Wisconsin Dells Part 1

My guy and I took a long weekend and did a mini getaway to Wisconsin Dells. We left shortly after 1 pm on Friday and figured we would stop for lunch when we started heading north. My guy says that when you are vacation, you should try someplace new and not go to the franchises to help add to the vacation experience. I agreed completely. So, we stopped for lunch at the Rodeside Grill in Windsor, WI.

The area around the restaurant looks like it’s under construction but the restaurant has been there for a few years. The inside reminded me of a log cabin with a lot of wood everywhere and the tables were decorated with different themes–we were at the Christmas table.

We spent some time looking through the menu and deciding what was going to satisfy us for the rest of the journey. My guy ordered the Blue Gill Basket – very fitting with it being Friday. The basket came with plenty of blue gill pieces, french fries and tartar sauce. I had a few bites and the fish fell apart nicely. The breading was light and crispy and didn’t overpower the fish. This was a great choice.

With full, happy bellies, we continued north to Wisconsin Dells. My guy hadn’t been to the Dells in quite sometime, but I am very familiar with the city. I got off at the first exit and took him through town so he could see all the changes. And then we arrived at our B&B – the White Rose Inns.

The White Rose Inns is a combination of B&B houses and a motel. It’s set off the strip on the north end of town. Across the alleyway is a nice park and on the other side is the Wisconsin River.

 We stayed in The Gate House and the Lily Room which was an upstairs one room suite with a fireplace, recliners and a small deck.

 View from the deck of the Wisconsin River.

Because we were still full from lunch, we decided to do some exploring of the area. We checked out the river first.

We noticed a boat tour on the river and noted that we needed to find some more information on that when we were out and about. We went back to the strip and found an information booth about the Upper Dells Boat Tours (amongst the hundreds of t-shirt shops, fudge shops and old fashioned photo stores). The sales woman was very informative and told us about three different trips the boats take 1) a voyage where you dock twice and check out the natural area 2) a dinner boat that goes up and down the river 3) the ghost tour that you dock and walk on land in the dark and get scared.

 We decided to do the voyage where you dock twice and bought tickets for the next boarding.

Our boat was about half full so everyone was able to sit on the top to check out the views on a gorgeous evening. Our tour guide Gabe was very informative and although he had a lot of information to tell us, he didn’t make it sound scripted at all.

We found out that the land on either side of the river was purchased many years ago for $1 an acre so that it would stay pristine and never be built on. Eventually the land was given to the state and now the DNR owns it so it will stay in its natural state. This is so awesome because in this day and age, people want to build up on beautiful land and that won’t happen here.

 We went through some very narrow passages and our captain spun us around without an issue.

 We got really close to rocks in certain areas but never hit them.

The first area that we docked and went ashore was in the narrows with rocks towering over us. A boardwalk was built for us to walk over the natural waterfall and check it out. At the end is concession stand with a few snacks and restrooms.

The paths were narrow in spots and because it’s all rock around us, the temperature was a lot cooler on shore.

Then it was back on the boat and across the river to another landing spot where we saw the Jumping German Sheppard of Juneau County. The story is that a gentleman took a picture of this rock and people didn’t believe it was real. So he had his son jump it to prove that it was real and he many accolades for his photo. They don’t use people anymore to jump it, but a German Shepherd that is trained to jump there and back. My video doesn’t do it justice but this was pretty cool to see. The gap is over 5 feet wide.

At this stop on the trip, we talked with Gabe and asked him if he got sick of doing the same script over and over. He doesn’t mind it and is really into the history. He grew up in the area and knew how to drive a boat so he joined the company and has been working for them ever since.

The trip back down the river was gorgeous with the sunset lighting up the rocks. Because we were the last tour of the day, we were out for a little over the two-hours that the tour typically lasts.

When we got back into town, we were pretty hungry so we checked out the strip near us and decided on Alabama’s Dixiland Bar-BQ and Suds. We picked a table in the back and checked out the decor. All of the farming items on the wall are from someone’s personal collection. The place was really decked out.

 While we perused the menu, we ordered a pitcher of beer.

You will notice there aren’t many people in the restaurant, but we ate dinner really late. There were some people more towards the front and also seated outside.

I selected the pulled chicken with beans and fried okra for my dinner. The BBQ sauce had a nice kick to it and just look at all that chicken! The beans were very flavorful and our server suggested a dipping sauce for the okra because they don’t have ranch. It was from their sister-business next door that was Cajun joint. It was a really good sauce.

My guy ordered half a chicken, potato salad, and corn fritters. The chicken fell right of the bone and he loved it. The corn fritters were so good too. The potato salad was a little different and had an olive in the top of it. But both of us left again very satisfied and were glad we picked something unique to try.