The Wisconsin Dells (Upper) Boat Tour, etc.

Monday, August 15 - Wisconsin Dells, WI

After working two RV Shows over the past couple of weeks here in Wisconsin, we decided to take a couple of days off before traveling east to Massachusetts. So, yesterday morning we left Madison and drove about 60 miles north to Wisconsin Dells. We've heard so much about this area of Wisconsin that we just could not leave without spending some time here. A big "thank you!" to Charlie and Kathy Burch for telling us about this beautiful area.

After arriving at our campground, Sherwood Forest Camping & RV Park, we set out to take a boat tour of the Upper Dells of the Wisconsin River. Fortunately, the campground provided us with a coupon for a 15% savings on the tickets! Be sure to check out our photographs of the boat tour. FYI: one of the things we learned on the boat tour - Wisconsin, the state, got its name from the river, and not the other way around. Also, the word "Wisconsin" comes from an Indian word meaning "land of dark waters"; the word "Dells" is derived from a French word meaning "pillars of stone". Thus, Wisconsin Dells translates to "land of dark waters with pillars of stone".

As we rode the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the boat docks, we noticed that the downtown area is quite "touristy"! Lots of places for tourists to "drop some dough". I would compare this to a place like Myrtle Beach, SC, or any other tourist attraction. Lots of young people walking around and playing games in the video arcades; wild amusement rides, miniature golf - all the usual touristy things.

Since everything here seems so "touristy", we asked at the campground office about a good place to go for dinner where we wouldn't have to fight the crowds. The recommended "local" establishment for good food and drinks at reasonable prices was a Supper Club called Cimaroli's in Portage, WI, about 10 miles east of the Dells. This was a good take! Although it sounds like an Italian restaurant, which we thought it was, it was actually a Steak House! Their "house specialty" was a "Flat Iron Steak", which is actually prepared on a flat iron. It is then placed on a wooden slab and served piping hot. We had ours smothered in sauteed onions and mushrooms. I also sampled some of the "local suds", a very light ale called Spotted Cow. For an ale, this was quite light, almost a lager beer. I am bringing some of this home to Massachusetts, so, if you would like to try it, let me know.

Today we visited the Carr Valley Cheese Company in Ironton, WI (Pop. 257). We had hoped to get there in time to see them making the cheese, but we arrived at about 9:55AM and they were cleaning up, the run for the day completed! We were told to get there by 10AM to see them making the cheese. So much for that! The cheese, however, is delicious. We think that Wisconsin Cheese actually has Vermont cheese beat, but it is real close!

We also visited the International Crane Foundation Sanctuary in Baraboo, WI. There are quite a number of cranes in residence here, cranes from around the world. We got pictures of most of them, but I failed to caption a few of the photos (4). The ones without captions are of the African Blue Crane, quite a beautiful bird! Be sure to check out these photographs, as well as the photos of the boat tour.

Speaking of the photographs, here are the links:

Upper Dells Boat Tour photos

Cheese Factory and ICF Sanctuary photos

Tomorrow morning we will be starting our journey back east to Massachusetts. Our first stop will be in Shipshewana, IN, to pick up a few items. We should be in New York for a weekend visit with Mike, Lisa and Ava. We will be back in Massachusetts by late Monday, or Tuesday.