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Wisconsin Dells, WI

Headed on over to Wisconsin to what I can only describe as one heck of a party town, Wisconsin Dells. It is home to numerous amusement and water parks all within a mile of each other as well as lots of quirky places to tour, other fine attractions, an active downtown even at night, the Wisconsin River, and Lake Delton which is a water sports enthusiast’s dream.

I arrived at 7pm, setup camp at American World RV Park, and hit the tours nearby on foot until 11pm. The park is well situated in the heart of things and in fact is just a fence away from an amusement park which does mean there is some noise though it didn’t bother me. They have a fun outside pool with slides and a very large indoor pool and hot tub. Their wifi was excellent with very strong signal. Across the street is a big seafood buffet at Crabby’s. This is a Passport America park and a hotel. The bathhouse is a bit far away from where I was but I did like their pavilion in the center.

I only had two nights and one day in my schedule so I made the most of it. The first night I walked over to the Top Secret attaction which is a tour of an upside-down Whitehouse with a goofy guide. She did her best to scare us and we got to scream for fun here and there. I especially liked the revolving black tunnel with flourescent spots that we had to walk through on a wooden bridge. It killed my sense of balance so I was hanging on to the bridge tight and laughing even though the bridge wasn’t moving. Going through with teenage girls in the party made it even better since they scare easy. Well worth the money.

Next I went next door to the Ghost Outpost, a haunted house, one of the best I have been in. I went through with a scared young couple. Since I have a few years under my belt, I took the lead and found them clutching my shoulders even though we were strangers. It was great. I managed to avoid the floor surprise but they did get me with a blast of air from the side.

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Mall of America and Other Local Sites

Near the crossroads of I35 and 494 near Minneapolis, MN is the Mall of America, a HUGE mall with an actual amusement park indoors right in the middle of it and an Underground Aquarium worth seeing! It could take you days to go through the mall and all its uniques stores you won’t find elsewhere along with other big names like Macy’s and Sears. They have so many stores and restaurants that they sell a coupon book for them. There is even a coupon for the coupon book available.

They have a transportation area outside where buses and taxis are constantly dropping off and picking up. They also have the most handicapped parking near the entrance that I have ever seen at a mall. I was able to slip right in close.

The amusement park is quite real with 30 rides such as a roller coaster, log water flume ride, ferris wheel, and carousel. Legoland is also very popular. You can get an all day wrist band to ride and there is a $5 off coupon for that. Food stands in the park include Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut pizza among others or you can go up to the second floor to eat at Bubbagump Shrimp Co. LOL. An interesting store and restaurant is the Rainforest Cafe. The food was good but way overpriced.

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I had a great time in the park and mall but being a night shifter, they closed just a tad too early for me so I caught the 10:30pm show at their AMC Cinemas for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Great way to end the day, with a good movie.

Near the mall is Waterpark of America which is billed as the largest indoor waterpark where you can actually surf and float their mile long indoor river.

Minneapolis also has an excellent hands-on science museum if you have kids and the time.

In St. Paul, you can tour the infamous Wabasha Street Caves where many a gangster such as Dillinger hung out, free from being bothered by local police, and prohibition was ignored in the night clubs setup down there.

Wabasha, MN

I went to Wabasha this week to see the home of the movie, “Grumpy Old Men”. If you get into this area and want a great scenic drive, drive route 61 from Hastings to Wabasha along the Mississippi River and Pepin Lake. I found Slippery’s Bar in Wabasha as mentioned in the movie and there is an Indian Slough. The screenplay was written by a grandson based on his granddad and granddad’s fishing buddy as characters. Apparently they have a lot of characters in Minnesota if ya know what I mean.

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The movies were not actually shot here but nearer to St. Paul. It is still a nice town to visit with many bed and breakfasts or an RV park to stay in. When I visited, they were gearing up for a festival with a Grumpy Old Men fishing derby and had the Budweiser clydesdales there. It was a little hot that day so I kicked off the shoes and went wading in the river. Others were swimming.

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Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN

Moved on over to Minnesota. When I heard that Mall of America was here, I decided to stay awhile.

I would have liked to have seen the Spam (as in Hormel canned meat) Museum in Austin but alas it just did not work into my route. I came across a very bumpy I90 then headed north on a just as bumpy I35. Eek! 5 hours of jiggling my insides around and both the cat and I were ready to put up for the night. We stayed at the Hope Oak Knoll campground which is in a farmer’s front yard among a grove of beautiful oak trees and surrounded by his cornfield. No pool, cable TV, or internet there but being in the grove of old oak for a night was enough amenity. 🙂 You can see the cornfield behind my trailer below (3rd pic).

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The next day was an easy 2 hour jaunt to the Treasure Island Casino Resort near Hastings (below St. Paul). Their RV park has very strong wireless internet and a shuttle back and forth to the hotel and marina. The casino runs all day and night with live entertainment on Saturday nights. They have several restaurants inside to choose from including a delicious buffet. Rvers may use their pool and the park fees are very inexpensive without needing any discounts. You may want to go ahead and join the hotel’s Passport Club whether you intend to gamble a lot or not so you can get in on all their contest giveaways. Not being a gambler, I prefer to use this as a home base to see the area. It is a typical casino RV park, mostly pavement. George did enjoy the pool very much. I enjoyed Saturday night’s live entertainment, Lightening Flats.

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