20060813 - Wisconsin

8/13 This week we drove from Wisconsin Rapids to Wisconsin Dells and then spent the week in the Dells. We are staying at the Christmas Mountain Village. We almost didn’t end up here when we passed the resort without seeing it. It is very difficult to turn around with the fifth-wheel. First we did not see the turnoff, then when we got into the resort the signage was so bad that we could not find the campground area, and finally we missed the registration office. Other than the signage, it is a very nice resort. They have a Golf Course, Swimming Pools, Tennis Courts, an Inn, Villas, Cottages, RV Sites and Tent Sites. We did some fun things, some busy things, and some restful things. The weather has been very nice, much less humid and very comfortable.

The first fun thing we did here was go to see the House on the Rock. 25 years ago as we were leaving Alaska Rich and I took a year off to travel through the US and Mexico. At that time one of the places we visited was the Wisconsin Dells, and one of the attractions we saw was the House on the Rock. We went to see it because it was a starred attraction in the AAA book we had on Wisconsin and although it seemed dumb to us, AAA was usually right with their recommendations. They were again, it was awesome then and it is still awesome. The house was built in and around the rock and there was an amazing infinity room (see picture below), but that was not what made the attraction exceptional. What made the attraction exceptional for me was the collections, the method of displaying them, the amazing music machines, and most of all the Organ Room. The collections include (but are not limited to): dolls, doll houses, model ships, miniature circuses, weapons, and carousels. Many of the collections were displayed in store front old fashioned shops on a small town street. The music machines were everywhere and many were life-size. And the Organ room was like walking into the center of a huge music box with sound all around you. It was awesome.

Another fun thing we did was in Wisconsin Dells itself. Wisconsin Dells is a big destination resort in the Midwest. It’s like a Las Vegas for families with kids. It is wrapped around the Wisconsin River. There is a dam on the river so there is an lower river, a lake, and an upper river. There are many (seems like millions) Hotels, Motels, Inns, Resorts, and Camping Parks. Almost all of them have some kind of water feature. Most have pools, many have slides, and other water toys. In addition to all of the places to stay there are many, many places to play. There are all kinds of Water Parks, Amusement Parks, and Fun Houses. There are Golf Courses seems like everywhere. One day we drove around town so I could take pictures of the town. We decided to take the Wisconsin Duck Tour of the area. It is a tour of some of the back areas in and along the Wisconsin River. The Ducks are military vehicles that run on tires on land and are water proof and have a propeller for the water. We traveled through the lower river as a boat, then on land around the dam as a truck, then into the lake as a boat, and then along side the upper river as a truck.

I apologise to those of you who prefer single pictures but these destinations seems to me to call for multiples..