Oshkosh or Bust The Blog 2021 Wisconsin Dells and The Trip Home Day 1 and 2
Oshkosh or Bust The Blog 2021 Wisconsin Dells and The Trip Home Day 1 and 2
Well Sunday morning started off early as usual for my wife and I, after a good nights sleep we were both awake at the crack of dawn, and began to stir and get ready for the days activities. But first the all important run to Wally World (aka Wal-Mart), the wife said she needed a few things for herself (very important BTW) and then to pick up some food stuff for the trip home and for breakfast that morning. She picked up some shoes, we picked up some clothing, and some stuff for the camper and then of course a few food items.
Once done, with the shopping we headed back to the camp ground and our camper, where we just hung out and prepared for the day. My wife began preparing breakfast and our friends daughter’s and our oldest daughter came down and we hooked up the XBOX One for them to play. The kids played a fishing game while the rest of us cooked food and cleaned up around the area.
After a while, we all ate breakfast together and discussed our plans for the day, the girls had already discussed and decided we would go on the world famous Dells Boat Tour. But first we had to get my wife’s best friends parents and kids on the road to Kenosha and then we’d head out. The girls informed me and Rob that we would be going on the “Upper Dells” Boat Tour and that it would last about two (2) hours and include us seeing a German Shepard making a jump between two rocks. Yeah I know, I had to ask a few times too.
While hanging out Rob offered up to try and help fix our black water tank drain so we could at least use it until we got home to get it officially fixed. After a preliminary check of what we could do and the materials we would need, we proceeded to Home Depot to pick-up some glues that could be used to fix the plastic parts. Thanks to Rob what we purchased seemed to work and after a little waiting and checking we deemed it somewhat usable.
We finally sat down and had some lunch and finally at around 1400 (2pm) my wife’s best friends parents and the kids loaded up into their vehicles and after saying goodbye departed the area. Once they left the area the adults loaded up in the car and headed to the unknown of downtown Wisconsin Dells.
For those of whom have never ever been to the Wisconsin Dells, this is a huge resort town during the summer with lots of hotels/ campgrounds/ RV Parks/ Amusement Parks/ Water Parks and of course the “Tommy Bartlett Water Show” (yeah how many of you know about that? And if you are from the Midwest you don’t get to answer). The area has changed a lot since most of us were kids, but it is your typical tourist trap.
We eventually arrived at the parking lot for the Dells Boat Tour and the tickets were purchased for us to depart on the 1545 (345pm) tour. We headed down to the boat dock via the elevator and were greeted by a young lady that showed us where to sit for the next boat ride.
Eventually the announcement was made about the boat loading, and as we say the loading commence, noticed that the entire top deck of the boat was going to be taken before we could get on and so we asked if we could get on the next boat. We were told yes and so we had to wait another 45 minutes or so. During this period of waiting, we hung out, talked and made jokes like usual and just had a great time together. Then the next announcement was made finally and we were asked to load up on the boat to begin our tour.
I ended up sitting with the girls on the port side of the boat while Rob and his wife sat on the starboard side of the boat. The two young ladies running the boat acted as captain and tour guide for our little two hour tour. I told my wife that if this ended up as a three hour tour that I was out and not going on the trip (yeah which TV show is this from) The tour up the Wisconsin River is very pretty with lots of sandstone rock formation and many different inlets and outlets that boats and jet skies go up and down.
The first stop we made was at a place called The “Witches Gulch”, here we were able to get off the boat and walk along a pathway that took us through some very nice looking ravens that had a stream going thru it. You eventually end up at a your typical tourist trap area where you can buy food/ drinks and other bits of junk. My wife, daughter and I decided to turn around and head back to the boat and try to get some pictures along the way as we didn’t want any of the junk at the snack trap.
After about another 5 minutes of waiting, the rest of the passengers returned to the boat and then we headed off on about a 15 minute trip across the Wisconsin River to the “Stand Rock” and the home of the world famous leaping dog.
In order to get to the area to see this German Shepard make his leap you will have to walk up a pathway from where the boat docked, it’s about .25 mile and once everyone is there, they get this dog to make this leap. Apparently there are three dogs that make this jump and they rotate them. After the jump was made we made our way down another pathway that of course took us to another little snack bar and a gift shop. Most of us ignored all of this junk and continued down the pathway back to the boat and of course we stopped along the way to try and get a few picture snaps.
Once we left “Stand Rock” we proceeded back to the Wisconsin Dells area going down river and just taking in everything that we could see. As boats passed us or we passed them, we would wave back and forth at one another. It took us about another 30 minutes to get back to the main docks and once there we debarked and then proceeded back to the elevator and the trip back to the street level.
Now for dinner Rob and his wife took us to a place called “Monks Bar”, where we had a few drinks and dinner. It was really a nice time and we beat Rob and his wife to the punch and purchased dinner for all of us.
Upon our return to the campground we said our good night to everyone and headed back to our camper to get a good nights sleep as we would be getting on the road the next morning to begin our trip home to Oxnard but first to drop our daughter off in Sioux Falls.
Monday morning was soon upon us and as per the norm for my wife and I we were up very early. Once we got our bodies moving, we proceeded to begin to put everything away and ready for the road. My wife decided to insist that I disconnect the Propane Tanks and get them filled, (remember gents “Happy Wife = Happy Life”) so I complied with that request, but before doing so I looked into where I could get them filled and checked with Rob and his wife to see if they had any suggestions.
Lucky for me they came up with a great suggestion and the place was only about a mile away from their campground. So I called the “Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park” to see if they could take care of my propane tank filling issue. The young lady that answer said “YES” and so I headed out to get the mission accomplished, but only after getting myself turned around because of my GPS (Iphone GPS issues) and once on the right track I was able to find the place that I needed.
Upon my arrival at the “Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park” I was directed to the propane tank filling area where two older gentlemen proceeded to help me get the tanks filled up. But “WAIT”. The two guys helping me had to laugh and looked at me and said that the tanks were more than full enough and didn’t need to be re-filled, they were being very nice and told me even if they had hooked the tanks up and filled either of them even a little bit that that they would have to charge me for a full tank. So I’m very thankful to both of these guys for being up front with me. Of course the one guy suggested I just tell my wife that I got them filled, I of course laughed at that idea and upon my return to our camper told my wife that they didn’t need to be refilled.
At this point Rob helped me connect the camper to the truck, 20 minutes later we went and said goodbye to Rob and his wife and loaded up in the truck and started our 5 ½ hour drive to Sioux Falls, and our daughter’s home.
The drive from the Wisconsin Dells to our daughter’s home is very uneventful and there isn’t much to see. While on the road we discussed about where we would should do for dinner, my wife of course wanted her “Papa Murphy’s” pizza, which I said no to but then I suggested that we go check out the Sioux Falls VFW/ American Legion post that I had heard so much about last summer from my daughter and wife. This was finally agreed upon.
We finally made it to my daughter’s home at about 1630 (430pm) and after a few minutes of talking my daughter said she didn’t want to go out to dinner and said we could borrow her car so we could. So my wife and I took off in search of the VFW/ American Legion post in Sioux Falls.
The VFW/ American Legion post is located by the Sioux Falls Regional Airport and the Air Guard Base. This particular post is a joint venture of both the VFW and American Legion and the place is huge!! Apparently they have concerts here and they are supposed to have Trace Adkins here in August for you country fans, they have a really nice bar and restaurant area where they have a full on menu of food. They even have a shooting range!!! There is an upstairs and downstairs to this place, it’s just too much to describe so if you want to see pictures of it, checkout my personal Facebook page.
Once dinner was done, we went to the store really quick and proceeded back to our daughter’s home for the remainder of the night and finally decided on a plan to head west from Sioux Falls.
We decided to take the Interstate 90 West Route, but we decided to stop at a KOA in Montana for a few days to take a break and to try and enjoy some time together.
After deciding on our course of action for Tuesday, we decided to get to bed and get some rest, with the plan to be on the road roughly around 7am and head towards Wyoming.
Tuesday morning was finally upon us and after putting stuff away and getting our bodies moving, we went inside our daughter’s home and were able to say goodbye to her and her cat “Fez” (he was originally our cat, but our daughter took over) and got on the road.
We made a quick pit stop to get some gas and then got onto Interstate 90 West and headed for our next stop at the Rangeland Court Motel and RV Park in the town of Moorcroft, Wyoming. This drive is about 462 miles and took us about 6 hours to drive. We passed through all of the towns we had previously passed through over a week ago and now going back through again.
Of course we made a few stops to get fuel and my wife even saw a place where she saw prairie dogs running around and had to get a few pictures of them with her phone. Eventually just before 1500 (3pm) or so, we arrived at the Rangeland Court Motel and RV Park in Moocroft, and we checked in.
The people that own the property are very nice and beyond helpful, the husband (Bill) helped us back our camper into the spot we were going to occupy for the night and even helped us fix the back landing gear that was damaged in the incident a couple of weeks ago, which was great.
After getting everything situated, my wife bless her heart, told me to go out and check things out. SO after making sure she was squared away I got in my truck to take off and see what was out there. But first had to get some go-go juice, and I even was a nice guy and got my wife a drink from some coffee place that was called “Spicy-Pineapple”, don’t ask me, ask her. While waiting for the gas pump to finish up, I looked up how far we were from the “Devils Tower” National Park, after pulling up the information on my GPS it showed it to be only 25 miles away. I decided to head there and check it out!!
But first I dropped off my wife’s drink and told her my plans and headed out for a different kind of adventure in Wyoming unlike the last one (see previous blogs for information).
So after leaving our camper behind I headed up the road about 30 minutes for the “Devils Tower”, the drive out was uneventful until I stopped at a scenic overlook and was trying to get a few pictures.
While pulling into the overlook I noticed all sorts of people there from those travelling with families, to those in their campers and of course the motorcycle guys and gals.
Once out of my truck and taking pictures I was approached by one of the motorcycle riders, whom at first I thought I was a Veteran, but found out while talking to him that he was a huge supporter of the Military and our Veteran’s. But when he showed me a patch on his vest he mentioned one of my old Commanding Officers from the Marine Corps, I was floored. I believe this gentleman’s name was Dave and he had met then Major Kevin Nave through his motorcycle riding and apparently over the years had become very close. They were so close that after Major Nave was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom this gentlemen had a patch made with his name on it and honor’s him wherever he goes and talks about him all of the time, they are also still very close to his wife and kids. Thank you sir for you honoring our fallen Marine Brothers.
After leaving the overlook I continued to head for the entrance of the “Devils Tower” National Park and eventually pulled into the park and drove through it and stopped at many of the pullouts on the side of the road and even went up a dirt road to check the “Devils Tower” and ended up with a few pictures and a plan to go back later in the evening to get some nighttime pictures.
I finally returned back to our camper where my wife was great and made us dinner, T-Bone Steak, Au gratin Potatos and some Green Beans. It was a great meal and I can’t thank her enough.
Now here I am writing this blog, and enjoying time with my wife.
So I’m at the end of this for now, we will be heading out for Montana in the morning and stopping for a few days to hang out and enjoy the scenery.
Until then stay out of trouble..
Semper Fi,
Frank Sellin
1/9 Everywhere