunity to visit this well-documented location and escape downtown for an hour or so. Neither of us had been to Wisconsin before this week, so an easy confluence visit was a natural addition to our whirlwind itinerary!

I arrived in Milwaukee during the early afternoon, following the second leg of a lengthy drive from North Dakota — my first foray into this region of the Upper Midwest. The Minneapolis skyline (sorry Fargo) and forested hills of western Wisconsin had been especially enjoyable sights, the latter's terrain more rugged than I'd expected to find out here; I-94 between Minneapolis and Madison follows the northern edge of the so-called Driftless Area, a region that wasn't covered by glaciers during the last Ice Age (in contrast to the surrounding Midwest). After Madison, the landscape was gentler and the population density higher, and within two hours I'd exited the interstate directly into the heart of Milwaukee. Bailey's conference had just wrapped up — it was high time to take an afternoon walk and go confluence hunting.

From downtown, 43N 88W is about 5 mi [8 km] straight as the crow flies, in the suburb of West Allis. It took us about 15 minutes to cover this distance in the mid-day lull of vehicle traffic, first south by way of an older area known as Walker's Point, then southwest toward the Kinnickinnic River. West Allis seemed a pleasant and mature suburb, the trees well established and homes well taken care of; the population here boomed during the mid-20th century (reaching a zenith in 1970), reflected by the distinctly 1940s/1950s road layout and house architecture (i.e., smaller lots, with homes often lacking an attached garage). Per Zillow, most of those nearest to the confluence point were built in the late '40s.

We parked the car beside the crossing of 70th Street with Harrison Ave, just under 300 meters south of the 43rd parallel. It was a beautiful (if not slightly hot) afternoon, the trees lively and green under a mostly sunny sky. Several front yards along 70th Street (the drivable incarnation of the 88th meridian west) were decorated colorfully for the summer, and we enjoyed the mix of flowers, pinwheels, and small banners — a wonderfully ordinary slice of middle-class Midwest suburbia. Just as the street started to bend northwest at its junction with Dreyer Place, the GPS indicated that we'd arrived at the confluence driveway.

As I started shuffling in pursuit of all-zeroes, we heard a lady helpfully calling to us from her yard across the street: "It's over there"! She was pointing toward the opposite street corner, northwest of the confluence — this is where the forward-thinking 1973 plaque is planted, a monument that predates the DCP by over 20 years. It was exciting finding out firsthand that the surrounding residents were aware of the esoteric significance of their street junction; we thanked her, as we intended to view the plaque shortly. (I also tried to explain our focus on this particular driveway, although that was difficult to articulate.)

A few moments later, the GPS achieved a perfect reading: Bailey and I now stood at 43N 88W, our first confluence point in Wisconsin! There was no movement in the house whose driveway we began taking the directional photos from, but a fellow on the front porch of a neighboring home noticed us — we were the second couple he'd seen visit this spot recently. The aforementioned plaque had been part of a scavenger hunt, though the others he saw were presumably unaware of the DCP. In any case, he seemingly found the occasional scavenger/confluence hunt visits amusing and wished us well. It was certainly good porch-sitting weather, the mid-afternoon temperature having climbed into the mid-80s [29°C] with low humidity and a light breeze.

Photos gathered and neighbors spoken with, we duly crossed the street to view the monument. As it was installed a decade before WGS 84 existed, it was about 20 meters from the GPS-defined 43N 88W spot — a tangible (and surprisingly marginal) example of how a coordinate point's physical location is dependent on the geodetic system used to define it (e.g., 43°N 88°W in NAD 27 ≠ 43°N 88°W in WGS 84 ≠ 43°N 88°W in WGS 60, etc).

We eventually looped back around to our car after walking a few more quiet, shaded streets, 20 minutes having passed since our arrival. Confluence visit complete, we headed back to downtown for some food and further exploration; at a stoplight on the drive back, I was treated to a great view of the Milwaukee Brewers's ballpark (located 4 km northeast of 43N 88W), where Bailey had seen an MLB game a few days prior. Although a Brewers game wasn't in the plans tonight, we enjoyed a pleasant evening meandering the footpaths along Lake Michigan, completed with a hearty dinner featuring two Wisconsin staples: cheese curds and Spotted Cow. Another state, another city, and another confluence point checked off of our list — it was a great day!