Catching Up With Ourselves

We have been so very busy that we all have not had time to post. Our daily outings end with us exhausted and falling into our bunks, after just barely making them. The next day we find ourselves leaping up, doing laundry, showering, grabbing a bite, and then heading out for the next adventure.

So here I am helping everyone to catch up with us, and helping us catch up with ourselves.

We’ve traveled from Cleveland to Wisconsin Dells, WI (about xx miles) and then from Wisconsin Dells to Minneapolis, MN. (about xxx miles). Tomorrow we head out from Minneapolis toward Chicago.



The rain rolled in on Tuesday, just as we boarded Duck Boats in the Dells. Ducks are those WWII leftovers used throughout the country as land/water touring craft. They look like an oversized aluminum fishing boat with wheels. With the pouring rain pounding on the canopy top, the driver rolled the plastic sides down in the vain hope of keeping us dry. There are at least three Duck boat touring companies, and they probably own most of the 60 year old amphibious vehicles that were manufactured for the US army.

The ride was nice, through the woods, into Delton Lake, down the road, and then into the Lower Dells. We saw some beautiful rock formations, where the dessert sands of North America layered up over thousands of years, and the glaciers uncovered them and eroded them away.

Kathy, who spent some childhood vacations in the Dells, says the place has changed very much.

For my part, I think there has been a lot of very poor planning, and that the natural landscape features are being ruined by over development of tourist attractions and by Duck boats driving across the sand bars and into the Dells.

Enough soap box!

We visited “Top Secret”. Others can fill you in, but I have this to share with you:

Kathy: “Why is there a gorilla in a jail cell in the basement of the White House?”
Emille (our tour guide): “Top secret, mon.”

Later we went to the waterpark Mt. Olympus and rode a couple of roller coasters (wow! Almost too much for this 52 year old). Then we went back to the campsite and K&K cooked Dutch Oven chicken (which took longer than we expected).

On Wednesday we spent the entire day in Mt. Olympus, doing water slides, lazy rivers, and wave pools. In the evening we say a hypnotist show, and Logan was hypnotized on stage. Very amusing. The dinner at a Mexican restaurant was very satisfying and filling.

Thursday was a travel day. We woke up later than usual and had a big breakfast and did some laundry. We traveled for about five or six hours, changing drivers every two as we usually do, and arrived at our campground in the early evening. The past two campgrounds have been KOA's; very reliable and clean. This site (and all the rest) is not KOA, but it is very clean and quiet. They have a community campfire each night.

When we were informed of the location of the storm shelter, we were reminded of the fact that here in the Mid-West tornadoes are a frequent and very real danger. None for us in our forecast though.

Well, that's enough catching up for now. Tomorrow, while we are on the road to Indiana, I will post about our days in the Minneapolis area.

Ken