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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.

After that, I went to the Looney Bin next door (no comments, Jeff!). It stunk big time. Don’t bother with it. We all wanted our money back. It was supposed to be some sort of funhouse but the fun never appeared.

The next day I bought discount tickets at the hotel/RV park to 3 of the best attractions there and actually did them all in one day! First, I rode the Wild Thing. Heh heh. I should just leave it like that but OK I’ll talk. It is a wild jet boat ride on the Wisconsin River. We got a fun driver who threw in a ton of very wet power stops and 360 turns. I knew the 2nd row would be the wettest so I chose the front row with room to duck under the windshield. I did quite well at keeping dry and soaking the poor sucker behind me until I got hot. Sometimes you just gotta say, “What the heck.” I threw up my arms in the air and surrendered to the water gods. They obliged by soaking me though and through. It would have been great if it did not turn out that I’m quite allergic to something in the water. My nose soaked me as much as the water. I would do it again though. Tee hee.  Being a submissive can be fun.

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BTW, their jet boats are manufactured in Gold Beach, Oregon where I had the pleasure of also riding jet boats on the Rogue River.

Despite how wet I got on the Wild Thing, I still had a full day ahead of me. Next I rode the Wisconsin Dells Army Ducks, all terrain amphibian vehicles. You have to load from a high platform due to their height. I got to ride shotgun by the driver.  He started by driving out through the woods on the duck trail. We reached the highway and he took us down the road to Lake Delton where he did not stop but rather just drove straight in. When they say the tour includes 2 splashdowns, they are not kidding! As soon as we settled, he switched the vehicle to boat mode and off we went around the lake a bit. The top speed of the vehicle is only about 6 miles per hour and it is extremely noisy but who cares. The lake was beautiful and in full swing with activity. All manner of personal boats, tour boats, jet skis, and parasailers were having a wonderful day in the sun. 

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After driving out of the lake, we hit the road over to the river where we splashed on in again. No wild stops or turns this time like the jet boat but a nice tour and commentary on the river as we floated along. you can see the fascinationg rock formations, stairs built into the cliffs by local fishermen, etc. When it was over, it was so cool to see this excellent utility vehicle drive up into a narrow creek under a bridge and on out of the water to the duck trail back.

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Notes on the ducks: these were used by the army to deliver supplies from the ship to the beaches during WWII and did the job very well. Unfortunately, as much as the army loved them, the cost to ship them back after the war was pretty close to building a new one so they sold off all they could overseas after the war and then sank the rest.

You would think that would be enough fun for one day but oh no. I still had one ticket in my purse. A quick change at home and I was off to Mt. Olympus Waterpark and Amusements. Parking was easy in the late afternoon so not a bad time to go since they are open until 10pm. It is actually 4 parks in one so it is quite huge. After renting a locker, I hit the outside waterparks first.

The wave pool produces high strong waves you can body surf on and I have the marks on my body to prove it. 😉 Watch for the puffs of smoke that signal the next wave and swim like crazy! That isn’t easy to do with a lot of people there.

Despite the family slide using a large round raft and not allowing single riders, I climbed the tower in high hopes of finding a buddy. I was not disappointed. Two ladies and one son there were happy to let me ride with them. Wow! We got air! That ride is a must, over and over.

In one of the other outside parks are the usual slide tubes, the usual less powerful wave pool,  and an outdoor river float. I got plenty of jollies over there.

When the outside waterparks closed at 7pm, I went indoors where there was another gentle river to float around and around and around. They have the intermediate slides which require a tube to be carried up to slide on. I got in some licks there too. They also have a water basketball pool, a water walk with overhead net to hold on to, the usual body slides, and a children’s play area complete with pirate ship.

Later, I dried off and went to the outside amusement park with more go-kart rides than I have ever seen, in every configuration. I did the wooden spirals and bridge go-karts. That wood is horrible to drive on. It shakes your innards every which way. Did enjoy spiraling and the high bridge though. It started raining near closing time but I still got to drive on the regular go-kart track track in the rain. It was so cool until the rain came down so hard I couldn’t see on the back stretch. He he. I survived and rain doesn’t matter when you are in a bathing suit anyway.

Got in a little batting practice as well at the batting cages. Momma can still hit!

Around 9:30 pm, the storm fully broke on us with plenty of lightening and water coming down on us like we were under a faucet. The park emptied out quickly. I got back to my trailer which was now in a pond of 4 inches of water. So glad I was in my bathing suit while I battened down the hatches outside. A truck with lights flashing stopped outside and kept an eye on the water levels for a good hour. After drying off, changing, calming the cat, and cleaning up the floors, we went to bed. I woke up a couple hours later to find the truck and water gone. I am told it has rained all week there and I just got lucky to catch the perfect day for playing. Yah you betcha! Definitely on my list of places to go back to.

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