Sep 9, Thursday
Wisconsin Dells KOA
Arrived at the RV Park around 1:30 pm. After we checked in, we had to wait about 20 minutes to be escorted to our site because Class A decided to disconnect their towed vehicle in the middle of the road. After the Class A driver was finished blocking the road, we were escorted to a 40-foot gravel back-in pad on the top of a hill. The camping area had no shade trees, and all the sites were closed. We did have full hookups, though.
Original Wisconsin Ducks
After setting up, we headed to the Original Wisconsin Ducks ticket office. We bought a package deal that included a boat tour the next day on the Northern Dells. We were immediately escorted to a duck about to take off and sat in the back seats. The seats were close together, and my knees jammed the seat in front of me. After we loaded up two more couples, we took off.
The driver was young and started cracking jokes when we took off. We traveled down private roads through the woods, and he took the duck in and out of the Wisconsin River, Lake Delton, and the Lake of the Dells, showing us the various sites around the Lower Dells.
Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton
The Wisconsin Dells Parkway that connects the city of Wisconsin Dells and the village of Lake Delton is the center of most of the attractions in the area. Lake Delton seemed to have some newer and bigger attractions and more motels. In contrast, the Wisconsin Dells had a better downtown area, older established attractions, and were closer to the Wisconsin River. Some of the attractions had large displays outside them to draw in tourists, like the World’s Largest Trojan Horse and life-sized Colosseum facade (part of Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park) or the giant Transformers outside Top Secret, which looks like an upside-down White House.
Driving up and down the strip was fun, looking at all the attractions and hotels, especially those with unique facades or displays.
Downtown Wisconsin Dells
For dinner, we stopped in the original Monk’s Bar and Grill for a famous Monk’s Burger and some Monk’s 47 Amber Lager. Since 1947, they have been known for their “craft” burgers using Premium Wisconsin Cheese and their proprietary blend of fresh Midwestern ground beef,
Afterward, we walked about the downtown area. Most of the stores were already closed, which is one of the downfalls of traveling here after Labor Day. We visited the Glockenspiel but found that it did not network or even keep the correct time,
We found an open Mexican ice cream shop called Wichocana, so we both decided to try some. The store attendant said Mexican ice cream used more natural ingredients than American-style. Later, I learned it was closer to gelato and had less fat and air than the American style. There is also more stress on flavoring agents like chocolate, cinnamon, and fruit and less on mix-ins like candies and cookies. Lisa had a Mangonada, which she said tasted good but had a lot of chili pepper. I ordered a “Melado 3 Marias,” which was like a regular sundae, except they added cookies. The round ones were called “Marias.”
We were frustrated that everything seemed closed early, so we returned and got to the camper by 7 pm.
Sep 10, Friday
Upper Dells Boat Tour
This morning, we left early to get good seats on the Upper Dells Boat Tour. The boat docks were near downtown Wisconsin Dells at the bottom of a cliff, and at the bottom of the long ramp; we were greeted and directed to a bench in a covered area to wait. Unlike so many tours we had been on before, there was someone to greet us when we arrived and a place to sit while we waited. Unlike the crowded Ducks, these were roomy double-decker tour boats, and we could easily snag seats on the upper deck when we boarded. Over the next two hours, we were shown incredible Cambrian sandstone rock formations and stopped twice: once at the Stand Rock, where a photo by H.H. Bennett’s son was recreated by a dog jumping from one rock bluff to another, and a second shore landing at Witches Gulch. The narrator for our tour was an opera singer who was out of work for the summer because of COVID. Near the end of our tour, he gave us a small performance, which was fun.
Circus World
After getting off the boat tour, we headed south to Baraboo to see Circus World. The Ringling Brothers Circus began in Baraboo in 1884, and it was headquartered on wintering grounds until 1918, when it combined with the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The museum was opened on these grounds in 1959.
Today, the Circus World Museum encompasses several historical buildings with circus history exhibits, including the Ring Barn, Elephant House, Animal House, Baggage Horse Barn, Winter Quarters Office, and Wardrobe Department. There were several large exhibit buildings to include the Irvin Feld Exhibit Hall which houses the main circus history exhibits, the W.W. Deppe Wagon Pavilion houses a collection of fifty beautifully restored antique circus wagons, and the C.P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center where visitors can view restorations in progress. It was all fascinating.
AL. Ringling Brewing Company
The brewery is in a spectacular 12,000-square-foot red stone mansion built in 1905, home of legendary circus showman AL. Ringling and his wife, Lou. Later, it became the home of Ida Ringling North, AL.’s only sister. Today, it is a B&B, and they offer mansion tours. We learned that the plan is to turn it into a museum eventually.
This brewery officially opened in September 2020 in the former banquet hall of the mansion. It was massive, with the brew kettles on one wall, a calliope on the other, a long bar in between, and plenty of seating. We ordered a flight of beers that came on a black mustache tray. One of the beers we ordered was the historical “Ringling Family Original” beer that supposedly came from a folded piece of paper found in a wooden box unearthed from the floorboards of the Mansion during renovations. It was not very good, though.
Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co
We decided to eat dinner at Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co. It seemed like a popular restaurant, to which we were first drawn because of the funny delivery vehicles with full moose sprawled on top of them. It was decorated like a large hunting lodge, and it was obvious that they were used to having large groups. We ordered a flight of beers on a cross-section of a tree and a pizza. Everything was good, though the service was a little slow.
Cruise Night
After dinner, we saw people lining the streets like they were preparing for a parade. We learned that the Wisconsin Dells Parkway turns into a cruising strip for all the kids on weekends, and you will find loud cars driving up and down the parkway, which the crowds encourage. We tried to find a nice pullover to watch this action, and we were joined by a couple of other trucks that set up chairs, pulled out signs, and beer to enjoy the show. I was nervous about getting stuck in a rowdy crowd, so we decided it would be best to find something else to do.
Pirates Cove
Instead, we headed up to Pirates Cove to play mini-golf. We arrived an hour before closing, and the store was still busy. We picked a course that promised the best views of the Wisconsin River, but it got dark pretty quickly. We did have great views of the Parkway, though. Neither of us had played mini-golf in a while, so even though we had kept score, we decided not to determine our final scores.
Back to the camper at 8:12 pm
Sep 11, Saturday
Today, we decided to check out some of the quirky destinations south of us. We took off about 9 am and headed to the South Ferry Terminal in Lake Wisconsin.
Farmer Bob
Giant Farmer Bob was built in the 1970s and has been at this location ever since. The original owner had Farmer Bob built and displayed to attract customers for the business, which back then was a cheese and sausage shop. Now, it is a mobile gas station that even carries souvenirs of Farmer Bob.
The Merrimac Ferry
The Merrimac Ferry began operation across the Wisconsin River in 1848 as a privately owned ferry service. In 1924, it was acquired and operated by the Sauk and Columbia Counties. In 1933, the State of Wisconsin took charge of the ferry operation and made it Wisconsin’s only free ferry. In 2003, the Colsac III, a 15-car ferry, was christened and now makes the routine voyage across the river. We got on the ferry at the North Terminal, which took about 7 minutes to cross.
Dr Evermors Sculpture Park
Tom Every, also known as Doctor Evermor, was a former salvage operator turned self-taught metal artist who built a massive art park to show his creations. The signature piece is the Forevertron, which the Guinness Book of Records has dubbed the largest scrap metal sculpture in the world. Built during the 1980s, it stands 50 ft. high and 120 ft. wide and weighs 300 tons. The sculpture incorporates two Thomas Edison dynamos from the 1880s, lightning rods, high-voltage components from 1920s power plants, scrap from the nearby Badger Army Ammunition Plant, and the decontamination chamber from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. According to Dr. Evermor, the job of the Forevertron is to generate a “magnetic lightning force beam” that will catapult him to the celestial sphere. Dozens of intergalactic mechanical creatures, ranging from waist-high to over 30 feet tall, flock in clearings. The 70 “Bird Band” members are surprisingly lithe, made of salvaged musical instruments and gasoline pump nozzles. One towering Cello Bird is fashioned from tubs used to treat military burn victims.
We had a great time looking at all the sculptures. Everywhere we turned, there was another quirky art piece. We learned later that he just died the year before at 81 years old.
Epic Campus
We then headed to Verona, just outside Madison, to check out the Epic campus. The medical software campus, with a workforce of 10,000, is known for looking like a city out of a fantasy novel. Unfortunately, though the website seemed to indicate self-guided tours available on weekends, we could not find any information about it when we arrived, and all the buildings seemed closed.
Photo
Hubbard Avenue Diner and Bakery
It was past lunchtime, so we headed to this popular diner in Middleton. Though not an authentic historic diner, it had the classic 1940s American Diner vibe and offered classic diner entrees. It was especially noted for its pies; a case of beautiful pies on display greeted us. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table because we learned they were swamped later. After all, the University of Wisconsin had a home football game less than a dozen miles down the road. I was impressed that everyone wore masks and wore them correctly. I learned we were in the only Wisconsin county with a mask mandate. Lisa had a hamburger, and I ordered the “Meatloaf of the Gods,” which was relatively dry and not as good as advertised. We did not have any room left for dessert.
National Mustard Museum
Right next door was the National Mustard Museum. This museum showcases The Mustard by Barry Levenson. It was open to the public in 1992 in Mount Horeb and moved to its present location in Middleton in 2009. The collection has grown to over 5,000 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia. The main floor is a store selling mustard and mustard-related items, and the museum is in the basement. Though it was not that large, we enjoyed the mustard tastings in the store, watching the movies on how mustard is made, and seeing all the mustard displays.
Back to Hubbard Avenue Diner
Because Hubbard was famous for pies, we had to return and try a slice. This time, we did not have to wait for a table. The pies were as good as advertised.
Pinkie the Pink Elephant
A gas station near DeForest claims that its Pink Elephant was acquired in the mid-late 1960s to make its gas station stand out from the others on this intersection. The elephant has been here ever since.
Sissy the Cow
On the other side of the intersection is a giant cow. Sissy the Cow is a two-ton black and white Holstein that stands 19 feet tall by 20 feet long and lives outside of Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet in DeForest, Wisconsin. The statue was erected in 1969 and named Sissy after the store’s first owner: Lucille (Sis) Ehlenbach.
Merrimac Ferry
As we passed through Lodi, we stopped in Piggley Wiggley for groceries before continuing to the South Ferry Terminal to take the Merrimac Ferry back across the Wisconsin River.
We got back into the Wisconsin Dells around 6 pm and, after getting some gas back to the camper by 6:40 pm.
Sep 12, Sunday
Yesterday, when we were at Piggly Wiggly, we bought a Kringle for breakfast. The official pastry of Wisconsin, a kringle, is a Danish pastry made with buttery dough and lots of layers, making it light and flaky. The inside is filled with various fillings, such as fruits and nuts, and before the Kringle is baked golden brown and drizzled with icing. It was delicious.
After we got packed up, we left about 10 am and headed to Wyalusing State Park It was nice not having to visit the dump.