Retired Nomads: Riverwalk, Upper Dells River Boat & Bavarian Village

June 29

The town of Wisconsin Dells is really only a "tourist trap". Very few people actually live in the town itself and most of the businesses in the downtown area are only open for the summer tourist season.

The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacially formed gorge that features striking sandstone formations along the banks of the Wisconsin River. Together with the nearby village of Lake Delton, the city forms an area known as "the Dells". So, the original tourist attraction was the beautifully scenery and the boat tours to see it.

Now, it is about 4 blocks of solid restaurants, fudge shops, Ripley's Believe it or Not, water parks, small amusement parks, Old Time Photos, Laser Tag, Haunted Houses...you get the drift.

The website for the boat tour didn't list any times, so we went as soon as the ticket office opened at 8:00. We bought our tickets and they said the first boat tour started at 10:00. That gave us time to take the short but nice Riverfront walk.

the river boats

Yellow-throated Vireo

Baltimore Oriole

Gray Catbird

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

House Sparrow

Wisconsin River

Mallard Duck on a rock

private marina

Savannah Sparrow

Cedar Waxwing - I'm sure in his head he is saying "I'm Batman!"

It was then time for the boat tour. We chose the Upper Dells vs the Lower Dells. Here is a description of the boat tour:

"The Upper Dells is the section of the river above the dam going North cruising through an awesome path cut by ancient glaciers. You’ll pass under pine-crowned cliffs, navigate winding river narrows, and view iconic sandstone formations like Chimney Rock, Blackhawk’s Profile and Romance Cliff.

Two shore landings with one at Witches Gulch which is a spectacular and spooky walk through a narrow canyon carved by wind and water and filled with fern glens, shadowy passages and hidden whirlpool chambers. The other stop is at Stand Rock, where you’ll walk to the base of this imposing pillar of sandstone, then watch as high above you, a trained dog makes the famous leap from cliff face to Stand Rock and back again."

It was a hot and steamy day with no cloud cover. The heat index was over 100*.

The tour was very relaxing, despite the obligatory couple of "loud talkers". The 2 stops were very nice, but it would have been nice to spend more time at each of them. It lasted a bit over 2 hours.

Bank or Cliff Swallows

face rock formation

alligator rock formation

Red-tailed Hawk

our first land stop

witches bathtub & witches falls

witches window

concession stand at the end

going back to the boat

Red-tailed Hawk

our second stop

Stand Rock

Henry Hamilton Bennett originated the concept of photojournalism. He invented a stop action shutter (which he called the “snapper”), that improved the speed of the chemical exposure process and created other photographic innovations. He had his son jump many times until he got the perfect shot of him in mid-jump. Now, the German Shephard carries on the legacy. Both of us took shots of the quick jump and I got him just as he was starting the jump, not exactly in mid-air.

the German Shepard getting ready to make the leap

it's a 5 foot jump and he has a net

there he goes

you can just see his tail on the left

another concession stand

walking back to the boat

Visor Ledge

getting back on the boat

Red-tailed Hawk

they also have speed boat tours

We were ready for lunch and what else do you go for in the state that is known for cheese, but Mac & Cheese. We stopped at Mac’s Mac & Cheese. OMG, move over Southern Comfort food as this stuff was to die for. They take a very nice mac & cheese (white cheese – not the yellow cheese) and top it with lots of different things. I had the Memphis Mac & Cheese and so it was topped with pulled pork, sweet BBQ sauce and onion straws. Greg had the Taco Mac & Cheese which was taco meat, guac, sour cream, salsa & topped with tortilla strips. Both were killer good. We want to go back and try more concoctions.

Taco Mac & Cheese

Memphis Pulled Pork BBQ Mac & Cheese

After lunch we walked the small downtown and stopped at the Bavarian Village. It was a cute small area that features an on the clock musical show of the Pied Piper story. It was adorable and it reminded me of the Water Puppet Show is Vietnam. It just made you giggle.