It was a long drive to the Dells. Took us over 7 hrs but no bad weather, so we were grateful. Driving mostly interstates now on our way to Asheville, North Carolina. We prefer our little two lane country roads, but this is the way we are going now. The Dells are a very touristy area – I am not sure why this area became the Water Park Capitol of the World, but it is. There were at least 20 themed parks, a Ripley Believe it or Not, candy stores, pop corn stores (OK maybe we don’t have enough of those), scary buildings (like haunted houses). Not our cup of tea, BUT the Dells are beautiful. Years ago Marsha and I took a Duck tour in Boston, and had such a great time we said we’d do it anywhere they offered one. Well they did, and we did!
As you can you can see The Duck is an amphibious vehicle so it goes on both land and water. These are vehicles from WWII and they are a blast. This tour went on private land rather than the town’s streets. We zipped through a densely forested area then splashed into the river and then the lake – all the while the driver ( a college student) was providing interesting information about what we were seeing interspersed with corny jokes. It really was entertaining!
The Wisconsin River runs through the Dells. There is a dam right in the middle of town so there is an Upper Dells and a Lower Dells. The Duck went on the Lower Dells area – slow moving water, lots of trees, very pretty.
The next day we took the Upper Dells boat tour. Not a Duck but a normal tour boat. First time we tried is was pouring rain, so we went for a bite to eat. By the time we got back had much better weather.
This tour was the highlight of our stay at Wisconsin Dells. This part of the River was so cool! We went through the Narrows (river only 30 feet wide, with trees growing right down to the water). We walked up Witch’s Gulch, and saw some really cool rock formations.
The campground where we stayed was called Stand Rock. It was named after two large rocks near the River, about 60 feet tall. They have a trained dog that jumps from one rock to the other (didn’t get a picture if that). I guess a man used to do it but thought it was safer for a dog to do it. Anything for a tourist, right?
This special Cambrian limestone rock is only found in 4 places in the world. It is all along the river and creates some beautiful formations.
We’re dealing with more and more mosquitoes now. Making hanging out outside in the evening more of a challenge. We’ve only had one fire as once the sun is down, we are usually back inside. Again, before we know it it’s time to get ready for our next move.