Back in July I spent a few days in Wisconsin Dells. I had never been before, and didn’t really know what to expect. What I had heard about it in the past was that it was a giant tourist trap, but I couldn’t help but feel curious about it. In my mind it seemed like Times Square or Hollywood; I maybe wouldn’t love it, but it seemed like something I should see once in my life. It is considered the “Water Park Capital of the World” and since water parks aren’t really my thing, I wondered if I would find much to enjoy there. After a nice drive through the green beautiful farm land of Wisconsin, my mom and I made it to the Dells where we ended up having a really fun time! Even though summer is at its end, and Wisconsin Dells is winding down for their busy season, I thought I would share the highlights of what we did there.
MACS: A few hours after arriving in the Dells, we strolled around the downtown shopping district and stopped at this Mac & Cheese place for a late lunch. I ordered the Original MAC (which was made with cheddar and mozzarella) and my mom tried the Popeye MAC (which had provolone, mozzarella, sautéed onions, mushrooms, and spinach.) We were delighted that each order came in a little skillet and had a piece of toasted bread stuck into the ooey gooey cheese. My mom and I agreed It was a pretty delicious way to spend our first afternoon there.
As for other Wisconsin cheesiness, we also brought home a block of apple smoked cheddar from Carr Valley Cheese Co. (which was very tasty.)
Boat/Duck Tour: We felt for the full Dells experience, we needed to get on the water, so we went on both an Original Wisconsin Ducks tour followed by a Wisconsin Dells Boat Tour. The Duck tour consisted of going on both land and water around the Lower Dells. It was fast-paced journey through trails, rivers, lakes, and winding hills. The tour guide was definitely a bit of a comedian too, which added some extra excitement. This was my first look at the sandstone rock formations that make the Dells so unique.
The Boat Tour was a more leisurely voyage exploring the Upper Dells. We got off at two stops; the first at Witches Gulch and the second at Stand Rock. Witches Gulch was a brisk, mystifying, and green canyon that was my favorite part of both tours. Stand Rock did feature something extra special though; a German Shepard jumping from one towering rock to another!
Drive-In Theatre: When I was a kid living in California, many weekends we would go a drive-in theater in the area. It is one of those warm, early childhood memories that I tend to reminisce about. So when I saw that the Wisconsin Dells had a drive-in theatre, I was incredibly excited, since I hadn’t been to one (or even seen one) in so many years. Just like when I was young, admission included two movies. We chose the screen that had Jurassic World followed by Pitch Perfect 2. It was a lot of fun to sit back in our vehicle for the evening and feel like we were having a retro movie experience (plus I had some banana flavored cotton candy, which was quite a delicious surprise.) We were pretty exhausted by the time Jurassic World was over, so we left before Pitch Perfect 2 started (it was okay though, I had already seen that movie twice!) As we drove away, the intense Jurassic World music from the credits was still coming through the radio for a few miles, which was pretty humorous.
Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty: For breakfast one morning we went out for a big lumberjack meal. This place was pretty close to our hotel, so each time we drove by it, we discussed possibly going.Quite a few years ago we saw enjoyed seeing a lumberjack show in Minnesota, and my mom has also always been fond of Paul Bunyan and Babe, so we felt we had to try it (plus we could got wafts of the tasty smells of the food from outside!) It was essentially a large log cabin, full of unlimited food. After paying, we got our seat and our waitress first brought out a plate of buttermilk donuts. We got coffee and orange juice and then plates with potatoes, pancakes, sausages, ham, eggs, and biscuits and gravy came out. It was a perfect breakfast and we left very full and ready for the day.
Craft Mall: We had seen this advertised in a few of the brochures/booklets we had picked up about the Dells area, and we decided to track it down. We were a little ashamed because we literally spent over 3 hours wandering around and looking at all the items in the store. It was the perfect place if you enjoy anything crafty. The place was huge and unending, but right up our alley! I helped my mom pick out a few cute things for both her bedroom and living room. I also snagged a few things for my London-themed window project.
Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co.: On our final night, we had a fantastic pizza at Moosejaw. We had seen their delivery cars driving around town, with a giant moose straddling the top of the vehicle, which convinced us we had to try it out. The restaurant was really big, but featured a very cool environment with a cabin-feel. We had their vegetarian pizza, which was delicious and had a fantastically fluffy crust, and I also got a handcrafted grape soda. I always loved grape soda when I was a kid, but hadn’t had it in years, so it was fun to have one that was actually made on-site (I was careful to not get a purple mustache though!)
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