"Wisconsin-Happy Festival State", by Eve Phillips. My husband and I love to travel in the state of Wisconsin where we live and get great pictures on the way. My name is Laurie Kutil and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. One thing I have learned in researching each town before visiting it is that, "Every town has it's story". When I do uncover those stories by connecting with local residents, our experience becomes so much richer. In turn, sharing the stories with you brings me joy :)
After our Upper Dells Boat Tour, it was time for the Lower Dells. It begins at the place where we caught the shuttle earlier. We were on the 2:30 tour on the Chief. This tour is about 1/2 hour-long. The Upper Dells tour is just over 2 hours.
Waiting area before coming aboard, we are ready for part 2 of our adventure!
The landing, time to get aboard!
We are on our way, the dam is on our left. It separates the Upper and Lower Dells.
We soon reach the area of the rock formations and this is the first one, Cow in the Milk Bottle. And the whole rock face.
Shortly after this we were shown the last known “rafter’s hook”. A man would drift down the river on a raft of logs to be sold further downstream. He lived on this log raft and when he needed a rest, he would tie up to this hook to keep stationary.
Here are a couple of rafter photos from back then.
Next we saw the Baby Grand Piano rock structure. It sure looks like one! It’s the lower rock on the right.
We didn’t just see great rock structures, we also saw development along the river. This is Rivers Edge Resort.
We come across a Streamflow Gaging Station, used to measure water levels in the river. Nothing unusual so far this year.
Here comes the Sugar Bowl, and we go right between them. Ahead of us is a Jet Boat about to do just that!
Here is Lone Rock, the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) believe a spirit of the Dells live in a cave inside this rock.
We conclude our tour with a look at the Ink Stand. That green growth is called lichen.
We made our way back to shore and thanked the crew, Captain Trent and Kaylee and the other young man for the great tour.
This is classic Dells fun, we hope you get to take both tours when you come here to visit.
The Wisconsin Dells was founded as Kilbourn City in 1857. The name was changed in 1931. The Dells has been a vacation destination for over 150 years and you can see pictures and postcards of the early years here. The site of one of the early theme parks called Fort Dells is marked by a sign, a Walgreens is there now.
What you will see when you drive into the Dells along the Parkway and Broadway.
The population of the Dells is 2,678. Even though it is known as “The Waterpark Capital of the World”™ now, it is so much more. My own Dells experiences goes back to my childhood in the 1970’s and 80’s. Al’s family went to Jellystone Park, still going strong. History is still an important part of the Dells and is the foundation for their continued relevance in the present and future.
We are going to explore 7 blocks on what is called “The Strip”, or Broadway Rd. We start at the top of Broadway on the 100 block, just after we pass under the Amtrak (Empire Builder route) and Canadian Pacific train overpass. The CP train carries freight, but during the Christmas holidays they host a Holiday Train. On the left side attached to the concrete bridge support is this plaque. We had to carefully walk under the bridge when the road was clear of traffic to get a picture of it.
We took a look at the charming depot. It was built in 1989 after the original was damaged beyond repair in 1982. It resembles many historic depots we have seen in other towns.
Close to here, also a right turn off Broadway are two other historical markers and a very tall flagpole, the long driveway leading to them identified by a brown “historical marker” sign. The first one is a history of the Wisconsin Dells. The other marker is on a large red rock in front of the flagpole, honoring Stanton Peter Helland.
Broadway – 100 Block
This is the view of the 100 block from halfway up the hill near the railroad track. Each block has many great businesses to appeal to both visitors. and residents alike. Downtown Dells has a website of its own since there is so much to do. Since we tend to be frugal travelers, the free parking downtown from October 15-May 15 appealed to us too. The drawback of winter, not all of the businesses/attractions are open.
The first place on our right is the popular Showboat Saloon, styled to look like a river showboat. More than that, it is said that a ghost named Molly lives in this over 100-year old building in the upstairs apartment. The building owner no longer rents it out due to the ghostly disturbances.
The Bennett studio is the actual one he worked out of, and we saw two historical plaques on the courtyard gate.
Rounding out the block on this side is Cheese Cake Heaven®, open seasonally.
From this side we look across the street to a wide variety of businesses, both old and new. At the right end is T-Shirt Factory. Right next to it is the new Dells Distillery (2013), then MACS-Macaroni and Cheese Shop for great meal choices. We had lunch at the Distillery on 6-14-15. Great food here.
In the tan building next to Monk’s is Xpressit. Then the popular Winnebago Gift Shop, where you can get moccasins and other apparel made by Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indians. They have served the Dells since 1949 in a historic 1860 building.
Finishing up this block is the Dells Fudge Company, Animaland for toys and games. Last is the High Rock Cafe. This block is the most dense for businesses on this historic street.
We are now at the halfway point of exploring this fascinating street in downtown Dells. But wait, there’s more! After crossing Elm St., continuing on the left side is the Goody Goody Gumdrop store. next is Unique, a t-shirt store.
At this point we are heading out of the heaviest shopping and attractions part of the street. There are still some places yet to see though. On the last long shopping strip on the left side are several shops.
