Day Sixty-Eight

Day sixty-eight we took a ride on the Dells Ducks.  They took us on a little tour of the area, and then we rode in Lake Delton for a while.  An interesting fact:  Lake Delton is a man-made lake, and in 2008 there were some horrendous rains and flooding that washed away their levee, so the lake actually drained!  After the levee was repaired, the lake filled back up in about a  month’s time from rainfall and the flow from Dell Creek.

The duck boat also took us on a little tour of the Wisconsin River, which is beautiful and has some of the same cliffs and rock formations seen on Lake Superior.  What a gorgeous area!

Afterward, we headed down the road a few miles to go on the Lost Canyon Tour.  This was a short tour, about a mile or so, through an awesome canyon while traveling on a horse drawn carriage.  The cliff walls were magnificent, and I don’t think my pics can even begin to capture their majesty.  While touring through, a deer just strolled right down through the canyon, nonchalantly.

A stop at Uno Pizzeria on the way home satisfied my pizza craving – yum yum!!  After some nap time, Jim took Sam over to the indoor water park for some more sliding!

Day Sixty-Seven

Day sixty-seven was a guy’s water park day!!  Sam and Jim hit the water, while I went shopping and relaxed at the coach for a little while.  After lunch, I went over to join them for some go kart driving, and to take a few pics.  It was a Saturday and that place was packed!  We came back to the coach about dinner time just as we felt a few raindrops.

Day Sixty-Six

Day sixty-six we got an early start to drive to the Wisconsin Dells for our next stop.  We hit a little rain along the way, but got there in one piece.  We opted to stay at the Zeus Village Campground, which is part of the Mt. Olympus group of lodgings and resort parks.  For every day of our stay, we get free admission to the Mt. Olympus theme park and water park.  Oh, yeah!

After getting set up, we decided to head over to the park to check it out.  It is huge!  The outdoor water park was closed for the evening, but the theme parks and the indoor water park were open.  Needless to say, Sam made a beeline for the water park and slides!  Woo hoo!

Day Sixty-Five

Day sixty-five the park service was having a Junior Ranger class at Sand Point Beach, so took Sam to attend.  While he was in class, Jim and I hiked the Marsh Trail there.  We saw two beaver lodges, but it was mid-day, so we didn’t see any beavers moving around.  At the end of the class, Sam earned a Junior Ranger badge and patch, so he was all smiles!

Day Sixty-Four

Day sixty-four we decided to go on a longer hike, and drove out the dirt road to park at the trailhead for Chapel Falls.  This was going to be about six miles roundtrip to view Chapel Falls and also to visit Chapel Rock.  We had seen Chapel Rock from the water on the boat cruise, so now we would get to view it up close and personal!  The hike was good exercise, but an easy hike with no big climbs.  I never saw so many chipmunks in my life!  I literally saw more chipmunks in this one day than I had seen in my entire life.  They were everywhere, and we actually found out they make several different noises and calls.  What we had thought were birds in the past, I now know are chipmunk calls in a couple of cases.  One chipmunk was so unafraid, it actually came right up to my shoe, and licked it!  Sam was amazed.

Chapel Falls was beautiful, and Chapel Rock was awesome!  We were right at the rock, and got a close-up view of the tree that was growing right on top of the rock.  It’s root actually stretched over the chasm to the ground since there was no soil on the rock, and the roots were thicker than most trees I’ve seen, since it’s so old! 

We passed through a primitive campground area on the hike back, and stopped at their bathroom facility.  This was three miles from the trailhead, and it made me wonder – how do they keep this facility stocked with supplies, and who’s the lucky ranger that gets to carry them in?  Hope they have a vehicle trail somewhere we didn’t see, because that is quite the hike to carry in tp!  J

The parking area at the trailhead was overflowing with cars when we got back – it was a beautiful day and everyone was out!  We had packed a lunch, so we ate when we got back to the car, and we all agreed it was the best lunch ever!  Funny how walking six miles through the woods can make one so hungry!  Especially Sam, since he had picked up a log and carried it the last mile of the hike, just to test his fortitude.  J

 

Day Sixty-Three

Day sixty-three we spent the morning doing paperwork and chores, and then we went on the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise.  The 5:00 pm cruise took us a little further than the day cruises in order to view Spray Falls.  We went by several different rock formations, and saw them very close.  The captain even took us inside one VERY narrow cove, which was really cool!  The cliffs were so beautiful and timeless.  He also took us close to the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse, which started operation in 1867 and has been restored.

The boat cruise was very nice, and full of information and history.  We really enjoy cruises as a way to learn a lot about the area we are visiting.

Day Sixty-Two

Day sixty-two we headed out to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Visitor Center to get trail maps, etc.  We opted to do some short hikes that day, and check out some waterfalls.  A short drive away we stopped to hike out to Munising Falls.  The trail actually went behind the waterfall, but had been closed in recent years due to deterioration of the rock.  Jim and Sam snuck over to get a pic of themselves there, anyway – shh!

We also drove out to the trailhead to see Miner’s Castle and to view Miner’s Falls.  This was a little longer hike, but we only hiked about two-and-a-half miles total that day.  What gorgeous rock formations!  The forests and surroundings were lovely, and chipmunks were everywhere!

After the short hikes, we decided to go on the Glass Bottom Boat Tours to see some of the shipwrecks in the area.  We sat on the upper open deck in the very front of the boat, and it was the best seat in the house!  As we came to a shipwreck, the tour operators opened the hatches covering the glass bottom area and we slowly moved over the shipwrecks while hearing their history and an explanation of the parts of the ships we were viewing.  It was really fascinating!

The areas of the lake near the rock cliffs and where the shipwrecks are located are only about eight to fifteen feet deep, and the water is crystal clear.  The cliffs and rock walls are absolutely beautiful, and it is easy to see why the area is named Pictured Rocks.