Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin

After our Route 66 jaunt we ended up in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. We had quite a few things that we wanted to do, but we knew we would not have time to do them all. This is another area where I wish we had planned to spend more time.

We started our day by heading out to Devil's Lake State Park before it got too hot and too busy! This is how the website describes the park:

"Situated along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Devil's Lake State Park offers magnificent views from 500-foot quartzite bluffs overlooking a 360-acre lake. Visitors enjoy nearly 30 miles of hiking trails, lakeshore picnic areas, swimming beaches, paddling opportunities, and year-round naturalist programs."

We planned this park specifically for Elijah because he LOVES rocks and we planned to do the Tumbled Rocks Trail. I love that the path was next to the lake so it really wasn't too hot. The map said that the Tumbled Rocks Trail was 1 mile, which didn't sound bad. What they didn't tell you is it is one mile, one way, then you have to turn around and come back 😂 We took our time going up, stopping often to take pictures, but it kept getting warmer, and we ran out of water, so we really picked up our speed on the way out of there. It was a beautiful trail, lots of rocks for climbing, and a moderate climb. Plus, it wasn't too crowded.

After that we planned to do The Lost Canyon Tours. This is the one thing I was the MOST excited about. We were going to be in an open wagon, being pulled by two horses in canyons. I really wanted to do it because I had read several books recently that had Canyon's and they fascinated me. I wanted to see them in person. Maybe one day we will get to the Grand Canyon, but in the meantime, here was a canyon right where we were at. We got that and a tour had just started and it was going to be at least a 30-minute wait. It was lunchtime, we were tired from the hike, and so I said we would go eat and come back. Because we were tired and hangry, Kayla wanted Subway (something familiar), Elijah didn't care where we ate, and it was turning into issues. They were also fussing about the Lost Canyon Tours saying they didn't want to do it. I told them we were not talking about it then, we would decide after we ate. I decided we would go to Moose Jaw Pizza and be done with it. It was totally the right decision! It was such a fun place and the food was excellent. I had the best burger I have had in a LONG time. The kids got individual pizzas, Kayla got a speciality drink that they make, Matt got a mushroom swiss burger and their homemade chips, and I got a hamburger and fries. The kids got a funnel cake, with whipped cream, which you could also get another topping on (caramel, chocolate etc.). Thankfully, they decided to keep the extra topping off, it was sweet enough without it!

Once we got back to the car, I thought about The Lost Canyon Tours, and I finally said we were doing it. Matt was fine either way, the kids still didn't really want to do it, but again, it was the thing I was most excited about. Usually, I would just give in to keep the peace and keep everyone happy, but I told them they could complain as much as they wanted AFTER it was over if they didn't like it, but I thought they would enjoy it and I was going to do it. They were like "Okay."

From their website:

"It was back in 1956 that Dr. R.O. Ebert started the horse-drawn wagon tours through Lost Canyon, the longest and deepest land canyon in Wisconsin. In 1967, the Kissack families took over the business and still operate it today, doing their part to maintain this natural treasure. Visitors ride through a mile of cliff-walled gorges in comfortable yet quaint horse-drawn carriages. At the narrowest passages, the guides must talk the horses through the tight squeeze. In some of the deeper parts, the sheer rock and sandstone wall have not felt the touch of the sun in more than 50,000 years."

You all, it was AMAZING! I am SO glad I put my foot down and decided we were going to do this. Our tour guide was boisterous and lively, a great story teller, and was very knowledgeable about what we were seeing. The tour was only about a half hour, but again, worth it. We had a blast, the guide made us laugh quite a bit, and the canyon was beautiful.  When the tour was over both Kayla and Elijah told me I was right, that it was great and they would have missed out if we had not done it. I took a million pictures from our adventures, but will not share them all, for fear of boring you to tears, LOL! However, while some of my pictures are good, they really don't do the canyon justice. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend all the things we did. We had a blast, and again, I wish we had had more time to explore this area.

After the tour we headed to and then crossed the Mississippi river (our first time!), driving beside it for quite a while as we headed to Minnesota City, Minnesota, where we were going to be spending the night. We figured since we were soooo close we would spend the night in Minnesota, adding another state to our list that we have been in 😀 More to come on that next time....

Enjoy the pictures from our day, and be sure to scroll to the end 😉

 

The Mississippi River!! ↓

 

The End! (and yes, I had too! 😂😂)